Posted on November 13, 2013
Originally published in the El Dorado News-Times on November 14, 2013.
Barton Library will sponsor "Astronomy for Everyone: Size and Scale of the Universe,? from 6:00 until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Callaway Theatre of the South Arkansas Arts Center in El Dorado.
Dr. Kevin Manning, astrophysicist, will present the family program, according to Nancy Arn, library director.
She said following his formal remarks, attendees will go outdoors to view celestial objects in the night sky such as the rings of Saturn and craters on the moon, weather permitting.
Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. The free program is sponsored by Dr. Marc Parnell, Nortran Inc., CMI Insurance, The Diamond Agency and El Dorado Chemical Co.
Manning is an author and has worked as a consultant with NASA, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched on the space shuttle with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and other ground-based observatories. He has won national and international awards in his field, was both a Wright Fellow and an Einstein Fellow and did some work with Brookhaven National Laboratory.
The program will be "a virtual journey into the cosmos looking at the very small and the very large.?
Those attending will receive a "daily observation log,? with spaces to record constellations, stars, planets and other objects seen in the sky and instructions for completing the "daily observation log.?
Those attending will learn about the sun, the moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, constellations, double stars, variable stars, open clusters, globular clusters, planetary nebulae, diffuse nebulae, eternal galaxies and Messier objects. French astronomer, Charles Messier, made up the first list of sky objects, other than stars, that can be seen with small telescopes.
According to information provided about the program, one out of 15 stars is a double or multiple star and a variable star modifies in brightness ? the change takes two days.
A large diffuse gas cloud lighted by the stars in its vicinity is known as a bright diffuse nebula. Planetary nebulae are so named only because they are round like planets. They are luminous gas clouds and are a part of our galaxy.
A worker at the Plainview Public Library wrote, "There has never been a presentation of this caliber in the many years I?ve worked at this library.?
"I?m thrilled that we had so many people of all ages attended. You were engaging, enthusiastic, obviously an expert at the information you were presenting, but still able to convey it at a level appropriate for anyone, and funny,? Joanna Axelrod with the Escondido Public Library, wrote to Manning.
Another person who attended the program at the St. Helena Public Library wrote, "You had something for everyone ? all ages could enjoy it ? from the fantastic array of photos to the detailed explanations of the heavens.?
For more information, call the library at 863-5447 or visit www.lookuptothestars.com." "SAAC Returns to Yesteryear with "A 1940's Radio Christmas Carol" – Friday, November 15, 2013"