I'm giving a talk for the Smithsonian

I wanted to let you know that I'll be giving a talk about black holes for the Smithsonian Associates this coming January. Details and how to get tickets can be found here: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/black-holes-new-look.

Black Holes: A New Look
Monday, January 13, 2020 - 6:45 p.m.

S. Dillon Ripley Center
1100 Jefferson Dr SW
Metro: Smithsonian (Mall exit)

Astronomers and computer scientists recently made history by accomplishing what was previously thought to be impossible: They captured an image of a black hole’s silhouette. Carrie Fitzgerald, professor of astronomy and director of the Montgomery College Astronomical Observatory, explains the nature of black holes by delving into the major ideas of relativity and the fundamentals of gravity.

From spacetime to time dilation, travel through a cosmic journey to the center of a black hole. Learn how scientists test the predictions of general relativity and about the latest research into gravitational waves. Fitzgerald also explores the threshold between science and science fiction with a brief look at hyperspace, wormholes, and warpdrive.

Thank you for a stellar Fall 2019 semester!

Thanks to everyone for visiting the observatory this semester. Although the summer had us in a pattern of rainy Fridays, fall gave us clear skies for every night that we had an event!

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and all the great questions. Please know that it truly is a privilege and a joy for me to be able to share the observatory and my love of astronomy with you.

We're shutting down for the winter season, but new events will be scheduled once the Spring 2020 semester begins. I will post the dates right here as soon as I have them.

As always, thank you for your interest in our observatory. I hope to see you next semester.

Observing log for Friday 1-Nov-2019 (and Nov/Dec star map)

We had another clear (and chilly!) night at the observatory. The observing log hasn't changed significantly since the beginning of the semester. What we looked at is listed below.

If you want to explore the sky on your own, here is a link to the November/December star map.

Through the 14-inch scope

• Waxing crescent Moon
• Saturn (and four of its 82 formally named satellites- Titan, Rhea, Dione, and Tethys.)
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy): M31 is a neighboring galaxy located about 2.5 million light-years from us. It's a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, but it's larger. M31 is about 220,000 light-years across compared to the Milky Way's 100,000 light-year diameter.
• NGC 6826 (the "blinking planetary"): NGC 6826 is planetary nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus. It's called the blinking planetary because when you have it centered in the eyepiece, it appears to blink "on" when you look away from it and "off" when you look directly at it. The effect happens because our peripheral vision is more sensitive than our forward vision.

Through the 8-inch scope

• Waxing crescent Moon (Thanks, Viga, for helping folks get such great images of the Moon!)
• Jupiter (and the four Galilean satellites- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.)
• Albireo: Albireo is a double star system in the constellation of Cygnus. The two stars (one blue, one gold) can't be resolved with the naked eye, but through our telescopes we are able to see the pair. The system is about 430 light-years distant.
• M13 (the Hercules cluster): M13 is a globular cluster in the constellation of Hercules. It is about 22,000 light-years from Earth.

Sincere thanks to Iadviga. The events would not be possible without her skillful collaboration.

And as always, thank you to everyone who attended!