Thursday 11 December 2014 at 12:00 am - MONTHLY MEETING - Young Stellar Objects - What's Up in the Night Sky
Posted by: Arnold Brody Category: Monthly Meetings Contact: publicrelations@drastonomy.com
When: Thursday 11 December 2014 at 12:00 am Ends: Thursday 11 December 2014 at 02:00 am
Location: Whitby Library - Central Branch Meeting Room 1 A/B 405 Dundas Street West Whitby, Ontario
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December 2014 Monthly Meeting Agenda
Stars that go bump in the night -- Stellar outbursts & fades during the time of planet formation Presented by Dr. Kevin Covey , Lowell Observatory
Star and planet formation is highly dynamic: the appearance & brightness of the youngest stars can change dramatically in as little as a week. Even by the standards of typically unruly young stars, some protostars exhibit remarkable changes, increasing or decreasing in brightness by factors of 1000 or more. These brightness changes are thought to be caused by sudden changes in the star's growth rate, or in the structure of the planet forming material in orbit around the star.
In his talk, Dr. Covey will provide an overview of the general properties of these bursters and faders, and then describe an ongoing observational program carried out in collaboration with a team of dedicated and skilled 'part-time' astronomers, who own and operate their own backyard observatories. Combining near-infrared polarization measurements obtained at Lowell Observatory with optical photometry obtained by several members of the team, the collaboration will help test if the brightening and fading events seen from these variable young stars are due predominantly to changes in the stellar accretion rate, or perhaps due to occultations by circumstellar dust.
Dr Kevin Covey will deliver (via remote connection) an overview of his research on Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), which is supported by observations from amateurs -- such as our association's president Michael Cook -- through the Lowell Amateur Research Initiative.
What's Up in the Night Sky Presented by Jeff Dutton, Director of the Members' Observing Committee
Jeff offers a tour on objects suitable for observing in December.
The Whitby Central Library is on the south side of Dundas St at Henry St.
Public Outreach Whitby Library's How-To-In-10 Festival
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