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Most Fridays (year
round): Two informal talks are presented by AAI members at Sperry Observatory. (See "Fridays At Sperry" schedule) |
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On the third Friday of each month from September through May: AAI holds its monthly General Meeting at which a featured speaker from outside the organization presents a topic of interest in astronomy or a related field. The meeting is held on the Cranford, New Jersey campus of Union County College in either the Main Lecture Hall or in the Roy Smith Theatre. See individual listing below. A brief business meeting is held at 8:00 p.m. and the speaker will begin his/her presentation at approximately 8:30 p.m. There is no admission charge. All are welcome to attend, and there is plenty of free parking.
After the meeting, all are
invited across campus to Sperry Observatory for an
informal time of refreshments, conversation, and
observing. This is a perfect opportunity to meet the
speaker one-on-one and to learn more about AAI from
our members. |
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 Dr. Edward Belbruno |
DECEMBER 18, 2009 |
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In 1991, the Japanese spacecraft “Hiten” was rescued by a new type of route to the Moon. This route is based on a theory of space travel the speaker formulated using ideas from chaos theory. ESA's SMART-1 Mission used a related route in 2004. These routes provide a low fuel way to transfer spacecraft to the Moon and beyond. The same methods can be applied in astronomy. The speaker and R. Gott published a paper in 2005 on the origin of the hypothetical impactor, Theia, that collided with the Earth to form the Moon. Currently, NASA's STEREO Mission is exploring two locations in space to investigate this theory. Belbruno's recent book, “Fly Me To The Moon”, is published by Princeton University Press. It discusses his theory in popular terms. Edward Belbruno consults regularly with NASA, is president of his company, Innovative Orbital Design, and is affiliated with Princeton University. |
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8 p.m. THE ROY SMITH THEATER |
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| Click here for the complete 2009-2010 schedule. | |
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Click here for a
listing of prior lectures.
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Sperry |
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Activities |
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Maintained by Page last updated 12/08/2009 |