Four bright planets — Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars — spread across the ecliptic from West to Southeast were the stars of the show at tonight’s “Meet the Stars” public observing event. We also viewed Pluto (maybe) and Neptune, and wrapped up the evening with the Ring Nebula (M57). Venus and Jupiter were bright enough to… Read more »
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Fall 2018 Welcome Week
We had an impressive showing of SPS / Physics Club members in the courtyard today to catch up and welcome new students:
Alumni on Campus Doing R&D for Automated Characterization of Materials for Musical Instruments
Tom Nania (left, Physics, ’13) and Alex LeClair (right, Computer Science and Applied Math, ’16), both of whom worked in Prof. Levine’s astroparticle research group, are working together to build a machine to automate the process of characterizing wood to be used for hand-made musical instruments. Notably, Tom is now an Affiliated Scholar in our… Read more »
Biology-Physics Collaboration in IUSB X-Ray Lab
Seniors Levi Klopfenstein (Physics, left) and Skye McDonald (Biology, right) are starting a new collaboration to use the IU South Bend powder X-ray diffraction lab to distinguish calcite vs aragonite-structured carbonates in synthetic and natural samples.
Prof. Schimmrigk’s Summer 2018 Theory Group
I finally built up enough courage to interrupt Prof. Schimmrigk and his current research students, Deepu Sengupta and Johnathan Leece, for a photo.
Bird’s Eye View of IU South Bend Observatory
James Brosher, of IU Communications down in Bloomington, visited our campus this past weekend and used a drone to capture some bird’s eye views of our observatory. Thanks, James!
Physics Major Levi Klopfenstein Exploring the Deep Oceans of Icy Worlds
Senior physics major Levi Klopfenstein has been exploring the complicated phase diagram of H2O using an externally heated diamond anvil cell (DAC). Here he is creating a video of a high-pressure phase known as Ice VI, which is expected to be common in large icy satellites, melting while being heated in a DAC.
Great Viewing for 7/24/2018 MTS!
I wasn’t able to stay for long (most people are still there as I write this!), but we had a good turnout and perfect conditions tonight. The moon, Jupiter and Saturn were early targets. And, as a nice surprise, IUSB Physics alum Nathan Smith (’11) came with his six year old son. Nathan is now… Read more »
Incoming Students Visit Observatory
Prof. Jerry Hinnfeld gave tours to groups of incoming students at today’s New Student Orientation. Looks like we’ve got a great crop overall and some very promising incoming physics majors!
Next Meet the Stars: Tuesday, July 24th
Our next public observing night will be Tuesday, July 24th, from 9:00-10:30 p.m., weather permitting. Check the MTS page for the definitive word on whether we’re going ahead with it.