CSUN, VALLEY COLLEGE INVITE ASTRONOMY BUFFS TO SEE STARS.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer VALLEY GLEN - Filling a vacuum caused by the closure of Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the , amateur astronomers can now attend - starting Saturday - planetarium planetarium, optical device used to project a representation of the heavens onto a domed ceiling; the term also designates the building that houses such a device. A modern planetarium consists of as many as 150 motor-driven projectors mounted on an axis. shows, science lectures and a star party at Valley College and California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . The programs are open to the public and fill a gap left when Griffith Observatory closed in January for a two-year, $82 million renovation project. David Falk David B. Falk (born 1950)[1][2] is an American sports agent who primarily works with NBA players. He is best known for representing sports icon Michael Jordan for the entirety of Jordan's career. , planetarium director at Valley College, said the celestial activities offer community residents a fun and interactive way to learn about astronomy. Falk said that for many of his astronomy students, the rings of Saturn The rings of Saturn are a system of planetary rings around the planet Saturn. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from microns to meters, each on its own individual orbit about Saturn. and the moons of Jupiter Jupiter has sixty-three known natural satellites. Discovery of the moons Although claims are made for the observation of one of Jupiter's moons by Chinese astronomer Gan De in 364 BC, the first certain observations of Jupiter's satellites are those of Galileo exist only on the pages of books - until the images pop into the lens of a telescope. ``I can't tell you the number of people who come up here and say, 'Oh, my gosh, Saturn really does have rings!''' Falk said. ``I'd like them to make a connection with the sky. Astronomy is not just something you read about in a book. It's above you and yet it's not beyond you.'' You don't have to be a Valley College student to enjoy a planetarium show, hear Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. scientists lecture on the latest discoveries or attend a ``star party'' and gaze at the stars. All three of these programs are offered monthly. This Saturday, the college will host a star party. Future events include a planetarium tour of the night sky and an earth science lecture. CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge also offers shows in its Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium on the first and third Saturday of every month. The university will kick off its program series this Saturday with a planetarium show and lecture on planet formation by Jean-Luc Margot Jean-Luc Margot is an astronomer and an Assistant Professor at Cornell University. He is originally from Belgium. He specializes in planetary sciences. He was awarded the H. C. Urey Prize by the American Astronomical Society in 2004. The asteroid 9531 Jean-Luc is named after him. , a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology, at Pasadena, Calif.; originally for men, became coeducational in 1970; founded 1891 as Throop Polytechnic Institute; called Throop College of Technology, 1913–20. . Although Valley College offers no major or concentration in astronomy, Falk strives to make sure students' exposure to the discipline - the only science course many will take - is a memorable one. Using portable telescopes and tripods, astronomy students have gone into the field and photographed spectacular blood-red moons and ``star trails'' created by 10-hour exposures that reflect the earth's rotation The Earth's rotation is the rotation of the solid earth around its own axis, which is called Earth's axis or rotation axis. The earth rotates towards the east, which can be observed by orientation with a magnetic compass at sunrise. relative to the stars. Falk's goal is to make students see that science can be fun and interesting. His sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour is evident in everything from the glow-in-the-dark rock collection in fluorescent colors, thanks to natural minerals in the rocks, to the placement of three toy gorillas around a polished, rectangular piece of meteor, in homage to the film ``2001.'' But the students also learn critical thinking skills and about the scientific method, which Falk hopes will help them to better understand the world around them. His approach seems to be working. Students say Falk has given them a greater appreciation and understanding of the night sky. ``Now when I look up at the sky, it looks completely different to me,'' said Rosa Lopez, 20, of North Hollywood. ``I think I understand it better.'' ``It's always a mental exercise in here,'' said Rachel Smick, 30, of North Hollywood. ``Some of the things I think I could never understand, I'm starting to follow.'' IF YOU GO: Valley College's Planetarium will host a ``star party'' beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, starting at the planetarium located just east of the intersection of Fulton Avenue and Burbank Boulevard on the campus. ``The Fall Sky,'' a planetarium tour of the fall evening sky will begin at 8 p.m. Nov. 8 and an earth science lecture will be offered at 7 p.m. Nov. 17. Tickets for the planetarium show are $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for seniors, Astronomy Group members and Valley College students with ID, and $2 for children ages 8 to 16. For more information, including details on the star party, call 818-947-2335. California State University, Northridge, will offer a planetarium show at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium in Science Building 2 on campus. Jean-Luc Margot, a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology, will talk about the latest technology scientists are using to understand what planets are made of and how they're formed. Tickets to the show are $5 for adults and $3 for students. The shows are recommended for children ages 8 and older. Tickets are available at the door. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: David Falk teaches astronomy at Valley College. For many of his students, it's the only science class they will take. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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