DATES: 10:30-11:30 a.m., Feb. 7, 14; March 7, 14, 21, 28; April 4, 2009

EVENT: The Winter 2009 Saturday Morning Physics lecture series. This term, the U-M Department of Physics celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescopic observations with a series of talks by speakers working in the forefront of physics and astronomy. A U-M tradition since 1995, the Saturday Morning Physics lecture series lets physicists discuss their work in easy-to-understand, non-technical terms.

The schedule includes:

Feb. 7

Timothy McKay, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics at U-M

“Four-Hundred Years of Cosmic Discovery: Celebrating the International Year of Astronomy”

During the summer of 1609, Galileo Galilei first turned his hand-made telescope to the sky, and our isolation from the cosmos was over. This talk will review, at breakneck speed, the ensuing 400 years of progress in astrophysics. We will see how generations of rashly curious scientists, armed with increasingly ingenious instruments, have erased the division between Earth and sky. We will also join the world in recognizing 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy.

Feb. 14

Ted Bergin, associate professor in the U-M Department of Astronomy

“How Did Earth Get Its Water?“

In this talk we will explore the chemistry of our own origins with a focus on water, the most important molecule for life on our planet. We will discuss how water is formed in the depths of interstellar space and was incorporated into the young Earth. We will also consider whether and how other water-rich planets might be found.

March 7

Nuria Calvet, professor in the U-M Department of Astronomy

“Building Planets: When and How?”

During the past five years, the Spitzer Space Telescope has made it possible to conduct large surveys at sensitivities and wavelengths that were formerly unattainable from the ground. These surveys have given us unprecedented information on where stars form, what is the nature of their surrounding disks, and how and when planets begin to form on those disks. We will review this information in this talk.

March 14

University Lowbrow Astronomers (an Ann Arbor-based astronomy community)

“Amateur Astronomy: From Ann Arbor to the Universe”

Astronomy is not just for the professionals. Everyone can explore planets, comets, star clusters and galaxies using backyard telescopes and binoculars. In this talk, the University Lowbrow Astronomers will show us how.

March 21

Doug Richstone, chair of the U-M Department of Astronomy and the Lawrence H. Aller Professor of Astronomy

“Supermassive Black Holes and the Evolution of Galaxies“

Powerful quasars discovered in the 1960s hinted at the existence of supermassive black holes. But their existence and ubiquity was only firmly established in the 1990s. Supermassive black holes have been with us since the birth of galaxies. They influence galaxy structure in ways we can see, and probably other ways not yet understood.

March 28

Marta Volonteri, assistant professor in the U-M Department of Astronomy

“Black Holes Along the Cosmic Time”

We detect supermassive black holes in galaxy centers today. Their masses can be millions or billions or suns, almost as massive as a dwarf galaxy. What are the origins of these black holes? Volonteri will discuss how these black holes formed shortly after the Big Bang, and what their role on our galaxy is.

April 4

Oleg Gnedin, assistant professor in the U-M Department of Astronomy

“Milky Way Galaxy: Keeper of the Darkest Secrets of the Universe”

Our cosmic backyard contains keys to the biggest questions in the Universe: the nature and structure of dark matter. Gnedin will discuss current theoretical and observational studies of the distribution of dark matter on the smallest scales and the search for the dark matter particle.

PLACE: The lectures are held in rooms 170 and 182 of the Dennison Building,500 Church St., on the U-M Central Campus in Ann Arbor. A map is available at http://uuis.umich.edu/cic/map/central/index.cfm?region=D5.

SPONSORS: The winter 2009 series is sponsored by the U-M College of Literature, Science and the Arts’ astronomy theme semester, “The Universe: Yours to Discover,” the U-M Department of Physics, the Hideko Tomozawa Endowment, and gifts from friends of the program.

WEBSITE: Saturday Morning Physics: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/physics/seminars/smp/