Featured speaker to discuss T Coronae Borealis, solar cycle at Quincy Astronomy Club meeting Thursday

QUINCY — The Quincy Astronomy Club will feature an in-person lecture by Fred Bruhweiler at 7 p.m. on Thursday May, 30, in Room D022 at John Wood Community College.

The public is invited. The lecture room is on the rear side of the lower north end of Building D.

Bruhweiler’s first talk will be about the recurring nova T Coronae Borealis, last seen in 1946 and recurs every 80 years. This stellar explosion, a once-in-a-lifetime event, hopefully will be visible in the night sky for a short time this summer.  The second topic will be the solar cycle and how solar activity and the resulting space weather affect human activity.

Bruhweiler grew up in West Quincy, Mo. He received his doctorate from the University of Texas and has published results spanning a wide range of astrophysical topics. He retired as professor and director of the Institute for Astrophysics and Computational Sciences at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is a physicist-in-residence and research professor at American University, also in D.C. He has maintained his affiliation with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center since 1978.

Local amateur astronomers formed the astronomy club. It seeks to teach, explore and expand minds about space and our universe. Lectures are held monthly, usually on the last Thursday of the month. The club also holds evening observing sessions as weather and observing conditions permit. Local amateurs with their telescopes guide the observing sessions. 

For more information, contact Susan Asher at 217-653-5074 or asherte@yahoo.com.