Meetings

Meetings of the Central Pennsylvania Observers are currently held on the first Thursday of each month at 7 PM. If you are planning to attend a meeting for the first time, please call Carol Tancibok (CPO President) at 814-237-9865 for meeting time/place verification.

Upcoming Presentations

2010

• April 1: Dr. James Kasting - How to Find a Habitable Planet. Over 400 planets have been found around nearby stars, but none of them is thought to be at all like Earth. Within the next two decades, though, astronomers hope to identify Earth-like planets around nearby stars and to search their atmospheres spectroscopically for signs of life. The presence of O2, which is produced from photosynthesis, or O3, which is produced photochemically from O2, would under most circumstances provide strong evidence for life beyond Earth. Different techniques for planet-finding, and possible alternative biosignatures, will be discussed. I will also contrast my optimism about the search for complex life with the more pessimistic view expressed by Ward and Brownlee in their book, Rare Earth.   South Hills School of Bus. & Tech..

• November 4: Dr. Alex Wolszczan   South Hills School of Bus. & Tech..

Past Meetings and Presentations