Twentieth Annual Great Lecture in
Astronomy - A New Job for Telescopes: Making Solar Electricity
Dr. Roger P. Angel
1 February 2012
Dr. Roger P. Angel, Director of the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, and Regents Professor of Astronomy and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, will deliver the public lecture "A New Job for Telescopes: Making Solar Electricity," Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1:00 PM in ACES Avaya Auditorium on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Dr. Angel has developed concepts and technology for some of the most powerful astronomical telescopes, including the Large Binocular Telescope and the planned Giant Magellan Telescope. Today he is working on a novel telescope that harvests solar energy by focusing sunlight onto small but powerful photovoltaic cells. The Twentieth Annual Great Lecture in Astronomy is sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory and Department of Astronomy Board of Visitors.
Lecture
A New Job for Telescopes: Making Solar Energy
Karl Gebhardt Honored by The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas
Professor Karl Gebhardt
McDonald Observatory Press Release
12 January 2012
Austin, TX --In recognition of his discoveries regarding the formation of black holes and galaxies, astronomer Karl Gebhardt will receive the 2012 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST). The O'Donnell Award honors outstanding young Texas researchers in medicine, engineering, science and technology innovation. Gebhardt is the Herman and Joan Suit Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin. Most of his career has focused on understanding the role that black holes play in the formation of a galaxy. He has measured more black hole masses than anyone in the world and is actively targeting many more galaxies. more..
Additional
The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST)
Steward Mirror Lab Begins Spincasting Second Giant Magellan Telescope Mirror Saturday, January 14
University of Arizona
McDonald Observatory Press Release
9 January 2012
Tuscon, AZ --On Jan. 14, the second 8.4-meter (27.6 ft) diameter mirror for the Giant Magellan Telescope, or GMT, will be cast inside a rotating furnace at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory Mirror Lab underneath the campus football stadium. The mirror lab will host a special event to highlight this milestone in the creation of the optics for the Giant Magellan Telescope. The GMT features an innovative design utilizing seven mirrors, each 8.4 meters in diameter, arranged as segments of a single mirror 24.5 meters (80 feet) in diameter, to bring starlight to a common focus via a set of adaptive secondary mirrors configured in a similar seven-fold pattern. more..
Website
UT Astronomers Challenge Major Mergers as the Dominant Driver of Galaxy Evolution with Hubble Study
The Mice [STScI]
McDonald Observatory Press Release
11 January 2012
A Hubble Space Telescope study of massive galaxies two to three billion years after the Big Bang has uncovered two remarkable results that challenge the common lore that major mergers play a dominant role in growing galaxies over a wide range of cosmic epochs. Astronomers led by University of Texas at Austin graduate student Tim Weinzirl and associate professor Shardha Jogee will present their findings, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal, today at the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin. more..
More News
Weekly Calendar
Colloquium
Caltech
Fueling Cosmic Star Formation: The Molecular Gas Mass Density of the Universe
Tues., Feb. 14
3:30 PM
RLM 15.216B
Public Visitors
to McDonald Observatory
Follow more events from mcdonaldobservatory.org here:
RLM Hall 16" Telescope
Painter Hall 9" Telescope
Freshman Research Initiative
Exploring the Universe with White Dwarf Stars
2nd Giant Mirror Successfully Cast on January 14
Hobby-Eberly Telescope
Dark Energy Experiment
