Paul Scowen sees stars, but definitely not from a bump on the head. The west Chandler resident is an associate professor in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, and astronomy is both his vocation and his hobby.
Scowen is on tap to open the first in a new series of regular open houses at the Tempe campus, which will include educational programs and open telescopes.
For the past decade or so, graduate students in astronomy have sponsored the series. Now the newly formed ASU Astronomy Club will add to the celestial mix with a free bi-monthly lecture series, beginning Friday, Jan. 27.
Scowen’s lecture, at 7 p.m., will be followed by the free open house from 8 to 10. Scowen will speak on the topic “Star and Planet Formation Near Massive Stars: What Nebulae Can Tell Us About the Origin of the Solar System.”
Said Scowen:
“For decades we have admired nebulae as interstellar signposts indicating where the most massive of stars had recently formed. However, such environments also represent an important part of the process of star and planet formation as the winds and radiation from those massive stars cause new stars to form nearby, but at the same time try to destroy them before they are done forming.
“This picture represents a snapshot of the early history of our Solar System as meteoritic evidence indicates our own Sun formed in such an environment. In this talk we will explore these environments with images from the Hubble Space Telescope and learn about how hard it is to make stars and planetary systems, and have them survive to tell the story.”
The forthcoming lectures, on general astronomy topics presented in a 30-45 minute colloquium format, will be aimed toward the public. Presenters will include club members, graduate students and sometimes faculty.
“This series will be an excellent opportunity for the public to learn about cosmology, galactic evolution and environments, the birth and death of stars, extrasolar and planetary systems, black holes, telescopes and astronomy in general,” said club member and astrophysics graduate student Mark Richardson.
“By having these in the evening, we will give families the opportunity to attend together, hear an exciting presentation by an enthusiastic astronomer, and then be able to go upstairs to look through telescopes, see meteorites, enjoy a tour at the planetarium, etc.
“This will also be a great opportunity for grad students and club members to get some experience giving public lectures, and interacting with the public.”
The lectures will take place in Bateman Physical Sciences Center F-174 on ASU’s Tempe campus, while the open house will be on the roof of Bateman H Wing.
Information: teresa.ashcraft@asu.edu
