(Safely) Observe the Sun
Zach Berta-Thompson, Torres Postdoctoral Fellow, MKI, Michael Person, Research Scientist, EAPS
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: none
Join us for daytime stargazing! We will have solar telescopes set up so you can safely observe our closest star, the Sun. Swing on by for a quick look, and feel free to stay and chat with MIT astronomers over cups of cocoa.
This activity is being co-sponsored with EAPS.
weather permitting
A complete listing of all IAP activities being offered by MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research is available here.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
| Jan/19 | Tue | 01:00PM-03:00PM | North Court |
First of three solar observing days -- weather permitting.
Zach Berta-Thompson - Torres Postdoctoral Fellow, MKI, Michael Person - Research Scientist, EAPS
| Jan/22 | Fri | 12:00PM-02:00PM | Student Center |
Second day of solar observing -- weather permitting. Look for us on the upper plaza area outside of the Student Center.
Zach Berta-Thompson - Torres Postdoctoral Fellow, MKI, Michael Person - Research Scientist, EAPS
| Jan/27 | Wed | 12:00PM-02:00PM | North Court |
Final day of solar observing -- weather permitting.
Zach Berta-Thompson - Torres Postdoctoral Fellow, MKI, Michael Person - Research Scientist, EAPS
A Decade-Long Journey to TESS
Dr. George Ricker, Senior Research Scientist
| Jan/19 | Tue | 02:00PM-02:45PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
Dr. George Ricker, Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Detector Laboratory, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, will describe the development program at MIT that led to the successful proposal for TESS (The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). A long-term goal of TESS and follow-on missions is to find Earth-like planets that are the right distance from their planets' stars to be within the habitable zone where conditions might be suitable for the existence of life.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Astronomers Hack IAP
Lia Corrales, Postdoctoral Associate
| Jan/14 | Thu | 11:00AM-04:00PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Advanced sign up required by 3pm 1/13/2016 by completing google form above
Sign-up by 01/13
Limited to 40 participants
Prereq: C++, python, php, or web design
We've rescheduled the hack day to accommodate for the fact that many people are still returning from vacation. It will now be Thursday, Jan 14 from 11 am - 4 pm in Marlar Lounge 37-252.
This is the perfect time to work on a small project that you've been meaning to get to, or to learn new coding tools and tricks!
Nothing says "hacking" like throwing together a last minute group coding session! Inspired by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Hack Day, taking place as part of their annual winter meeting, Code Coffee will host a hack day at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. What is a hack day, you ask? It's about getting together to write code or work on some other project, *fast*. It could be for science or just for fun! You don't need to bring an idea to participate, and a range of expertise is appreciated (be it C++, python, php, or web design). So grab a friend and come to Marlar for some snacks and coding!
Maximum: 40 people
To attend, please sign up (by 3pm Jan 13) using the Google form
(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lEZ6wh82_3Ln5inDOxB1cks1fl6vDs9wBSoTP0Xdx5U/viewform)
For more about the AAS Hack Day session (http://astrobetter.com/wiki/AASHackDay)
Some examples of hacks:
http://dotastronomy.com/blog/2014/12/astro-6-live-blog-day-3/
https://arxiver.wordpress.com/
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Crafting the Cosmos - Handmade Projects and Introductory Astrophysics
Zach Berta-Thompson, Postdoctoral Fellow, Kavli Institute
| Jan/05 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | TBD |
| Jan/07 | Thu | 02:00PM-04:00PM | TBD |
| Jan/12 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | TBD |
| Jan/14 | Thu | 02:00PM-04:00PM | TBD |
| Jan/19 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | TBD |
| Jan/21 | Thu | 02:00PM-04:00PM | TBD |
Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/04
Limited to 20 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: none
The Universe is a big, complex, beautiful place. While astrophysical concepts can sometimes be difficult to grasp in the abstract, many can be brought to Earth through connection to hands-on projects. This course aims to provide a setting where exploring the Universe with astrophysics is set on equal footing with learning a new craft like knitting or sketching. Each class will combine brief lectures on introductory astrophysics concepts with related crafts activities. Topics will include stars, exoplanets, black holes, and cosmology. Students will leave every session with an object they created - either a piece of art or a scientific measurement instrument.
Sponsor(s): MIT-SUTD Collaboration
Contact: Zach Berta-Thompson, 37-641, zkbt@mit.edu
Determining iron abundances in cool stars: The role of hydrogen collisions
Dr. Rana Ezzeddine, Postdoctoral Associate
| Jan/20 | Wed | 02:30PM-03:00PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
Determination of high precision abundances is an important goal of all spectroscopic studies. Accurate modelling of stellar spectra is therefore essential to determine these abundances and stellar parameters. I will explain in this talk the non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (non-LTE) approach to modelling stellar spectra of cool stars, highlighting the important role that Hydrogen collisions play.
View a complete listing of MKI's IAP 2016 offerings here.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Exploring the Universe from Near to Far with the Chandra X-ray Observatory (talk + 2 tours)
Dr. Michael Nowak, Research Scientist
| Jan/26 | Tue | 02:00PM-02:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: attend 2pm talk to take two tours that follow
In the summer of 1999, NASA launched the third of its great observatories--the Chandra X-ray telescope. Like the Hubble Space telescope which preceded it, Chandra is designed to have an unprecedented ability to create images and spectra of astrophysical objects, except working with high energy X-rays instead of optical light. This means that Chandra views some of the universe's most exotic and energetic phenomena: supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, jets traveling at nearly the speed of light emanating from near the center of clusters of galaxies. In this talk, we'll take a tour of the discoveries made by the Chandra X-ray telescope, starting with studies of our own solar system, moving outward to nearby stars, to the center of our own Galaxy where a black hole 40 millions times the mass of our Sun lurks, to distant clusters of Galaxies where the most massive black holes, billions of times the mass of our Sun, reside.
Two tours will follow this talk. See separate listing for each tour and visit the MKI website for complete details.
Tour #1: Operations Control Center, Chandra X-ray Observatory (Dr. Schulz, 2:45 - 3:30pm; Tour departs 37-252 @ 2:30pm). Signup deadline: 12noon Thurs, Jan 21. Email meinbres@mit.edu your first & last name (as it appears on your ID) & the country of your citizenship.
Tour #2: Tour of the X-ray Polarimetry Lab (Drs. Schulz and Marshall, 3:45 - 4:15pm)
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
(CANCELED) Gravitational Mirages
Paul Schechter, William A M Burden Professor of Astrophysics
| Jan/25 | Mon | 01:30PM-02:00PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
According to Einstein's theory, gravity produces what is, in effect, an index of refraction. Light passing in the vicinity of an astronomical object will be delayed, deflected and distorted by the variations in this index of refraction, in a manner exactly analogous to terrestrial mirages. Such cosmic mirages are a major tool for the study of dark matter in galaxies and clusters of galaxies.
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up.
A listing of all IAP activities being offered by MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research is available here.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
High-resolution x-ray optics at the Space Nanotechnology Laboratory: From nanometers to gigaparsecs
Dr. Ralf Heilmann, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Kavli Institute
| Jan/05 | Tue | 02:30PM-03:15PM | 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
The Space Nanotechnology Laboratory (SNL) develops advanced lithography and nano-fabrication technology for high performance space instrumentation, as well as nanometer-accuracy metrology and assembly technology. Two current efforts are the development of nanofabricated soft x-ray gratings, the so-called critical-angle transmission (CAT) gratings, and the development of high-precision focusing X-ray mirrors. CAT gratings require the fabrication of sub-micron structures with extreme geometries and sub-nanometer precision, while x-ray mirrors are formed at 600 deg C while floating on porous air bearings and shaped further using ion implantation. These efforts are aimed at instruments that can help find the missing baryons in the Cosmic Web and reveal the secrets of dark matter.
PLEASE NOTE: There will be a tour of the Space Nanotechnology Laboratory (SNL) from 3:15-4:15pm. The pre-requisite for going on the SNL tour is attending this talk. The tour is limited to SIX people; advance sign-up required starting at 2:25 pm in 37-252. You must attend this talk to take the tour.
A complete listing of IAP activities being offered by MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research will be posted on the MKI website by January 4.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
IAP 2016 Introduction to Climate Science and Policy
Katie Mulvaney, Masters Program in Technology and Policy, Class of 2017
Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/18
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Overview
A fast-paced, accessible introduction to the climate system, linking the social and scientific aspects of climate change. These sessions aim to contextualize current global and local climate policy and provide an introduction to current research in climate. Tuesday, January 19 - Thursday, January 21, 5:30pm-6:30pm, we will discuss climate science, followed by a discussion of climate policy, 6:30pm-7:30pm. As 'the climate system' is extraordinarily complex, we'll first explore what some simple representations of climate can teach us, then explore their limitations & dig a little deeper into some key components. In order to examine climate policy, we’ll go over some basics on economics, climate policy instruments, and climate governance at the international and national level. On Friday, January 22, we will apply what we have learned with the World Climate activity, a mock international climate negotiation (open to all, even those who have not attended previous days)
SIGN UP HERE: http://doodle.com/poll/zxrr89qnememgfdc
(Although everyone is welcome. Signing up allows us to estimate the number of participants. Plus refreshments will be served prior to the first classes, on first come first served basis at 5 PM for registered participants).
Sponsor(s): Joint Program/Science and Policy of Global Change
Contact: Dimonika Bray, E19-411R, 617 324-7375, DBIZI@MIT.EDU
| Jan/19 | Tue | 05:30PM-06:30PM | Rm E51-315 |
Given the hype and controversy surrounding climate change, it's useful to start with the basics. We'll kick off the week surveying the history & fundamentals of climate science, focusing in particular on radiation & greenhouse gases, the carbon cycle, and the earth's heat storage.
Katie Mulvaney - Masters Program in Technology and Policy, Class of 2017
| Jan/19 | Tue | 06:30PM-07:30PM | RM E51-315 |
Evaluating the Options for Climate Policy
How can the world respond to what science reveals about climate change? One way to take action is to consider climate policy. To understand the different options for climate policy, we¿ll go over basic economic concepts, climate policy instruments, and tools for evaluating policy in this session.
Katie Mulvaney - Masters Program in Technology and Policy, Class of 2017, Mara Freilich
| Jan/20 | Wed | 05:30PM-06:30PM | RM E51-315 |
The nonlinearity of the climate system makes prediction difficult and results in fascinating feedback systems and possible tipping points. We will discuss mechanisms of the climate system and questions including: What does an Earth system model look like? What is the role of clouds, oceans, land cover, and biology in the climate system? and How does extreme weather relate to climate change?
Mara Freilich
| Jan/20 | Wed | 06:30PM-07:30PM | RM 51-315 |
The challenges presented by climate change make it both a global and a local problem, and as a result, climate policy can be enacted at both the international and the domestic level. In this session, we¿ll go over the history and status of international climate governance (including some background on the 2015 Paris Climate Negotiations), as well as national forums for climate governance.
Katie Mulvaney - Masters Program in Technology and Policy, Class of 2017, Samantha Houston
| Jan/21 | Thu | 05:30PM-06:30PM | RM E51-315 |
In this session we will discuss the sources of uncertainty in climate projections, the range of future outcomes, and how that translates into uncertainty in climate impacts both globally and locally. We will cover topics such as the rate of warming, sea level rise, storm activity, and precipitation changes and how uncertainty in these changes make it more challenging to adequately prepare and adapt to climate change.
Megan Lickley
| Jan/21 | Thu | 06:30PM-07:30PM | RM E51-315 |
We'll cap off the intensive introduction to climate science and policy with a discussion with local leaders who are implementing creative solutions to climate change, from community activism to policy at the local and national scale.
Megan Lickley
| Jan/22 | Fri | 05:30PM-07:30PM | RM 51-315 |
International negotiators face challenges in coming to a global climate agreement. An interactive climate (https://www.climateinteractive.org/world-climate-project/) activity will provide participants with some insight into the challenges. The groups will participate in a mock international climate negotiation, and the computer simulation C-ROADS will be used to examine the outcomes of the mock negotiation in real-time.
Katie Mulvaney - Masters Program in Technology and Policy, Class of 2017
| Jan/25 | Mon | 05:30PM-06:30PM | E51-315 |
Reflecting on the Climate Talks with COP21 Attendees (Date, time and location, to be confirmed)
In this informal panel discussion with members of the MIT community who participated as observers in the recent UN climate talks in Paris, will recap and reflect on the agreement that emerged from COP21, as well as hear first-hand accounts of the negotiation process and surrounding events.
Katie Mulvaney - Masters Program in Technology and Policy, Class of 2017
Illuminating the Dark Ages and the Cosmic Dawn with Radio Interferometers
Aaron Ewall-Wice, MKI Graduate Student
| Jan/20 | Wed | 02:00PM-02:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
A critical chapter in the Universe’s history, known as the Dark Ages, remains nearly entirely unobserved. During this time period, our universe underwent a dramatic transformation from a relatively uniform mixture of hydrogen, helium, and dark matter filaments, into the luminescent and chemically complex realm of stars and galaxies that we live in today. The time period over which the first luminous sources turned on is known as the cosmic dawn.
In this talk, I will discuss how the observational technique known as 21cm tomography which will allow us to observe the dark ages and the cosmic dawn, allowing for us to learn about the formation and evolution of the first galaxies.
To see all of MKI's IAP 2016 listings, view the website.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Introduction to ocean data-model analysis
Gael Forget, Research Scientist
| Jan/08 | Fri | 10:30AM-12:00PM | room 54-1623, bring your laptop |
| Jan/15 | Fri | 10:30AM-12:00PM | room 54-1623, bring your laptop |
| Jan/22 | Fri | 10:30AM-12:00PM | room 54-1623, bring your laptop |
| Jan/29 | Fri | 10:30AM-12:00PM | room 54-1623, bring your laptop |
Enrollment: Contact instructor before 1st meeting.
Sign-up by 01/07
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
This non-credit activity intends to inform students and postdocs of the wealth of ocean data and models that are readily available to them at MIT, including vast collections of Argo profiles, MITgcm set-ups and ECCO output. It will proceed through interactive lectures and MATLAB sessions, aiming to enable attendees to exploit available data and models for their own research.
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Contact: Gael Forget, 54-1422, 617 452-2977, GFORGET@MIT.EDU
Links of Arctic Change to Midlatitude Weather
Judah Cohen, Research Affiliate
| Jan/08 | Fri | 11:00AM-02:00PM | 48-316 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Polar vortex, snow-mageddon, arctic amplification of global warming, extreme weather, melting ice-caps and permafrost - these may be the first signs of a changing global climate. The arctic is particularly vulnerable to variability and change. And these changes are remarkably linked to our mid-latitude winter weather. Come learn about the physics and ways to enhance long-range climate forecasts.
Contact: Dara Entekhabi, 48-216C, 617 253-9698, DARAE@MIT.EDU
Listening to the universe with gravitational waves
Scott Hughes, Professor of Physics
| Jan/12 | Tue | 01:15PM-02:00PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
Advanced LIGO is on the cusp of using gravitational waves as a tool for observing the universe. What are gravitational waves, and how do we use them to observe the universe? I will describe how gravitational waves are produced by violent and interesting astronomical events, and why they are especially useful for teaching us about those events. I will emphasize that these waves are analogous to sound, and will illustrate how we learn from them with some examples of what theory tells us certain interesting example gravitational waves “sound like” to the “ears” of a detector like LIGO.
Please note: two related activities will follow Professor Hughes' presentation.
Searching for Gravitational Waves with LIGO (Dr. Adam Libson, 2:00 - 2:30pm in 37-252)
Tour of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) Lab (Dr. Adam Libson, 2:30 - 4:00pm departing from 37-252).
***Note***
10 people maximum for the LIGO Lab tour. You must attend both talks preceding the tour (Scott Hughes' talk at 1:15pm and Adam Libson's talk at 2:00pm). Advance sign-up required for the tour, starting at 1:05pm immediately before Professor Hughes' talk in 37-252. Attendance of talks is required in order to take tour of LIGO lab. Tour will leave from 37-252 at 2:30pm, and last until about 4:00pm.
See all of MKI's IAP offerings here
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Mars Settlement Design Workshop
Bruce Mackenzie, Mars Foundation
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants encouraged to attend all sessions
Prereq: None
Description:
Want to open up a new world to live in?
This workshop's goal is to develop a technical plan to start flexible
manufacturing
and growing food on Mars, using materials made on Mars (in-situ),
with minimum equipment brought from Earth.
Details will be worked out by you, the participants,
but may include 3D printing, recycling and production of polymers on-site,
production of other building materials, and on-site assembly of
habitats and greenhouses.
Portions can be adapted from past designs by the Mars Foundation and other
plans.
If there is interest, we can include Mars rover design, social,
economic, political aspects, and suggestions for a business plan.
Please contact us early, if possible, to help our scheduling.
Attendance at most morning sessions is expected.
Additional design sessions may be scheduled in the afternoons at your
convenience.
Sponsor(s): Students for Exploration and Development of Space
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, text: 781-944-7027, voice: 781-249-5437, BMackenzie@alum.mit.edu
| Jan/19 | Tue | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/20 | Wed | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/21 | Thu | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/22 | Fri | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/25 | Mon | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/26 | Tue | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/27 | Wed | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/28 | Thu | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/29 | Fri | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
Mars Settlement Design Workshop
Bruce Mackenzie, Mars Foundation
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants encouraged to attend all sessions
Prereq: None
Want to open up a new world to live in?
This workshop's goal is to develop a technical plan to start flexible
manufacturing
and growing food on Mars, using materials made on Mars (in-situ),
with minimum equipment brought from Earth.
Details will be worked out by you, the participants,
but may include 3D printing, recycling and production of polymers on-site,
production of other building materials, and on-site assembly of
habitats and greenhouses.
Portions can be adapted from past designs by the Mars Foundation and other
plans.
If there is interest, we can include Mars rover design, social,
economic, political aspects, and suggestions for a business plan.
Please contact us early, if possible, to help our scheduling.
Attendance at most morning sessions is expected.
Additional design sessions may be scheduled in the afternoons at your
convenience.
Sponsor(s): Students for Exploration and Development of Space
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, text: 781-944-7027, voice: 781-249-5437, BMackenzie@alum.mit.edu
| Jan/11 | Mon | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/13 | Wed | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/15 | Fri | 11:00AM-12:00PM | 4-265 |
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
Mars Settlement Noon Series
Bruce Mackenzie, Mars Foundation
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None
A series of presentations on how to economically build an early human
settlement on Mars, emphasizing use of local materials.
Sponsor(s): Students for Exploration and Development of Space
Contact: Bruce Mackenzie, text: 781-944-7027, voice: 781-249-5437, BMackenzie@alum.mit.edu
| Jan/15 | Fri | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 4-265 |
Proposal for a very small, relatively inexpensive manufacturing base
for Mars. It starts with just 2 people, and can grow into a permanent
human settlement; a draft design in progress by the Mars Foundation.
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
| Jan/20 | Wed | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 4-265 |
| Jan/28 | Thu | 07:00PM-09:00PM | 4-265 |
This Hillside Settlement proposal by the Mars Foundation would build
a permanent settlement on Mars, constructed by 12 people from local
materials such as fiberglass and masonry. Preliminary mass and cost
estimates show that we may be able to establish a permanent, growing
settlement for the same launch cost as a program of round-trip
exploratory missions. Members of National Space Society are invited.
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
| Jan/22 | Fri | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 4-265 |
Producing polymers on site at Mars, for fabrication of furnishings and
bonding composite habitats.
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
| Jan/25 | Mon | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 4-265 |
Proposal for a very small, relatively inexpensive manufacturing base
for Mars. It starts with just 2 people, and can grow into a permanent
human settlement; a draft design in progress by the Mars Foundation.
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
| Jan/26 | Tue | 08:00PM-10:00PM | 4-265 |
Discussion of Living on Mars, and the portrayal of a Mars mission in
"The Martian" book and movie by Andy Weir. Technology permitting, we
will join a web cast with Andy Weir, hopefully with more than just
hexadecimal communication.
EDIT: Please note the updated date and time.
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
| Jan/29 | Fri | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 4-265 |
Open discussion of the ethics of raising children at an early
settlement on Mars or other frontier location.
Bruce Mackenzie - Mars Foundation
Michelson Interferometer Demonstration
Maggie Tse, Clare Boothe Luce Graduate Fellow
| Jan/27 | Wed | 01:30PM-02:30PM | NW22-258 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
How do you measure distances smaller than one-thousandth the diameter of a proton? Why do we care? Come find out in this hands-on interactive demo, where you will learn about Michelson interferometery, the basic principle behind how LIGO measures explosions in outer space using giant lasers. Real lasers included!
If you stay with us after 2:30pm, you can apply your new knowledge and operate a real suspended interferometer with Dr. Kontos in the LIGO lab! (For a description of this activity, see TOUR: Lock a Suspended Interferometer)
Directions to NW22-258: Enter through the loading dock entrance in the parking lot between NW22 and NW17. The door will be propped open for the event. Once inside, follow the signs and take the elevator to the second floor.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
NICER to the Space Station in 2016: Astrophysics of Neutron Stars and Black Holes via X-ray Astronomy
Ronald Remillard, Principal Research Scientist
| Jan/25 | Mon | 02:00PM-02:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR ("NICER"), will be launched to the International Space Station in August 2016. The NICER detector team at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics has delivered Si drift detectors and signal processing electronics for the 56 cameras that constitute the Instrument. The cameras are sensitive to X-ray photons in the range 0.2-12 keV, and each event will be time-tagged with an instrument clock that ticks at 40 ns. This talk will review the science goals, the instrument technology, and the calibration equipment that allows us to accomplish requirements, including the achievement of timing accuracy to 100 ns in the Solar System barycenter.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Observing Black Holes
Dr. Victoria Grinberg, Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Kavli Institute
| Jan/21 | Thu | 02:00PM-02:45PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
Black holes are perhaps the most mind-boggling objects ever conceived by physicists and there is hardly any science fiction series today that will not feature them in some capacity. However, black holes are also very much observable and one of the major topics of today's X-ray astronomy.
In this talk I will give a very short overview of what black holes are, where we find astrophysical black holes, why we need X-ray astronomy and thus satellite-based telescopes such as Chandra to observe black holes, and how observations of both, supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies and the "small" black holes of only a few solar masses in binary star systems, improve our understanding of the physics of our universe.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Searching for Gravitational Waves with LIGO
Dr. Adam Libson, Postdoctoral Associate
| Jan/12 | Tue | 02:00PM-02:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: No enrollment limit, no advance sign up.
Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts the existence of gravitational radiation. Since gravity is a weak force, it takes extreme masses and energies to produce a detectable gravitational wave signature. Indirect evidence for the existence of this radiation has been collected using pulsar measurements. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is an experiment designed to directly detect this radiation, and use it to study exotic astrophysical phenomena. To do this, LIGO must measure length changes with a precision of 10-19 meters, less than a thousandth of a proton diameter. In this talk, I will briefly discuss gravitational radiation and its sources, and I will also describe the LIGO detectors and the physics involved in their operation. Finally, I will discuss some of the quantum limits on making this type of precision measurement, and the ways in which LIGO hopes to beat these limits.
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up for this talk.
Please Note: A tour of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) Lab will follow this talk. To take the tour (2:45-4:00pm), you must register for the tour and attend both talks preceding the tour.
See MKI event website and the MKI IAP website for additional information.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Seeing a World in a Point of Light
Dr. Zachory Berta-Thompson, Torres Postdoctoral Fellow
| Jan/20 | Wed | 03:00PM-03:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
Astronomers can observe the sizes, orbits, masses, and atmospheres of planet orbiting distant stars, without ever seeing the planets directly. Come learn how we do this and the worlds we hope to discover soon, with the help of the TESS mission, now being built at MIT.
Click here to see a complete listing of IAP 2016 activities being offered by MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI).
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
The Search for Habitable Planets
Sara Seager, Class of 1941 Professor of Physics and Planetary Science
| Jan/19 | Tue | 02:45PM-03:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
Professor Sara Seager will describe how scientists infer the properties of extrasolar planets and their atmospheres from observations, how life may alter the atmospheres to produce observable biosignatures, and the future investigations that will probe for signs of life on other planets.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Tour of the Operations Control Center for the Chandra Space Telescope, One of NASA's Great Observatories
Dr. Norbert Schulz, Research Scientist
| Jan/26 | Tue | 02:30PM-03:30PM | tour departs 37-252 |
Enrollment: Max 20 people, advance sign-up required by 12noon JAN 21
Sign-up by 01/21
Limited to 20 participants
Prereq: You must attend talk preceding tour: 2-2:30pm in 37-252
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is the world's most powerful X-ray telescope, allowing scientists to study the origin, structure and evolution of our universe in greater detail than ever before. The spacecraft and science instruments are controlled from the Operations Control Center (OCC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We will take our visitors on a tour of the OCC and show where scientists and engineers direct the flight and execute the observing plan of Chandra, and where they receive the scientific data from the observatory. during the tour the visitors will learn about the basics of X-ray astronomy and about the latest, exciting discoveries made by MIT scientists with data acquired with Chandra.
Max 20 people, advance sign-up required by 12noon on THURSDAY, JANUARY 21 by submitting full name and country of citizenship to meinbres@mit.edu
Prerequisites: Attend talk preceding the tour (2-2:30 talk "Exploring the Universe from Near to Far with the Chandra X-ray Observatory" in 37-252). Tour will depart from 37-252.
Following the tour of the Chandra Observations Control Center, the group will also take a tour of the Tour of the X-ray Polarimetry Lab from 3:45-4:15pm.
For a complete listing of IAP Activites offered by MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, please visit our IAP website.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Tour of the Space Nanotechnology Lab
Ralf Heilmann, Associate Director, Space Nanotechnology Laboratory
| Jan/05 | Tue | 03:15PM-04:15PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: tour limited to 6 people who attend talk preceding tour & sign up in person
Sign-up by 01/05
Limited to 6 participants
Prereq: Attendance of talk (2:30-3:15pm) preceding tour
During the tour of the SNL's three clean rooms visitors will see sophisticated optical (interference lithography stations for the fabrication of submicron period gratings, high power UV laser, metrology station for optics shape measurements, sub-nanometer resolution interferometers, etc.) and mechanical systems (XY-air-bearing stage, sub-micron accuracy alignment system, environmental enclosure, active vibration isolation, etc.) that support the development of thin-foil x-ray optics and gratings.
Max 6 people, advance sign-up required starting at 2:25 pm in 37-252.
***PLEASE NOTE***
The prequisite for taking the tour is attending the 2:30-3:15pm talk preceding the tour.
For additional information, please see the MKI website.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Tour: Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) Lab
Dr. Adam Libson, Postdoctoral Associate
| Jan/12 | Tue | 02:30PM-04:00PM | tour departs 37-252 |
Enrollment: Max 10 people, advance sign-up required starting at 1:55 pm in 37-252
Sign-up by 01/12
Limited to 10 participants
Prereq: MUST ATTEND TWO TALKS PRECEDING TOUR
Visitors will be taken on a tour of the LIGO prototyping facilities at MIT. These include a full-scale prototype of the LIGO vacuum chambers, laser, isolation and suspension systems, and laboratories for thermal and optical noise measurements.
Max 10 people, advance sign-up required starting at 1:05 pm in 37-252
Prerequisites: Attendance of talks preceding the tour
Please see all IAP offerings by MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
TOUR: Lock a Suspended Interferometer
Antonios Kontos, Postdoctoral Associate
| Jan/27 | Wed | 02:30PM-04:00PM | leaves from NW22-258 |
Enrollment: tour limited to 6 people who attend talk preceding tour & sign up in person
Sign-up by 01/27
Limited to 6 participants
Prereq: attending 1:30pm talk by Maggie Tse in NW22-258
Work with LIGO scientists to lock a suspended Michelson-style interferometer using real-time automated control systems.
Please note:
6 people max for tour. Advance sign-up required starting at 1:25pm in NW22-258 immediately before Ms. Tse's talk (see activity description for Michelson Interferometer Demonstration). Attendance of Ms. Tse's talk is required of tour participants.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Using X-ray Spectroscopy to Measure a Binary's Relativistic Outflow
Dr. Herman Marshall, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Kavli Institute
| Jan/21 | Thu | 02:45PM-03:30PM | Marlar Lounge 37-252 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none
The stellar binary SS 433 was once featured on Saturday Night Live as the "comin' and a-goin' star". By means that are still somewhat mysterious, the system ejects blobs of plasma in opposite directions at a speed of about a quarter of the speed of light. The compact object that is responsible for providing the impetus for this plasma is probably a black hole about 10 times the mass of the Sun. I show what we've come to understand about the system and its jets such as how their directions trace out twin cones on the sky. X-ray spectroscopy, using the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer that were built here at MIT, shows that the plasma temperature reaches at least 100 billion degrees and can be used to measure the density and location of the outflows we call jets.
Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU
Water and Food Security Seminar Series
Chandra Madramootoo, Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
This seminar series will address a variety of global challenges around water and food security. Topics include limitations to water use in some selected large basins, surface water/groundwater interactions, the water-food-energy nexus, an overview of agricultural production systems in two agro-ecologic zones (tropical drylands and the wet humid tropics), and the linkage between food and nutrition security and health.
Presentation and discussion will be centered on technological, institutional, governance, and socio-economic constraints to small-holder productivity; water management challenges in the two agro-ecologic zones, and protection of natural resource systems in degraded agricultural landscapes. Specific topics will include irrigation and water conservation, drainage and flood control, irrigation value chains, and climate smart agriculture. The series is led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, James McGill Professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University. Prof. Madramootoo was Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill from 2005 to 2015.
This is a four-part series; attendees are welcome at any or all sessions.
Sponsor(s): Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Sec Lab
Contact: Renee Robins, E70-1279, 617 324-6726, RROBINS@MIT.EDU
| Jan/11 | Mon | 10:00AM-11:30AM | E51-145 |
An overview of global food demands and supplies and how water, limits to crop productivity, and other drivers such as food prices, population, and changing demographics and dietary patterns are affecting food supplies. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. First of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
| Jan/12 | Tue | 10:00AM-11:30AM | E51-145 |
Agriculture production systems in two agro-ecologic zones: This seminar will describe agricultural production systems in the wet humid tropics and the arid/semi-arid tropics, including cropping patterns, nomadic systems, and soil resources. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. Second of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
| Jan/13 | Wed | 10:00AM-11:30AM | E51-145 |
How can we better manage water to increase food security? This seminar will address strategies such as new irrigation and drought protection technologies to boost food production in tropical drylands, and drainage water management systems. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. Third of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
| Jan/14 | Thu | 10:00AM-11:30AM | E51-145 |
This seminar addresses the technological and socio-economic constraints to water and food security for smallholder farmers. Topics include why smallholder farmers are slow to adopt new crop varieties, agronomic practices, and irrigation. Led by J-WAFS visiting scholar Chandra Madramootoo, former Dean, School of Ag. and Env. Sciences at McGill Univ. Last of a 4-part series; attendees welcome at any or all sessions.
Chandra Madramootoo - Visiting Scholar, J-WAFS
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