Template:Events North America 2008
From SEDSWiki
Listing of all world events in 2008
2007 --- Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec --- 2009
January 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
17 to 18 January. University of Mississippi: The Second International Conference on the State of Remote Sensing LawInfo:
Info: At the end of World War II, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was at the crossroads. Should this outgrowth of Caltech continue to build rockets for U.S. Army in peace time? The answer came with the coming of the Cold War. Yet by 1956, JPL was already seeking a new role and had set its ambitions on teaming with the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville to launch the first satellite into space. Denied that opportunity in 1956 by the Eisenhower administration, JPL and the Von Braun rocket teams could only watch in frustration as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite, in October 1957. Following Sputnik and with the explosion of the U.S. Vanguard rocket just weeks later, the White House, in desperation, turned to the JPL and Huntsville team, which then successfully launched Explorer 1 into orbit less than 90 days after being given the go-ahead. JPL and the Beginnings of the Space Age charts the transformation of JPL from a provider of ballistic missiles to the moment it set out on the path to become the world's preeminent explorer of the solar system and beyond.
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Info: Discussion of a Space Business Accelerator
Info: Led by JPL Historian Dr. Erik Conway, this educator conference will feature a series of speakers describing the political, technical, educational and social context of the time. An Explorer 1 documentary produced for the anniversary by JPL Executive Council member and Emmy Award winning producer Blaine Baggett will be screened.
Info: The conference is organized by the AAS Space Flight Mechanics Committee and the AIAA Astrodynamics Technical Committee. SEDS Forums thread: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2591
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
February 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
1-6 February. American Astronautical Society: 31st AAS Guidance and Control ConferenceInfo: SEDS Forums thread: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2591.
Info: SEDS Forums thread: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2608.
Info: Discussion will include a potential trip to see the shuttle launch, ISDC trip and anything else that people wish to discuss.
Info: Welcoming remarks by NASA Associate Administrator Chris Scolese
Info: SEDS Forums thread: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2888.
Info: Enjoy free pizza and talk about the space industry.
Info: There is a thread on SPACE 2008 open at SEDS Forums; see: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?p=6022.
Info: Where in the world will our energy come from? What would it take for the world to get away from fossil fuels and switch over to renewable energy? It takes more than willingness to buy a Prius or to install solar panels on your roof. If we want to use wind, solar thermal, solar electric, biomass, hydroelectric and geothermal energy it will take a lot of planning, and willingness on the part of governments and industry. It takes R&D investment, a favorable price per unit of energy to get anyone to produce alternative energy, and plenty of resources to create those energy sources.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
March 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
4 March. Dayton-Cincinnati Section, AIAA: 33rd Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences SymposiumInfo: Keynote speech by Mr. Stephen Simons of NASA Glenn on the 50th anniversary of NASA and a discussion of future Orion Moon and Mars missions. Abstracts due: 18 January 2008. Also features the annual Art-in-Science competition.
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Info: The networking reception is free, even if you do not attend the Goddard Memorial Symposium. For more information see SEDS Forums, http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2528, or the announcement on Facebook Events, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=7709899810.
Info: Featuring a presentation by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. For more information see SEDS Forums, http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2528, or the announcement on Facebook Events, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=9512660979.
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Info: Space Lobbying Effort - Stand up and speak for your passion. For more information, see the announcement on Facebook Events, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22682146744.
Info: Including special sessions on MESSENGER at Mercury; Lunar Science: Past, Present, and Future on the Moon; and results from the Kaguya (SELENE) Mission to the Moon. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Only two moons in our solar system are thought to have liquid water, and evidence collected by the Cassini spacecraft during multiple flybys suggests that Saturn's moon, Enceladus, could have liquid water reservoirs that erupt in Yellowstone-like geysers. Cassini has collected data, including high-resolution images of Enceladus' warm, south polar region, which reveal icy jets and towering plumes of particles and vapor ejected at high speed. Warm, low-density material rising to the surface could have literally caused Enceladus to roll over, putting the mass of warm material at the south pole. Tidal forces that squeeze and stretch the moon are a likely source of internal heat, but imaging and compositional data from the closest flyby yet of this intriguing satellite, earlier this month, may provide even more clues. We explore the mysteries of the fascinating world of Enceladus and investigate its place in the Saturn system.
Info: Anousheh Ansari is the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program. Ansari is the fourth overall self-funded space tourist, and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: annual national conference of Space Access Society
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
April 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
7 April 2008 to 10 April 2008. Space Foundation: 24th National Space SymposiumInfo: The National Space Symposium is the premier U.S. space policy and program forum, a must attend opportunity for information and interaction on all sectors of space -- civil, commercial, and national security. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Join us as we commemorate the invention of the telescope. See amazing home-built telescopes, talk to experts about how telescopes are made, and learn how to select and use one of your own. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Lecturer: Dr. Edward C. Stone, Professor of Physics, California Institute of Technology (and former Director, of NASA/JPL); Voyager Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The meeting will combine plenary events with focused topical sessions that broadly relate to the major scientific themes: The Astrophysical and Planetary Context for Life; The Origin and Evolution of Life; The Search for Life in our Solar System and Beyond (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Join Dartmouth professor Mary K. Hudson as she discusses how a particularly violent class of solar storms became identified as the major mechanism producing disruptions in space weather in the Earth's vicinity. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Planetary scientist Jeff Taylor shares the latest scientific insight into the Moon and its unexplored mysteries, and describes why both scientists and explorers want to return to Earth's neighbor. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: On Saturday, April 19, the Visitor Center at NASA's Glenn Research Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accommodate three presentations, which will discuss the status of NASA's Constellation Program and Glenn's role in preparing to count down to the launch of the Ares I rocket and returning humans to the moon. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: See the stars as you never have before. Find out how Western and Native American astronomers experience the night sky. This program is produced in partnership with the National Museum of the American Indian (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The Solstice Project's investigations at Chaco Canyon since 1977 changed forever our picture of the ancient people who built that amazing complex--and why they did it. New light on the solstice markers, lunar and solar alignments, and insights into the enigmatic Chaco roads system are revealed in the nine important and richly illustrated papers in Chaco Astronomy: An Ancient American Cosmology. Anna Sofaer, who encountered the now-famous "Sun Dagger" site in 1977, has pursued Chaco's cosmological enigmas for the past 30 years with remarkable determination, intelligence and insight. The Solstice Project she created has drawn an impressive gathering of talented researchers in several key disciplines. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Book signing with Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: On Monday, April 21, Professor Stephen Hawking of the University of Cambridge will be the featured speaker at a lecture that is part of a series honoring NASA's 50th anniversary. The title of Hawking's lecture is "Why we should go into space." The event will be held at the George Washington University's Morton Auditorium at 3 p.m. EDT. Admission is by invitation only, but reporters are welcome to attend. NASA television will broadcast the event live on the Web at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: This workshop (initiated by the Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials, CAPTEM) will explore the science that can be extracted from the return of Mars samples to Earth and the requirements needed to ensure that the record preserved in the samples is undisturbed during sampling, return, and curation. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The Space Studies Board shall convene a committee to study the alignment of NASA's Heliophysics Science Division (the Division) with previous NRC advice - primarily the relevant NAS decadal survey, "The Sun to the Earth-and Beyond." More specifically, the committee shall address the following: How well NASA's current program addresses the strategies, goals, and priorities outlined in the heliophysics decadal survey and other relevant Academy reports; Progress toward realizing these strategies, goals and priorities; and Any actions that could be taken to optimize the science value of the program in the context of current and forecasted resources available to it. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Astronomer Jill Tarter, of the SETI Institute, will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on "The Allen Telescope Array: The Newest Pitchfork for Exploring the Cosmic Haystack." (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: NASA's Genesis sample-return mission collected solar-wind samples outside of Earth's magnetosphere and returned them to Earth for analysis. Isotopic and elemental relative abundances of the solar wind will provide a cornerstone data set for theories on how, starting some 4.6 billion years ago, the solar nebula transformed into the present solar system. Built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems and managed by JPL, Genesis was launched from Kennedy Space Center in August 2001. It was then placed into a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point, where for 886 days it passively collected solar-wind samples that buried themselves in specially created materials. After the collection period the spacecraft closed itself up and, in rather dramatic fashion, returned samples to Earth on September 8, 2004.
Info: Lecture by JPL Director Charles Elachi. Part of the Part of the Forging the Future of Space Science: The Next 50 Years Lectures Series. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The goals of this workshop are to: (1) Bring together the scientists and engineers interested in launching observatories on Ares V; (2) Try to determine which concepts are truly enabled by Ares V (that is, those that would not be feasible in the next 10-20 years through other means); (3) Examine which astronomical questions those telescopes would be uniquely capable of addressing; (4) Discuss the programmatic issues surrounding such observatories, including schedule, cost, etc. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Annual conference of Responsive Space (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The annual DDA Meeting brings together top researchers in astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science and astrodynamics for in-depth and stimulating discussions and talks on all aspects of dynamics in the space sciences. The DDA meeting features invited talks on a range of topics, contributed talks (with no parallel sessions), and posters that usually can be displayed throughout the entire meeting. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Robots in Space, by Roger D. Launius and Howard E. McCurdy, New series in NASA History: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The workshop will bring together researchers with interests in planetary dunes from diverse backgrounds in image analysis, modeling, and terrestrial analog studies. A small group setting will facilitate intensive discussion of problems and issues in an attempt to identify the most promising approaches to understanding these dune systems and to developing a collaborative interdisciplinary research agenda. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Robots in Space, by Roger D. Launius and Howard E. McCurdy, New series in NASA History: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel. (Add to Google Calendar)
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
May 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
1 to 3 May. University of Nebraska College of Law: Space and Telecom Law Conference 2008Info:
Info: At this free, all-day event, visitors can watch 700-pound robots glide under artificial stars in JPL's Robodome, get an up-close view of full-scale models of Mars rovers, and learn how spacecraft are prepared for their journeys in special clean rooms. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The Space Telescope Science Institute's 2008 May Symposium: A Decade of Dark Energy will focus on cutting-edge issues in the study of dark energy. The conference, which will be held May 5-8, will include: latest observational results; theoretical advances; strategies for optimizing future observations; plans for future dark-energy projects. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Astronomy magazine has chosen the Suits-Bueche Planetarium as a partner for the national celebration of Astronomy Day! There will be telescopes set up for solar viewing, Planetarium shows, give-aways from Astronomy magazine, and a chance to win a telescope from Meade Instruments Corporation. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The Clay Center will hold astronomy day events in collaboration with the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB). Many activities have been planned for families and children of all ages. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Space Day will feature demonstrations, giveaways, and hands-on activities with local and national space experts. Previous presenters include NASA, SDAA (San Diego Astronomy Association), DSN (the Deep Space Network), JPL, The Mars Society, Rockwell Collins, SETI, ,UCSD EarthKAM, The Planetary Society, and others. As an extra bonus, the museum's space galleries are open for viewing throughout the event, including flown Apollo spacecraft, moon rocks and space suits. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: NASA has scheduled a media briefing Tuesday, May 13, at 11 a.m. EDT, to discuss the challenges, risks and science opportunities of the scheduled May 25 landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Officials also will provide details on the Phoenix landing site. The briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington. It will be carried live on NASA Television and on the Web. (Add to Google Calendar)
, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Info: This year’s Inside Aerospace forum will bring together leaders from the United States and abroad for a candid discussion of all aspects of aerospace workforce development. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has partnered with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the Aerospace Department Chairs Association (ADCA) to sharpen our focus on the aerospace workforce from both industry and academic perspectives. Our theme of “working together” encompasses all segments of the profession, and also brings in international viewpoints as well as those of young professionals, educators, and the legislative arm of the government.
([http://www.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&text=Inside%20Aerospace&dates=20080513/20080514&location=Doubletree%20Hotel%20Crystal%20City
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%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EEvent%20web%20site%3A%20http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aiaa.org%2Fcontent.cfm%3Fpageid%2F230%26lumeetingid%2F1949&sprop=website:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aiaa.org%2Fcontent.cfm%3Fpageid%2F230%26lumeetingid%2F1949&sprop=name:American%20Institute%20of%20Aeronautics%20and%20Astronautics%20 Add to Google Calendar])
Info: Join NASA leadership, astronauts, scientists, and engineers along with local business, technology and academic leaders and local, state and federal officials to discuss the role of space exploration in advancing science, engineering, technology, education and the economy that benefits your community and the nation. The program will also feature an exciting preview of NASA's Constellation Program -- America's return to the Moon and beyond. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The Phoenix spacecraft's landing system hearkens back to the Mars landing system design used by the Viking landers of the 1970s - and closer still to its cousin, the lost Mars Polar Lander of late 1999. How does it work and why does it land so differently than the Mars rovers? Odder still, why does the landing system now planned for the big 2009 rover different from either the Phoenix lander or the rovers? What happened to the airbags? Have JPL's engineers gone off the deep end, or is there a method to their madness? Where is all this design diversity leading? Will humans land on Mars using these systems? JPL's Rob Manning will attempt to clear the Mars dust off this murky story.
Info: NASA's Glenn Research Center is opening the doors to its Lewis Field Campus in Cleveland, Ohio, for two full days. This is a unique opportunity for visitors of all ages to see what lies behind the gates of NASA Glenn. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: RASTE 2008 brings key members of the space community together providing opportunity to share, exchange and transition technology to be used in the next generation space launch vehicles. By establishing and fostering this open exchange of information between engineers, developers, planners, and managers in the community, RASTE promotes collaboration accelerating the development of the emerging commercial space launch industry. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The symposium is motivated by the quickly expanding research on extra-solar planets and the growth of interest in this topic among the astronomy community. Among the many discoveries related to this young field, the detection and study of transiting planets has now emerged as an extremely fruitful research area. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The eighth Luna Philosophie/NASA @ the Brickhouse will feature Patrick Hogan, Project Manager and Randy Kim, UI, Data and Graphics Lead for NASA World Wind, an open source 3D interactive world viewer. Together, they will be discussing Open Source at NASA: 3D Visualization with NASA World Wind. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: A day and a half workshop to assess the Nation’s current and future ability to manage space weather events and their societal and economic impacts. Approximately 25 invited speakers will address current utilization of space weather information as well as past and future effects of severe space weather on the private and public sectors. There will also be scheduled time for extensive discussion sessions, which will involve all participants. The workshop is free and open to the public. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Planetfest 2008 is a one-day live data event with special guests from the space community: Live Phoenix Entry-Descent-Landing, including expert commentary and audience Q and A; A reading from the works of Ray Bradbury, with an introduction by Ray Bradbury; Bill Nye the Science Guy; Updates from the Phoenix team; Commentary on the John F. Kennedy May 25, 1961 "Man on the Moon" speech; Discussion of the Phoenix mission, Phoenix landing site, and Mars' polar regions; Visions of Mars authors and artists discussing going to Mars; Readings from Visions of Mars (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The Joint Assembly is sponsored by other societies that wish to offer their members the chance to participate in programs that bring multidisciplinary attention to understanding the processes and structure of the Earth, planets, and space. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: As part of Space Investment Summit 4 (SIS-4), entrepreneurs and investors will meet on May 28, 2008 at the Capital Hilton Hotel to engage in a frank dialogue about the best investment opportunities in new space-related ventures. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: There is a thread on the ISDC open at SEDS Forums; see: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?p=6014.
Info: NASA's Glenn Research Center is opening the doors to its Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, for two full days. This is a unique opportunity for visitors of all ages to get a glimpse of what lies behind our gates. (Add to Google Calendar)
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
June 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
1 June 2008 to 5 June 2008. American Astronomical Society: 212th AAS MeetingInfo: This meeting features the first ever meeting-in-a-meeting (MIM) sessions, including the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, several MIMs, and other exciting science content. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: ICSSC allows the satellite engineering and business development communities to interact and discuss the key issues, policies, challenges and opportunities facing the satellite industry, under one unique venue for the global satellite industry. The abstract deadline is 29 November 2007. ICSSC is held jointly with the Hannover Fairs USA’s 7th Annual International Satellite & Communications exchange Conference and Expo (ISCe)
Info: The workshop goal is to develop a strategic technology roadmap for a major Canadian infrastructure contribution to the international space exploration effort building on Canada's international leadership role in the field of biological life support and greenhouse technology. Attendees will self-select into technology focussed break-out groups to develop R&D roadmaps in their particular areas of expertise. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: The solar corona accelerates into space to form the supersonic solar wind and push the interstellar medium out of the solar system to distances beyond 100 AU creating the Heliosphere. It also carries the Sun's dipole magnetic field into the Heliosphere filling it with magnetized plasma. The Heliospheric Magnetic Field (HMF) prevents the interstellar plasma and magnetic field from penetrating into the Heliosphere leading to a sharp boundary separating solar and interstellar plasmas. The magnetic dipole is tilted to the Sun's rotation axis and, as the Sun rotates, fast and slow winds interact introducing internal structure and dynamics. Helisopheric dynamics are further enhanced by the penetration of some interstellar constituents into the Heliosphere, namely, neutral gas, electrically- charged interstellar dust and Galactic Cosmic Rays. The structure and dynamics of the heliosphere are profoundly affected by the changes in the solar magnetic field that cause the solar cycle. These physical phenomena will be reviewed based on 17 years of 3D observations by Ulysses, the first spacecraft in a polar orbit that passes above the Sun's polar caps.
Info: Explore technological challenges and scientific opportunities associated with entry, descent, landing and flight in planetary atmospheres with fellow scientists, technologists, engineers, mission designers, and policy-makers interested in the exploration of solar system bodies with substantial atmospheres. Building on previous successes, the workshop will promote international cooperation in probe missions to solar system moons and planets with atmospheres and provide students—the next generation of planetary scientists—and spacecraft engineers, an opportunity to participate. (Add to Google Calendar)
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Info: The Space Studies Board (SSB) seminar series takes advantage of the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) to engage with the public and the scientific community about the advances that have been achieved over the past 50 years in space science, and the discoveries that await us in the next 50 years. In this context, “space science” incorporates space-based astrophysics, heliophysics, earth science, solar system exploration, and microgravity life and physical sciences. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: SEDS Forums thread: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2591.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
July 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
8 July 2008 to 11 July 2008. United Nations: UN-SPIDER Barbados WorkshopInfo: “United Nations Regional UN-SPIDER Workshop: Building Upon Regional Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management for the Caribbean”, organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Barbados and the OECS Sub-regional Office, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) and the Department of Emergency Management of the Government of Barbados. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Theme 1 is dedicated to the chemistry and choronology of the early solar system.
Info: SEDS Forums thread: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?p=6030.
Info: The Cassini/Huygens Project is nearing completion of its four-year prime mission in the Saturn system, and the results are nothing less than spectacular. This lecture will cover the highlights of some of the discoveries that have been made, will show and discuss some of the amazing images that have been returned, and will provide some insights into the behind-the-scenes experiences and interactions of the team members that have occurred in the course of making these results a reality.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
August 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
14 August 2008 to 17 August 2008. Mars Society: 11th Annual International Mars Society ConventionInfo: The International Mars Society convention presents a unique opportunity for those interested in Mars to come together and discuss the technology, science, social implications, philosophy and a multitude of other aspects of Mars exploration. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Following in the footsteps of the remarkable Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1 spacecrafts, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission has the responsibility of continuing one of the most important on-going chronicles of Earth's changing climate - the detailed measurements of global sea level. The spacecraft will use a JPL-built advanced microwave radiometer with state-of-the-art integrated circuit technologies along with a new, larger antenna design. These improvements have reduced its mass and power requirements and yet will provide better resolution, improved performance and reliability.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
September 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
9 to 11 September. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: SPACE 2008 Conference & ExpositionInfo: There is a thread on SPACE 2008 open at SEDS Forums; see: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?p=6021.
Info: A great earthquake is an inevitable part of California's future, and Californians are not ready for it. One of the most likely great earthquakes that could hit southern California is one on the southern San Andreas fault. That fault is so long that magnitude 7.8 earthquakes are common (the length of the fault determines the magnitude of the earthquake). The fault moves so fast that earthquakes happen on average every hundred years or less; the last was in 1857. This is the earthquake we all must be ready for. To help, the scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey, California Geological Survey and many other organizations are working together to create a scenario that will describe just what that earthquake and its consequences will be like.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
October 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
10 October 2008 to 15 October 2008. American Astronomical Society: 40th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical SocietyInfo: (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: "How old is that star?" That is one of the most difficult questions to answer in galactic astrophysics. We have ways of determining the ages of ensembles of stars (groups and clusters), but critical astrophysical questions can only be addressed if we can estimate the ages of individual stars in the field. (Add to Google Calendar)
Info: Building on the success of the two rover geologists that arrived at Mars in January, 2004, NASA's next rover mission will depart for the Red Planet in 2009. Twice as long and five times as heavy as the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Science Laboratory will collect Martian soil and rock samples and analyze them for organic compounds and minerals which demonstrate that Mars can or did support life. This sophisticated science laboratory will be delivered to the Martian surface using an innovative new landing system. The spacecraft will start by steering itself through the Martian atmosphere in a fashion similar to the way the Apollo entry capsule controlled its entry through Earth's upper atmosphere. This approach will allow the spacecraft to fly to a desired location above the surface of Mars before deploying its parachute for the final landing. Then, in the final minutes before touchdown, the spacecraft will activate its parachute and retro rockets before lowering the rover package to the surface on a tether.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
November 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
13 and 14 November. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: von Kármán Lectures: New Worlds: Exoplanet Discoveries from the Spitzer Space TelescopeInfo: New discoveries streaming back from the Spitzer Space Telescope continue to surprise and amaze everyone. No one could have predicted some of the amazing things we're finding, not even the mission scientists themselves! Spitzer has proved itself to be a true pioneer in the characterization of extrasolar planets, providing the first real, if crude, weather map of a world around another star over 250 light years away. We're also finding evidence of planet formation in the oddest places, from the cool, dark space around brown dwarfs to the hard-radiation baked environment near neutron stars. Come watch sunrise and sunset around a massive Jupiter-like planet, or trace high-velocity winds on an alien world where we've found water vapor in the cloud-tops. With Spitzer, these new worlds are becoming real places to us, challenging us to imagine even more.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates
December 2008 (add/edit event - how to add events)
11 and 12 December. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: von Kármán Lectures: Space and the Mystery of Dark EnergyInfo: In 1998, two groups presented startling evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, and the term "dark energy" was coined as a label for the cause of the acceleration. What is the nature of this mysterious component that we now believe makes up more than 70 percent of the energy density of the universe? What types of evidence for dark energy are there, and how solid is it? What techniques will yield better answers? What are the next steps? These are a few of the questions that have captured the attention of cosmologists as well as the general public. This talk will attempt to explain the questions and a few of the answers.
Events in 2008: International - Africa - Asia Pacific - Europe - Middle East - North America - South America - World | SEDS Calendar - SEDSWiki Updates

