Special Presentation: Mars Rovers

The Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association is having a special event on Tuesday, February 19th. A special guest speaker will give a program on the Mars Rovers, and meteorites on the planet Mars.

Special Presentation at the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Meijer Theater, starting at 7.30pm. Our special guest - coming in for this presentation - is James Ashley, NASA Fellow and Executive Director of Minor Planet Research, Inc. He will be speaking on “The On-going Search for Meteorites on Mars (their numbers, their significance, and their future…)”

About the Topic:

Meteorites do not just occur on Earth, but also on other bodies in the solar system. Discoveries of meteorites and meteoroid impact on the Martian surface have been made by the Mars Exploration Rovers and Thermal Imaging System (THEMIS) camera aboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Mr. Ashley will be explain the process of meteorite hunting on another world, the phenomenon of Near-Mars Objects (NMOs), what we have found, and why we care.

About the Speaker:

James Ashley is a NASA-sponsored doctoral candidate at Arizona State University’s School for Earth and Space Exploration, where he is working as a Payload Downlink Lead on the Mars Exploration Rover science team. He is also using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) instrument on both rovers to address questions relating to meteorite weathering on the martian surface. James co-founded Minor Planet Research, Inc., in 2000 to assist in addressing the impact hazard, and developed the Asteroid Discovery Station to foster interest in science and discovery among the world community of young explorers. He has given more than 1,000 public presentations on astronomical and geological topics, and served as science consultant for the History Channel program ~ Comets: Prophets of Doom.

The program begins at 8.00pm. This meeting is open to the public. All are encouraged to attend.

The Universe (Supernovas)

The next episode of the amazing series The Universe continues tonight. The new episode is called “Supernovas.” Here’s a preview…

A stellar explosion, the supernova is the sensational death of a star. It can shine as bright as 100 billion Suns and radiate as much energy as the Sun would emit over 10 billion years. Jets of high-energy light and matter are propelled into space and can cause massive Gamma Ray Bursts and emit intense X-ray radiation for thousands of years. Astronomers believe that this process creates the very building blocks of planets, people and plants. Meet the world’s leading Supernova hunters, and take a look at recorded supernovas throughout history.

There are various types of supernova, and we are so lucky that a star the size of our sun can’t do this.

As usual, check local listings.