[cas_announce] The Spectacular Summer Milky Way this Saturday at CAS HQ

From: Craig Niemi <craig_niemi@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Announce CAS_ <cas_announce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:54:32 -0700 (PDT)
                                                        
                                                    
                                                
                                            
                                        
                                    
                                    
                                
                            
                                
                                
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                                
                                                
                                                        
                                                        
        The Summer Milky Way
During the summer months a hazy, glowing band of light crosses high 
overhead in the evening sky. The Milky Way is a sideways view across our
 home galaxy. Our galaxy is home to billions of stars, nebulae, planets,
 dust, gas and more. Our solar system is located about 2/3rds of the way
 out from the center of this flattened disk. Imagine you’re a lone 
blueberry near the edge of a delicious pancake. If you look up you can 
easily see the ceiling in your kitchen; look down and you can see the 
plate below. But if you look in toward the center of the pancake, all 
you see is pancake. When we look into the summer night sky we’re looking
 towards the center of our Milky Way. A region so vast and densely 
packed that we can’t see beyond it.

 

We know our Milky Way is a fairly typical Spiral Galaxy with long arms 
of stars wrapping around a central bulge. It is approximately 100,000 
light years cross and a 1,000 light years thick at the arms. One light 
year being about 6.7 trillion miles. It contains somewhere over 100 
billion stars and is about 13 billion years old. The entire spiral 
rotates and has carried our solar system on nearly 20 round trips about 
the galactic center. At the center it is thought there is a gigantic 
black hole devouring everything near it. We seem to know a lot about the
 Milky Way but it’s only been since 1920 that we understood that it was 
just one galaxy of many millions that fill our universe.

 

CAS astronomers will be on hand to answer all your Milky Way and other 
astro-questions. Telescope viewing follows after dusk (weather 
permitting) though the society’s 4 large telescopes. You’ll view a 
spectacular First Quarter Moon too! There will be astronomical 
activities & displays for all ages and refreshments will be 
available.


                Saturday August 25th
                Q&A and tours of the telescopes begin at 8:30pm.  
                Viewing follows after 9pm (weather permitting)
                Free, Donations Welcomed.
                Open to all ages.
                No reservations required.
                All events are held at The Cincinnati Astronomical Society

                5274 Zion Rd. Cleves, OH 45002   (near the Mitchell Memorial 
Forest)

                513-941-1981
 

Visit our website www.cinastro.org, Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for 
a listing of all our public, scout and school events for 2012.

Thanks to all our volunteers who make our events possible!

Open to CAS members and the public. Come join us.
Bring friends, family and colleagues!
[cas_announce] The Spectacular Summer Milky Way this Saturday at CAS HQ

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