• "Saturn: The Lord of the Rings"
  Jeffrey Miller, St. Lawrence University

  The equinox occurred on Saturn during late summer 2009. Observations from the Earth showed that the rings of Saturn seemed to disappear! This evening’s talk will reveal some of the mysteries of The Lord of the Rings. Observing of Saturn and other celestial wonders will follow (weather permitting).

  Monday, March 8, 7:00 pm. North Country Community College, Muhulland Hall, Room C17, Saranac Lake, NY (map)

• "Calendars, Sunspots and Planning for 2013"
  Aileen O'Donoghue, St. Lawrence University

  In recent years, Hollywood and doomsday enthusiasts alike have posed the question, “Will the world end on December 21, 2012, as the Mayan calendar predicts?” According to some theorists, the winter solstice will line up with the line to the center of the galaxy, causing solar storms that will threaten our civilization, reversing the Earth’s magnetic field and aligning the planets as the solar system plunges into the center of the galaxy.

  This talk, led by St. Lawrence University Professor of Physics Aileen O’Donoghue will investigate what astronomers really expect of 2012 in an attempt to convince you not to cash out your 401k for one last fling before it all ends.

  Wednesday, March 10, 7:30 pm. Jack and Wezzie's Coffee House, 2 Market St., Potsdam, NY (map). A talk in the Science Café series.

• "The Spring Equinox: Facts and Myths"
  Jeffrey Miller, St. Lawrence University

  The days are getting longer, and the temperature is getting warmer. What causes this to happen every year? And have you heard that you can only stand an egg on end during the equinox? Come celebrate the arrival of spring as we explore some of the facts and myths surrounding the spring equinox.

  Sunday, March 21, 7:00 pm. Potsdam Civic Center, Community Room, 2 Park. St., Potsdam, NY (map)

Spring 2010 Lecture Series at the Wild Center

The following lectures are on Fridays in May, and begin at 7:00 pm in the Flammer Theatre at the Wild Center, Tupper Lake NY, followed by astronomical viewing using telescopes and binoculars (weather permitting). A poster listing these events is available here (Adobe Reader required)

• May 7: "What the Weather Wuz When We Wuz We’uns"
  Gib Brown, WPTZ Meteorologist

  Thoughts of the “good ole days” are usually filled with warm memories and incredible amounts of snow. Blizzards seemed to occur almost weekly and the cold, well, it has never been colder than in our recollections from our childhood. Are these perceptions accurate? Were the winters more severe in the past? Join Meteorologist Gib Brown as he takes you for a walk down weather’s memory lane.

• May 14: "Freeze Frame: How do they get those wonderful pictures?"
  Marc Staves, Adirondack Public Observatory

  Colorful images of planets, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters and other celestial objects can be found everywhere. Did you know that many of the objects in those photographs are not even visible to the naked eye? Some of them are difficult to see even with a telescope. An experienced amateur astronomer, Marc will show you how he transforms those faint celestial objects through the art of astrophotography.

• May 21: "Mars: What Have We Learned About the Red Planet?"
  Jeffrey Miller, St. Lawrence University

  We have long been fascinated by Mars: its reddish hue, its brightness in the night sky, the strange way it appears to move amongst the background stars. Was there water on Mars in the distant past? And did any form of life exist there? We'll discuss the history of our love affair with the Red Planet, and discuss some of the more recent discoveries made by robotic explorers.

• May 28: "Venus Unveiled"
  Aileen O'Donoghue, St. Lawrence University

  Venus… our sister planet. About the same size as Earth, can it really be called Earth's twin? Could there be life? We've all seen the science fiction movies and stories about Venus and for a long time, people could only imagine what was beneath the clouds that completely hide this mysterious planet from our view. We'll take a closer look at our neighbor and separate fact from fiction. Discover a world that in some ways is similar to our Earth but unique among the planets in our Solar System.

Take a trip down memory lane by viewing a list of our previous talks