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This week in science: 1/12 - 1/18
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The New Year is off to a bit of a late start as your Science Examiner slipped on some ice and broke his hip(!) while visiting his sainted, grey-haired Mom back in New England for Christmas. Not to worry, however. Everything is healing nicely, and I've added some new items (3 metal screws) to my already extensive collection of medical hardware (I don't need a doctor, I need a mechanic...)
Science-wise, this week starts off with a bang - specifically, a lecture about the big-bang and current thinking about the expansion of the universe, tonight (Monday) in the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences.
Other events this week include the always informative and entertaining Ask A Scientist get together, Tuesday evening at the Axis Cafe (subject: Bigfoot and his kin), science comedien Brian Malow at the Punch Line Comedy Club, also Tuesday evening, a lecture about sharks and their kin at the Oakland Zoo on Thursday evening, and a discussion of the search for habitable planets on Saturday at Berkeley.
Headlines first, followed by the details...
Monday, January 12th, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Benjamin Dean Lecture - Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe
Alex Filippenko - University of California, Berkeley
California Academy of Sciences, Morrison Planetarium
Tuesday, January 13th, 7:00 pm
Bigfoot and Other Wild Men of the Forest
Eugenie Scott - Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education
Ask A Scientist
Axis Cafe, 1201 8th Street (btw. 16th & Irwin) San Francisco
Tuesday, January 13th, 8:00 PM
Brian Malow - Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet
Punch Line Comedy Club
444 Battery Street
(415) 397-4337
Thursday, January 15, 6:30 PM
Sharks & Rays, Whales & Giant Squids: Swimming with the Creatures of the Monterey Bay
Sean R. Van Sommeran, Director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
Oakland Zoo, Marian Zimmer Auditorium
9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. (map)
Saturday, January 17, 11 a.m.-12 p.m
The Search for Habitable Planets and Life in the Universe
Geoff Marcy, UC Berkeley astronomer
100 Genetics & Plant Biology Bldg.
UC Berkeley (map)
Details (text from source)
Monday, January 12th, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Benjamin Dean Lecture - Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe
Alex Filippenko - University of California, Berkeley
California Academy of Sciences, Morrison Planetarium
Observations of very distant exploding stars (supernovae) show that
the expansion of the Universe is now speeding up, rather than slowing
down due to gravity as expected. Other, completely independent data
strongly support this amazing conclusion. Over the largest distances,
our Universe seems to be dominated by a repulsive "dark energy,"
stretching the very fabric of space itself faster and faster with
time. The physical nature of dark energy is often considered to be the
most important unsolved problem in physics; it probably provides clues
to a unified quantum theory of gravity.
Tickets are available at the door. Adults $10, Seniors $8, Members $5
Tuesday, January 13th, 7:00 pm
Bigfoot and Other Wild Men of the Forest
Eugenie Scott - Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education
Ask A Scientist
Axis Cafe, 1201 8th Street (btw. 16th & Irwin) San Francisco
Bummer. The recent claim by two Georgia men to have discovered the remains of a Bigfoot corpse turned out to be a hoax. Sure, you didn't fall for it, but somehow a couple of blockheads and a frozen gorilla costume did manage to capture public attention and create a minor media stir. After all, Bigfoot, Yeti, and hordes of other cryptoid missing links have been igniting human imagination for ages. Even the most skeptical of us must wonder if it's possible there really could be large, undiscovered primates on earth, still unknown to us humans. Can we be so sure we've found them all? And if some enticing evidence presented itself, how would we test it scientifically? Tonight physical anthropologist Eugenie Scott will help us answer the question of whether or not we might one day be able to welcome some long lost relatives to the family tree. This event is presented in collaboration with the Bay Area Skeptics.
Tuesday, January 13th, 8:00 PM
Brian Malow - Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet
Punch Line Comedy Club
444 Battery Street
(415) 397-4337
"It's as much about expanding the mind as it is tickling the funny bone." - The Washington Times
An evening of science-flavored stand-up from Brian Malow, Earth's Premier Science Comedian.
Music is not just for musicians. Art is not just for artists. And science is not just for scientists. Let Brian be your tour guide for this evening's humorous exploration of the expanding universe! Check out Brian's YouTube videos
For more information visit Brian's website or email him at: sciencecomedian@gmail.com
Thursday, January 15, 6:30 PM
Sharks & Rays, Whales & Giant Squids: Swimming with the Creatures of the Monterey Bay
Sean R. Van Sommeran, Director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
Oakland Zoo, Marian Zimmer Auditorium
9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. (map)
Discover these incredible inhabitants of the Monterey Bay as we explore their natural history, current research findings and future project developments. Learn how volunteers through Earthwatch Institute can help to assist in this vital research and what is being done in conservation and education to help these bay area animals.
Cost: Members $10-$20, Non Members $12-$20, Oakland Zoo Staff and High School Students $5. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
Saturday, January 17, 11 a.m.-12 p.m
The Search for Habitable Planets and Life in the Universe
Geoff Marcy, UC Berkeley astronomer
100 Genetics & Plant Biology Bldg.
UC Berkeley (map)
Now precisely 400 years after Galileo turned his first telescope heavenward, where do we humans fit in the cosmos? Science fiction depicts our Milky Way Galaxy as teeming with habitable planets populated by advanced civilizations that engage in interstellar travel and exploration. Back in our real universe, Earth-like planets and alien life have proved elusive. Where are they? Has science fiction led us astray? In 2009, astronomers will launch the first searches for Earth-like worlds around other stars, using extraordinary new telescopes for the task. These legacies to Galileo's little scope will catapult humanity into a wild race to discover inhabited worlds and extraterrestrial life.
Contact: 510-643-2329
Have an event you want lited here? Send email to: science.examiner@gmail.com
