Mtg&Talks

The Warren Astronomical Society meets on the first Monday of the month in the auditorium of the Cranbrook Institute of Science.

We simulcast meetings online using Zoom. Meetup charges even more money to set up hybrid meetings, so subscribe to our email list on warrenastro.org to get the Zoom links! Meetings are also livestreaming on our YouTube channel.

At the meetings, we spend the first hour or so of the meeting on club business and observing reports, then have two presentations, one short and one full-length.

Main Talk:
The Variable Universe and How Variable Stars Help Measure the Universe
By Dr. Dipankar Maitra
Most stars vary in their brightness. Some vary erratically, some systematically. Some vary by large amounts, some by small amounts. Some vary more in one color (wavelength) than in other colors. Studying how stars vary, i.e. measuring stellar variability, has led to major advances not just in understanding how stars work, but also has helped make breakthroughs in almost all areas of astronomy. There are far too many variable stars and far too few professional astronomers and professional observatories. Amateur astronomers (although Dr Maitra prefers the term Citizen Scientists/Astronomers) have played, and will continue to play, an immense role in studying variable stars. Especially with the recent advances in technology, brightness measurements made by amateur astronomers easily rival those made by professionals in certain areas. In his talk he will discuss various types of stellar variability and their suspected origins. he will give a few examples of how variability studies have helped us better understand the workings of nature.
About the Speaker
An astrophysicist by training and an amateur astronomer at heart, Professor Maitra works with students and collaborators around the world on understanding what happens near black holes and neutron stars. He is especially interested in understanding the coupling between accretion inflows and relativistic outflows near these objects. Lately he has been interested in optical polarization studies of the solar corona and other astronomical bodies as well. He is constantly searching for better ways to involve students and amateur astronomers in astronomical research, and to make physics and astronomy more welcoming and inclusive for everyone. He is an astronomer at Wheaton College (MA), and uses telescopes in Wheaton’s on-campus observatory and other ground-based remote telescopes around the globe, as well as space-based telescopes, for his teaching and research.
Short Talk:
The Five Best Things I have Seen Through a Telescope
By Diane Hall
Diane covers the seven best objects she has seen through a telescope, where to find them, and what to expect of them visually.
About the Speaker
Diane Hall, current President of the Warren Astronomical Society, started stargazing at the age of three. A certified lover of space shuttles and globular clusters, Diane enjoys traveling to remote places with observing partner Jonathan Kade in search of dark skies and interesting birds.
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If you would like to present either a short talk (10-15 minutes) or a full-length talk (45-60 minutes) at a future meeting, please email Jonathan Kade at firstvp@warrenastro.org.

The views expressed in presentations are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent, and should not be attributed to, the Warren Astronomical Society.