News December 9, 2009

Unidentified atmospheric phenomenon freaks out Norwegians, Photoshop users

by Eric
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From spaceweather.com comes word of what may go down in history as the weirdest atmospheric phenomenon in history. Sometime in the early morning in the skies over Norway, some unknown something left something, something in a beautiful and wholly artificial spiral pattern.
The best theory I’ve heard is that a missile launch, possibly Russian in origin, [...]

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Events December 9, 2009

Cal Academy of Sciences Nightlife: Game Night – 12.10.09

by Eric

This week’s Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences is themed “Game Night,” and participants are encouraged to bring along their own games.

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Events December 9, 2009

Ask a Scientist: SF’s Primeval Waterscape – 12.09.09

by Eric

Christopher Richard, Curator of Aquatic Biology, Oakland Museum of California, will be the featured speaker at this month’s Ask a Scientist. He’ll be describing San Francisco’s long-vanished watershed environment.

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Events November 4, 2009

Exploratorium After Dark: Electrifying Science with Dr. MegaVolt® – 11.05.09

by Eric
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The Exploratorium kicks off its 40th anniversary celebration Thursday night with an After Dark mixer featuring Dr. Megavolt and his spectacular battles with electricity.

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Events October 22, 2009

“Galilean Nights” Telescope Building Workshop and Star Party at UC Berkeley: 10.23.09

by Eric

To celebrate Galilean Nights weekend, the UC Berkeley Department of Astronomy will be hosting a “telescope building” star party. A limited number of the easy-to-assemble Galileoscope telescope will be made available for the low, low price of just $10

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Events October 16, 2009

“Fascinating Objects in our Solar System” at UC Berkeley International Year of Astronomy 2009 Public Talks: 10.17.09

by Eric
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[ October 17, 2009; 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. ] For October’s UC Berkeley’s International Year of Astronomy talk, Imke de Pater, Professor of Astronomy, will be guiding her audience on a tour of the Solar System.

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News September 1, 2009

Prospects looking up for Mount Wilson Observatory

by Eric
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At 7:21, Hal McAlister received a full briefing from LA County Deputy Fire Chief Jim Powers, and things look very good.

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News August 30, 2009

Mt. Wilson Observatory Threatened By Wildfire

by admin
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Smoke from the nearby Station fire has shut down operations at Mount Wilson Observatory and may even threaten the observatory itself.

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Events August 19, 2009

“The Physics Circus” at Cal Academy Nightlife 08.20.09

by Eric

This week’s Cal Academy Nightlife is a real treat: Zeke Kossover will be giving physics demonstrations as part of his award-winning “Physics Circus.”

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General August 19, 2009

Paving metaphorical roads with imaginary intentions

by Eric

The NY Times claims that the 750,000 cars turned into the “Cash For Clunkers” program would theoretically stretch from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. That’s a lot of cars, but we’re talking from LA to DC here. Surely a traffic jam of derelict beaters couldn’t possibly reach all the way across the country? How long is a car anyway? And just how far is it from LA to DC?

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