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The Spectator
Summer Promises Variety of Scientific Events
Events Include Lunar and Solar Eclipses, Space Shuttle Launches, Summer Research at Hamilton
by Elijah LaChance '10 and Julia Litzky '12Science & Technology Editors
Even though you may be away from academia over the summer, there are many scientific events worth noting. Particularly, look for developments related to stem cell research. On March 9, President Obama lifted the ban that had been placed on funding such research, reversing former President Bush's 2001 refusal to fund any research on embryonic stem cells beyond certain defined human embryonic stem cell lines. This summer, look for logistics to be worked out and for announcements on what courses this new branch of research will take.
CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been delayed again and again, and the current date for power-up is in the middle of September, with the first experiments taking place in mid-October. This summer, look for updates concerning the progress of repairs on the collider, which is key to potentially discovering the elusive Higgs boson and validating the current physical model of the universe, as well as answering remaining questions about a number of unexplained physics-based phenomena.
Even though most will be off the Hill this summer, over 100 Hamiltonians will remain on campus, and many will be conducting scientific research. Notably, students will pursue research on red blood cell fragility with Profs. Nicole Snyder and David Gapp, explore the microdiversity of Green Lake with Prof. Michael McCormick and prepare software to analyze supernovas with Prof. Natalia Connolly, among others. In addition, many students will pursue independent lines of research under Emerson grants.
Additionally, watch the skies for these upcoming astronomy-related events:
May 11: The Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to be launched at 2:01 p.m. from the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Florida. Atlantis will be bringing seven astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope for a final servicing mission before the Hubble is retired from service. Repairs and improvements will be made to the observatory.
June 13: The Space Shuttle Endeavor will be launched at 7:19 a.m. from the Kennedy Space Center and will be delivering part of Japan's Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS).
July 7: A penumbral lunar eclipse will occur, which is when the moon passes through the Earth's shadow, causing it to no longer be visible in the sky.
July 27: A total solar eclipse will occur. This is when the sun is fully obscured by the moon's passing between the sun and earth.
August 6: The Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center and will be carrying experiment and storage racks to the ISS. Another penumbral lunar eclipse will also occur on this day.
Late August: The flight test of the Ares I-X is also scheduled for August. The Ares I-X is a new Constellation launch vehicle, a rocket that NASA hopes to use to send future astronauts to space.