Special thanks to Grad Student Alyssa Sokol for putting together our department newsletter!
[PDF] /sites/default/files/Newsletter_Astronomy_update.pdf
View the press release and Zoom link here!
Join UMass Astronomers for a live broadcast from the Sunwheel on Saturday, March 20, the first day of Spring! The webinar-format broadcasts will begin at 7 a.m. for sunrise and 6:30 p.m. for sunset, and will be streamed live from the center of the Sunwheel.
The UMass Sunwheel is a solar calendar made up of a stone circle, like England’s famous Stonehenge. Also like Stonehenge, the Sunwheel’s standing stones mark the location of the rising and setting sun during equinoxes and solstices. This unique calendar circle was designed by the late UMass professor of astronomy Judith Young, and has hosted public events celebrating the change of seasons since 1997
During the presentations Stephen Schneider will explain the changing positions of the sun, moon and Earth, and how the standing stones of the Sunwheel act as a calendar to mark the start of each season. He and other UMass astronomers at the webinar will be available to answer questions about the Sunwheel as well as questions about astronomy.
This 3-week summer program is taught by Astronomy Graduate Student Sarah Betti, assisted by other graduate students.
https://www.umass.edu/uww/programs/pre-college/summer/modern-astronomy
Prof. Schloerb has been honored by the ARCS Foundation (www.arcsfoundation.org) with an induction to their Alumni Hall of Fame for 2021, for `leadership and vision in the development of the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano, which played a significant role in capturing the first image of a black hole, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity.
More information can be found at: https://www.arcsfoundation.org/scholars/alumni-hall-fame
Congratulations to Porf. Schloerb!
Special thanks to Grad Student Alyssa Sokol for putting together our department newsletter!
[PDF] /sites/default/files/Newsletter_Astronomy_update.pdf
Astronomers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are marking an especially meaningful event this National Astronomy Week, as a team led by Professor Peter Schloerb recently received a three-year, $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to provide support for the Large Millimeter Telescope in Mexico and to offer – for the first time – access to it for astronomers from any U.S. institution. For more information: https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/umass-amherst-astronomy-opens-elite
Thank you Professor Stephen Schneider, Professor Daniela Calzetti, and Beth Berry for recording our virtual Sunrise gathering!