by John Church, Program Chair

The program lineup for the 2010-11 club season is coming along nicely.  On October 12, Suzanne Staggs of the Princeton Physics Department spoke to us on cosmology and the cosmic microwave background, with some extremely interesting results derived from Fourier analysis of slight irregularities in the CMB.

On November 9, a treat will be in store for our astrophotography fans when we will have Jerry Lodriguss, a well-known astrophotographer with several books to his credit, to speak on “Secrets of DSLR Astrophotography.” See the separate article in this issue. Jerry will have copies of one of his CD’s for sale during the break.

Our December 14 meeting will feature Bob Vanderbei, of both Princeton University and AAAP, to discuss his new National Geographic book co-authored with J. Richard Gott, “Sizing Up the Universe.”  The book, which will feature many of Bob’s photos taken from his driveway, will be in stores by late November.  Bob will be doing signings during the intermission.

On January 11 we will have our own Ken Kremer to speak on “The Space Shuttle, The Space Station, and What’s Beyond for NASA.”  The talk will include many of Ken’s photos and descriptions from personal behind-the-scenes visits to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, where Ken has a press pass.

On February 8 we have a tentative speaker lined up from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, with name and topic to be announced later.  Confirmation awaits the speaker’s determination of the springtime academic schedule.

March and May are still open as of this writing.  On April 12 we will have Michael Molnar to speak on “The Star of Bethlehem,” a topic he has extensively researched. Michael will be signing copies of his book on this subject during the intermission.

June 14 will feature a planetarium show by AAAP’s Bill Murray.  If the one he gave last June is any indication, we are in for another treat!