Title:  Superluminal Jets in Quasars

Date:  Saturday, June 27, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova

SLURL:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StellaNova/213/210/32/

Abstract:

Special Relativity — an extremely well-verified theory — tells us that nothing can move faster than the speed of light. Yet, we observe jets coming out of distant active galactic nuclei that appear to be moving faster than the speed of light. What’s up with that? In this talk, I’ll describe why it is that they appear to be moving faster than the speed of light, how that can happen without violating Relativity, and talk a bit more about this highly energetic jets of plasma we see emerging from distant galaxies.

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks called Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy. Dr. Knop was on one of the teams that discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Produced in association with the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA). For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Link on the Official SL Events calendar

SciLands is celebrating the Second Life 6th Birthday on Dallier’s Hope! We are located next to The Paradox where one can explore the unique life of this asteroid we inhabit and learn about the power source for all things SL6B. We are also immediate neighbors to The OmniPrim, a pretty entertaining bit of performance art/comedy ala ‘wizard behind the curtain’ style.

SciLands Near The Paradox Power Source

SciLands and the Green Globe of the OmniPrim

When you visit our space at SL6B, be sure to click around the icy map blocks to receive freebies, information, and a hologrid display of the island.  Can you find the Lunar Rover freebie? How about the partying Euglena?  Want a few hundred permission free astronomy textures? Show your support of SciLands by wearing our new t-shirt!

We had a fun meet-up early in the day - Max, Paradox, zazen, and Ourania figured out that the holocubes make a fun amusement ride! Just sit on a cube and go into Mouselook!

Max, zazen, Paradox, Ourania Having Fun on Holocubes

So what are you waiting for! Come on by Science for the Virtual Masses at SL6B and learn about our wonderful continent of science and grab some very cool freebies! (did I mention we have a launch-able rocket and a hazard suit too?)

http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL6B%20Titan/37/111/23

Title:  The World of Galaxies

Hoag's Object, an example of a ring galaxy

Speaker:  Dr. George Djorgovski

Date:  Saturday, June 13, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova

SLURL:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StellaNova/213/210/32/

Abstract:

Galaxies are the basic building blocks of the universe on large scales.  Studies of their structure, physics, evolution, and formation are the arena which spans most of the contemporary research in astronomy and observational cosmology.  This lecture will present a brief overview of our present knowledge and understanding of galaxies and their lives.

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks organized by MICA, the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA). For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Link on the Official SL Events calendar

Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy

Title:  Time Dilation and Simultaneity in Special Relativity

Date:  Saturday, May 30, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova - SLURL

Abstract:

Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity is one of the bedrocks of modern science.  It’s an extremely well-tested theory that underlies much of our understanding of the Universe.  Yet, it remains a difficult to understand mystery to many people.  In this talk, I’ll show how the basic assumptions of Einstein’s theory lead to the conclusion that moving clocks run slow, and that whether or not two events happen at the same time depend on how you are moving relative to them.  All of this may be understood without any recourse to mathematics.  As a bonus, I will show how with only an understanding of early high-school level algebra, you can actually derive the formula for how slow moving clocks run given the basic tenets of Special Relativity.

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks called Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy. Dr. Knop was on one of the teams that discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Produced in association with the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA). For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Title:  The Most Distant Explosion: Gamma Ray Burst 090423

Artist's illustration of a bright gamma-ray burst

Date:  Saturday, May 16, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova

SLURL:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StellaNova/213/210/32/

Abstract:

On April 23, 2009, the Swift gamma ray satellite detected light from an explosion that was measured to have a redshift of 8.2–making it the most distant individual object we’ve observed, and evidence for the earliest star we know of that formed after the Big Bang.  In this talk, I’ll describe what gamma ray bursters are, and how it is that we can measure how far away they are. I’ll also talk about the significance of this discovery when it comes to understanding the formation of the first stars and galaxies in our Universe.”

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks called Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy. Dr. Knop was on one of the teams that discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Produced in association with the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA). For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Link on the Official SL Events calendar:

https://secure-web15.secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=2697156&date=1242457200

The Bullet Cluster

Date:  Saturday, May 2, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova

SLURL:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StellaNova/213/210/32/

Abstract:

Modern cosmology tells us that the majority of the Universe is made up of stuff whose nature is largely unknown to us. Two thirds of it is Dark Energy; most of the rest is Dark Matter, the subject of this talk. Dark Matter interacts with normal matter through gravity, but otherwise it interacts hardly at all. Yet, we have very high confidence that this mysterious Dark Matter really does exist. Because it doesn’t interact with light, we haven’t seen it glowing, nor have we observed it absorbing background light as we’ve seen with dust clouds. All of the evidence we have for Dark Matter comes from its gravitational interaction with other matter, and with light. Yet, this evidence is extremely compelling. In this talk, I will attempt to convince you that there is no reasonable doubt that Dark Matter exists.

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks called Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy. Dr. Knop was on one of the teams that discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Produced in association with the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA).  For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Link on the Official SL Events calendar:

https://secure-web7.secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=2643613&date=1241247600

The movie below is broken into two parts. First, it highlights the effects of climate change and the dangers of overfishing on this Alaskan industry. As visitors trawl for crab, their actions impact the local ecosystem.  Fish too much and the crab’s predator levels decrease.  To little, and the crab’s food sources begin to multiply. To better understand this, we join a virtual fishing expedition.

Second, another exciting aspect of Virtual Alaska is its community.  For this project, NOAA partnered with a number of other schools and museums creating an environment where Alaskans can help recreate Alaska.  In fact, now Virtual Alaska is not just in Second Life. SLED-AK is a web site where people interested in participating can join and learn from each others experiences.  However, don’t take my word for it, lets hear from another group member Chip McMillian.

Please visit us in Second Life by following the SLURL located at http://www.scilands.org/alaska/

Neptune

Talk Title:  Neptune and Vulcan: Dark Matter in the Solar System

Date:  Saturday, April 18, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova

SLURL:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StellaNova/213/210/32/

Abstract:

The cosmological Dark Matter is one example of a more general thing that we might call “dark matter” with lowercase letters– that is, something that has not been observed directly, but whose existence we infer because of its gravitational effects.  In the 19th century, there was dark matter in the Solar System: Uranus was showing deviations in its orbit that could not be explained by the action of the Sun and the other known planets. That led to the discovery of Neptune. Similarly, deviations in the orbit of Mercury led to the postulated planet Vulcan inside Mercury’s orbit. However, it turned out that Vulcan didn’t exist at all, and that the answer to the question of Mercury’s orbit was a modification of our theory of gravity.

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks called Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy. Dr. Knop was on one of the teams that discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Produced in association with the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA).  For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Link on the Official SL Events calendar:

https://secure-web2.secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=2595217&date=1240038000

Title:  The Discovery of the Accelerating Universe

Date:  Saturday, April 4, 2009

Time:  10:00 AM Pacific Time (SL Time)

Location:  The large amphitheater on the sim named StellaNova

SLURL:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StellaNova/213/210/32/

Abstract:

In 1998, two teams of astronomers observing supernovae discovered that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. The speaker, Dr. Knop, was on one of the two teams, working with Saul Perlmutter.  In this talk, I will describe just how it is that you can measure the expansion history of the Universe by observing distant exploding stars, and what surprising things we saw in our results that indicated to us that the expansion of the Universe was in fact accelerating.  At the end, I’ll briefly mention some things about “dark energy,” the mysterious substance that is causing this surprising universal acceleration.

This science talk is intended for the general public. All are welcome. It’s part of a series of popular talks called Dr. Knop Talks Astronomy.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Produced in association with the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics (MICA).  For more information, see http://mica-vw.org/

Link on the Official SL Events calendar:

https://secure-web11.secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=2538906&date=1238828400