Tuesday, December 8 When exoplanets are observed to transit their parent stars, we are granted direct estimates of their masses and radii, and we can undertake studies of their atmospheres. Such systems have profoundly impacted our understanding of giant exoplanets akin to Jupiter or Neptune, but the study of smaller rocky exoplanets has only just begun. By targeting nearby low-mass stars, transit search using modest equipment is capable of discovering planets as small as 2 Earth radii in their stellar habitable zones. The discovery of such planets would provide fundamental constraints on the physical structure of planets that are primarily rock and ice in composition. Moreover, by differencing spectra gathered when the planet is in view from those when it is occulted by the star, we can study the atmospheric chemistry of potentially habitable worlds. David Charbonneau joined the faculty in the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University in August 2004. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for the detection and characterization of planets orbiting nearby, Sun-like stars. National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry In honor of his distinguished career and numerous scientific contributions, the Academy is awarding Daniel Otte with the Joseph Leidy Medal. Following the ceremony, Dr. Otte will relate his many travels and adventures throughout Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, North America and the islands of the Pacific. Speaker: Lonnie Dupree Polar Explorer and Explorer Club member residing in Minnesotta Earlier this year, Lonnie Dupre, Maxime Chaya and Stewart Smith undertook a 54-day Arctic trek to commemorate the 1909 expedition in which Robert Peary, Matthew Henson and a small team of Inuit first set foot at the North Pole. In addition to celebrating this epic adventure, Dupre and his colleagues seek to highlight the impact of global warming on the Arctic and the consequences this has on the Inuit. Lonnie Dupre last appeared at the Academy in February 2008 to talk about one of his earlier Arctic expeditions. On November 17, he'll relate the difficult and often harrowing conditions he and his team experienced during the “Peary-Henson Commemorative Expedition.” He'll also present the official flag of the Academy, which his expedition team unfurled while at the North Pole; the Academy, one of several supporters of the 2009 commemorative expedition, was the sponsor of the Robert Peary's first Arctic expeditions. www.lonniedupre.com Speaker: Art Mortvedt, who shall be receiving a Lowell Thomas Award at the Explorers Club Headquaters on October 15. Art is a member of the Alaska Chapter of the EC and will give a presentation about his solo flight to both the North and South Poles in his "Polar Pumpkin", a Cessna 185, N90SN. Explorer Club members Robert M. Peck (ACNS Senior Fellow)
Haverford College
Haverford, PA
Sharpless Auditorium
Time: 4:30
Event is Free to the public
Program - “Detecting Habitable Exoplanets: The Small Star Opportunity”
by David Charbonneau, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University
Dr. Charbonneau is a founding member of the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey, which uses a network of small, automated telescopes to survey tens of thousands of stars for periodic eclipses that indicate the passage of orbiting planets. In 2005, he led the team that made the first direct detection of light emitted by a planet outside the Solar system. Dr. Charbonneau earned his PhD in astronomy from Harvard University, and received his undergraduate degree in math and physics from the University of Toronto. In 2004, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific awarded him the Robert J. Trumpler Award for his graduate thesis entitled "Shadows and Reflections of Extrasolar Planets". He was recently named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, and awarded a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering.
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Saturday, November 21
Program & Reception
Connelly Hall
Villanova University
6:30-8:30 PM
Free to the public
World famous National Geographic photographer Steve McCurray was present for his opening show "Looking East" at the Villanova University Art Gallery at Connelly Hall. Among the many color photographs on display through December 13 are the "Afghan Girl" which was the cover shot of the June 1985 edition of National Geographic Magazine. Over 200 guests enjoyed the opening reception and talk by Steve who later answered many questions from the audience.
& Explorer Club Member Christopher J. Gervais, MN'09
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Thursday, November 12
Program & Film
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th & the Parkway
Philadelphia, PA
Program 6:00 PM
Event Free
Dr. Daniel Otte, the world's foremost authority in Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets), has served a curator of Entomology at the Academy of Natural Sciences since 1975. He has conducted research on grasshoppers and crickets around the world with emphases on faunal origins and diversification, and the evolution of their systems of acoustic communication and territoriality. He has authored several books and numerous other scientific publications, served as editor for the Journal of Orthoptera Research, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences and Transactions of the American Entomological Society, and has contributed illustrations for a range of natural history and scientific publications.
This event if free and open to the public.
RSVP: 215-299-1060
reservations@ansp.com
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Tuesday, November 17
Program & Film
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th & the Parkway
Philadelphia, PA
Time: 6:00 PM
Event Free
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Wednesday - October 28, 2009
Program & Reception
Cosmopolitan Club
1616 Latimer Street
Philadelphia, PA
Reception: 6:30 & Program 7:00 PM
Cost: $20.00
Cash Bar, Hors d'oeuvres included.
Advance Reservations and Payment Required.
You can read more about Art's expedition on his website: www.polarflight90.com
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Thursday, October 15
Program & Reception
Academy of Natural Sciences (ACNS)
19th & The Parkway
Philadelphia, PA
Reception: 5:30 & Program 6:00-7:30 PM
Cost: Free
An Excursion to The Rocky Mountains: The Life & Travels of John Kirk Townsend an illustrated talk by senior ACNS Fellow Robert Peck
John Kirk Townsend (1809-1851) was a Philadelphia Quaker who helped shape American science and American history with a=2 0pioneering trip across North America on behalf of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1834. His narrative of that trip, published in 1839, is considered a classic of American travel literature. Leaving Philadelphia at the age of 24, he returned three years later with a remarkable number of natural history discoveries which were greeted with enthusiasm by the members of the Academy and were used as models by John James Audubon in The Birds of America and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.
To commemorate the bicentennial of Townsend’s birth, and to celebrate his many achievements, Academy Senior Fellow Robert Peck will presented an illustrated talk about Townsend and his remarkable life, sponsored by the Friends of the Academy Library. There were around 60 persons in attendance despite the N'or Easter blowing into Philadelphia.
& PHL Chapter Board Member Christopher J. Gervais
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Thursday, September 24
Lecture and Program
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th & the Parkway
Philadelphia
Free to the public
Richard Wiese, author of Born to Explore: How To Be a Backyard Adventurer, has led quite an exciting life! In 2002, he became the youngest president in the 100-year history of the Explorers Club. As an Emmy-winning journalist, outdoorsman, and respected field scientist, Wiese has traveled to all seven continents. He has tagged jaguars in the Yucatan jungles, led an expedition to the Northern Territory of Australia to probe the Aboriginal myth of the Rainbow Serpent, co-discovered 202 new forms of life in the first microbial survey of Central Park in NYC, and founded the Central Park "Bio Blitz.”
In Born to Explore, Wiese dispels the claim that backyards are boring. He introduces many aspects of outdoor living that most people, young and old alike, might not notice, such as fossil hunting, navigating with stars, predicting the weather, building a radio that does not require electricity, and even making coffee from a bean that grows in New York's Central Park. Ever been weary of wearing a watch? He tells how to tell time without one. Want to start a fire without matches or lighter fluid? When the snow is falling, do you ever dream about making an igloo like an Eskimo? He can teach you all this and more.
Peter Hess, FN'88 Richard Wiese, FR, 89
