Here’s what you get when Google engineers put their heads together with astronomers from large observatories: With Google Sky, “you can search for planets, listen to Earth & Sky podcasts, watch some beautiful Hubble telescope images, or explore historical maps of the sky from the comfort of your browser.” The product was rolled out just last week, and you can get more info on the new release from Google’s official blog.
The new Sky product sits comfortably alongside Google Moon and Google Mars, which have been around since 2005-2006. Created in conjunction with scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center, Google Moon offers a collection of lunar maps and charts and delves into the Apollo missions. The Mars product, meanwhile, offers some of the most detailed existing maps of the red planet.
For more good science, see our Science Podcast Collection here.
Dear Google, Sky, Moon and Mars Bloggers
UCLA Extension presents one-day programs on Physics and Astronomy in April and May led by prominent scientists and reserchers – Ferdinand Coroniti, Professor/Chair, Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA; and Kevin Grazier, PhD, Investigation Scientist, Cassini Mission toSaturn and Titan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech.
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What’s New in Physics 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
9 am to 5 pm
Fee: $65
UCLA Campus
1425 Physics & Astronomy Bldg.
405 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Join four prominent scientists as they explore questions and
issues at the fascinating frontiers of research in modern
physics, including:
-What will the universe look like 150 billion years from now?
-How did we learn about the composition of the universe?
-How does the inner ear detect minute mechanical signals?
-What is the first step in the processing of auditory
information?
-Why is Antarctica a special place to perform physics and
astronomy research?
-How do accelerated electrons see what has not been seen before?
-Can one recreate the Big Bang in a laboratory?
From dark matter to the study of high-energy cosmic particles
to research at the interface of physics and neurophysiology,
research teams in the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy are at the forefront of our exploration of the fundamental nature of our universe.
Program Coordinator:
Ferdinand Coroniti, Professor/Chair, Department of Physics and
Astronomy, UCLA
Program and Speakers
-The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy
with Alexander Kusenko, PhD, Professor, Department of Physics
and Astronomy, UCLA;
-Working in Antarctica: An Astrophysicist’s Journey with David
Saltzberg, PhD, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy,
UCLA;
-Biophysics of Hearing with Dolores Bozovic, PhD, Assistant
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA;
-Accelerator Physics: New Light Sources and Medical Imaging
Techniques with James Rosenzweig, PhD, Professor, Department of
Physics and Astronomy, UCLA.
UCLA Astronomy Homepage Images
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/graphics/site/rotation/index.shtml
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New
Extremophiles to Exoplanets: Life in the Universe
Saturday, May 17, 2008
9 am to 5 pm
Fee: $65
UCLA Campus
147 Dodd Hall
405 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Join four prominent scientists working at the cutting edge of their respective fields as they examine the search for life within the solar system and throughout the galaxy.
Consider these questions:
-Could there be life underneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s
moon, Europa? Perhaps under the surface of Saturn’s moon,
Titan?
-How is our study of extremophile life forms on Earth affecting
our search for life “out there”?
-What life forms exist under extreme environments on Earth and
how do they survive?
-What fascinating possible abodes for life are being discovered
by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope?
-How does the near-daily discovery of extra-solar planets
influence our views of the likelihood of extra-solar life?
Program Coordinator
Kevin Grazier, PhD, Investigation Scientist, Cassini Mission to
Saturn and Titan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech.
In addition to his JPL duties, Dr. Grazier teaches several
university astronomy courses, and has served as a science
advisor for the Sci-Fi Channel, CNN, and PBS.
Michelle Thaller, PhD, Research Scientist, Spitzer Space
Telescope, Caltech. Dr. Thaller not only performs research
based upon Spitzer observations, she also is a highly sought-
after astronomical outreach speaker;
Kenneth Nealson, PhD, Wrigley Professor of Geobiology at USC.
An expert on extremophile life forms, Dr. Nealson studies
organisms that live in extreme environments and develops
techniques both for in situ life detection and analysis of
samples returned from Mars in future missions;
William I. Newman, PhD, Professor in Physics and Astronomy,
Earth, and Space Sciences, and Mathematics at UCLA. Dr. Newman
is an expert in planetary dynamics, teaches astrobiology, and
has written professional publications with the late Carl Sagan
on the plausibility of extraterrestrial life.
Extremophiles
an organism adampted to living in conditions of extreme temperature, pressure or chemical concentration, as in highly
acidic or salty environments. Many extremophiles are unicellular organisms knows as archea.
Exoplanets
an extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet beyond the Solar System. As of December 2007, 270 exoplanets have been
detected. The vast majority were detected through various indirect methods rather than actual imaging. Most of them are massive giant planets likely to resemble Jupiter.
Visit http://www.uclaextension.edu or call 310-825-7093.
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