Astro 101: Gravity, Rockets, Rogues and Aliens

This event is one of several different introductions to astronomy offered by SJAA. This presentation, Astro Tidbits 1, focuses on gravity, rockets, rogues and aliens. We'll discuss how gravity works and its role in the formation of solar systems. Further, we'll look at the chemical building blocks of life and escape the Earth's gravity to search for these building blocks in outer space. At the end, you can decide when you might meet an extra-terrestrial for the first time.

Using the planetarium software Stellarium, we'll take the first 15 minutes to show a preview of the night sky as you'll see it during the subsequent star party. The talk will start at 7:15.

The talk will be presented by Wolf Witt. Wolf is not an actual astronomer, nor has he ever played one on TV. However, he's been interested in outer space since he was a kid and still thinks that the universe is an amazing place. He's been with SJAA since 2013, and now he'll share with you his enthusiasm and some of what he's learned about the cosmos. Maybe you'll think it's amazing, too.

This talk is free of charge. Just come and enjoy the show. After the talk, you can check out telescopes that will be set up as part of our In-Town Star Party. (See In Town Star Party event on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/sj-astronomy/events/304995664/)

Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/

During this event, we will ask all visitors to sign in, so that we can report attendance numbers to the city of San Jose, as San Jose has made Houge Park facilities available to SJAA to serve the public. The sign-in form will ask for first name, home location (city and ZIP code) and approximate age.