Houston Science Enthusiasts

ONLLINE: The Houston Astronomical Society presents member Bill Spizzirri in a talk titled "The Galileo Museum."

Description: "In 'The Galileo Museum,' Bill Spizzirri will discuss Galileo’s life along with his astronomy, astrophysics, science, and inventions. Bill will share his impressions through images and videos in PowerPoint, and through his always engaging manner!

"The Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy, houses one of the world's most important collections of scientific instruments, including the astronomer's original telescopes and the famous Santucci Armillary Sphere. The museum provides unique insight into the history of Renaissance science.

Bill Spizzirri is a retired mainframe computer software engineer from Chicago. He has been studying astronomy for 70 years and has belonged to several astronomy clubs over 47 years and served in various offices including president of an astronomy club in Chicago. Bill’s favorite astronomy activity is teaching astronomy to children and the public. He currently lives in Katy to be near his three grandchildren.

This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. To attend, you must register for the meeting. You can use the link below. You will receive an email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.

Register here.

You only need to register once!

Join us on Thursday, August 6th, at 7:00 pm CT. See you then!

Top image: Santucci Armillary Sphere at Museum Galileo. Photo via Wikipedia.

HYBRID: The James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University presents a Civic Scientist Lecture featuring U.K. Government Chief Science Advisor Angela McLean.

DESCRIPTION: "As science and technology continue to evolve, global partnerships are necessary to address the most complex research challenges and drive economic growth, technological innovation, and societal advancement. The Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program is honored to host U.K. Government Chief Science Advisor, Angela McLean, for an armchair discussion exploring the need for continued U.S.-U.K. collaboration, especially in key areas including climate resilience, synthetic biology, critical minerals, and science diplomacy."

Event page and registration: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/event/civic-scientist-lecture-series-advancing-us-uk-scientific-collaboration-angela-mclean

NOTE: RSVP'ing on this Meetup page DOES NOT mean you are registered for the event itself.

Campus parking: https://parking.rice.edu/parking-facilities-and-rates

To sign up for the Baker Institute newsletter, including upcoming events, go here: https://bakerinstitute.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a8b4052d865ef65a2030dbb9d&id=130c6f9ea3

HYBRID: The Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society will hold a meeting featuring a presentation by JSCAS member Leonard Ferguson on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a NASA observatory designed to settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics, which is scheduled for launch on August 30.

NASA story on Nancy Grace Roman, the pioneer of modern space-based astronomy who is the telescope's namesake: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/who-is-nancy-grace-roman/

The meeting at will be held at the University of Houston-Clear Lake STEM Building, Room 1203 starting at 7:30 p.m.. People should arrive between 7 and 7:15 p.m. Attendees should park in Parking Lots D3 or D4 no earlier than 7 p.m.

Please see the UHCL Map here -- Please park in lots D3 and D4. The STEM building is building #5 on the map. Come in from the east side and go left. When you come to the end of hallway, you should find the auditorium where the meeting will be.

The meeting can be accessed by going to the JSCAS YouTube Channel at the link: https://www.youtube.com/c/JSCAstronomicalSociety

Also, the JSCAS YouTube Channel link will be posted on the JSCAS web page: http://www.jscas.net

To submit questions for our presenters during the meeting, please either enter your questions as a YouTube comment (if you have an account that will allow doing so) or send your questions to: jscaslive@gmail.com

JSCAS is open to anyone who wants to learn about astronomy and membership is free. After joining, you’ll have access to our amazing Astronomy DVD Library with 100’s of choices to learn from (from Astronomy Magazine, NASA, The Great Courses, Discovery Channel, etc.).

Top image: Rendered model of the Roman Space Telescope, via Wikipedia.

"A city on Mars (amazon link) investigates whether the dream of new worlds won’t create nightmares, both for settlers and the people they leave behind. In the process, the authors answer every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve never considered:

"Can you make babies in space? Should corporations govern space settlements? What about space war? Are we headed for a housing crisis on the Moon’s Peaks of Eternal Light—and what happens if you’re left in the Craters of Eternal Darkness? Why do astronauts love taco sauce? Speaking of meals, what’s the legal status of space cannibalism?
With deep expertise and a winning sense of humor, the Weinersmiths investigate perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself—whether and how to become multiplanetary.

Get in, we’re going to Mars."

Everyone is welcome to participate in our IN PERSON conversation, whether you have explored the topic before or not.

You can:

• join the chat group on Signal
• read sample
• view past selections
• view pool of candidates
• add your ideas to the pool of candidates

At this meeting each person can nominate a publication to be voted on whether it is from the pool of candidates or not.

We'll be meeting at Cafe Express. There is ample parking in the nearby lot.

Come prepared to discuss and share ideas on the topic and have a good time.

Looking forward to seeing you there!