I am disappointed that our planetary science colleagues have not given us all more warning of the impending doom that will result from the extremely close approach of Asteroid 2012 DA14 on February 15, 2013.
With enough warning I could have sold my house and gone on an “End of The World”binge.
Photo album – Christmas party, Dec. 20, 2012
Here is a small photo album of the end of renovations in the fall of 2012, as well as the community making use of the newly renovated building.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Andrea Soddu will be joining the Physics and Astronomy faculty on January 1 2013.
I just received a report that BC back country ski resort Sol Mountain Lodge has received over 5 metres of snow since December 1.
Bing Crosby would have loved it, and I won’t complain if I have to scrape my car windshield tomorrow morning. [photo and report: Alf Skrastins, Calgary]
Clearly, some of these builders of interior residential architecture could have used some instruction in mechanics, as well as a better understanding of materials.
Some of the best science writing I have read recently was in the novel Red Plenty: Inside the Fiftie’s Soviet Dream by Francis Spufford. There is a passage on the behaviour of electrons in a vacuum tube that is vivid and beautiful (Part Two, Chapter 2), and a rather frightening description of lung cells mutating under the influence of carcinogens (Part Six, Chapter 1). The novel overall is a fascinating treatment of science and economics at the height of the Cold War in the USSR.
Here’s a Soviet joke from Spufford’s website:
Yuri Gagarin’s daughter answers the phone. ‘No, mummy and daddy are out,’ she says. ‘Daddy’s orbiting the earth, and he’ll be back tonight at 7 o’clock. But mummy’s gone shopping for groceries, so who knows when she’ll be home.’
Don’t forget that you can have NASA email you directly with announcements of favourable ISS flybys for your location. Sign up at http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
The weather still looks a bit hopeful for the viewing of the International Space Station this evening. Yesterday evening was a bit cloudier than anticipated, but the station was still visible.
Tonight it will be a bit lower: in the sky towards the south;
SpotTheStation! Time: Fri Dec 14 5:46 PM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 54 degrees, Appears: SSW, Disappears: ENE
The Faculty of Science and London Public Library joined forces once again, presenting another installment of Science Here and Now.
The speakers for this December 11 talk were Dr. Pauline Barmby (shown in photo) from Physics and Astronomy and Dr. Linda Howie from Anthropology.
Their presentation was titled, “The End of The World as We Know It?“, a look at world astronomical catastrophe myths, including the most recent myth which claims that the Mayan calendar indicates the certain end of the world on December 21, 2012.
You can find Lisa in our main office in PAB 138.