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2014 Van Biesbroeck Prize Awarded to Former STScI Deputy Director Hauser

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Newswise Michael Hauser, former deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and an adjunct professor in the Johns Hopkins University's Physics and Astronomy Department, both located in Baltimore, Md., will receive the 2014 George Van Biesbroeck Prize from the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

The prize honors a living individual for long-term extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy, often beyond the requirements of his or her paid position. It is named for astronomer George Van Biesbroeck (1880-1974), who studied minor planets, comets, satellites, and double stars.

Hauser, an emeritus astronomer at STScI, said he is honored to receive the award. "I am very surprised and proud to learn that I have been awarded the AAS George Van Biesbroeck Prize for 2014," Hauser said. "This recognition from my colleagues in the astronomical community means a great deal to me. It has been a privilege to be a participant in the remarkable transformation of our discipline over the past 43 years."

In its citation, the Van Biesbroeck Prize committee recognized Hauser's long service to the astronomy community. The committee emphasized Hauser's "strategic vision" in establishing and leading the infrared group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and later, as STScI's deputy director, where he played a key role in turning STScI into a multi-mission institution.

Throughout his career, Hauser has had wide-ranging influence as a mentor to young scientists, including Nobel Laureate John Mather of Goddard. He also has served on an unusually large number of committees, often as chair, helping to guide major space-based astronomy missions and long-term strategic plans.

Hauser was a member of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) science team. The science team used NASA's COBE satellite, launched in 1989, to measure the early universe's diffuse infrared and microwave radiation, which is considered a relic of the big bang. The COBE science team received several honors for their analysis of the COBE data, including the Gruber Foundation's 2006 Cosmology Prize.

Hauser served as deputy director of STScI from 1995 to 2009. During his tenure, he was a leader in the transformation of STScI to a multi-observatory organization that includes both the Hubble and James Webb space telescope programs.

Before arriving at STScI, Hauser worked at Goddard for 21 years, holding various management positions and performing astrophysical and cosmological research. He led the Infrared Astrophysics Branch for 14 years and subsequently served for 7 years as chief of the Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics. He was a member of the science working group for NASA's pioneering infrared astronomy mission, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), and was principal investigator of the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) on NASA's COBE mission. Hauser also was a co-investigator on the COBE Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) and Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR). The COBE instruments provided precise quantitative confirmation of the big bang as the origin of the universe, discovered the first evidence for the primordial irregularities that have led to the growth of the cosmic structures we see today, and provided the first detection of the cosmic infrared background radiation, a cumulative measure of energy released since stars and galaxies formed.

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2014 Van Biesbroeck Prize Awarded to Former STScI Deputy Director Hauser

Seeing spots: Tracking a solar storm

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REXBURG Former astronomy teacher Allan Morton is still keeping an eye on the skies and he recently spotted a large sunspot group on the sun.

The sunspot group first cropped up early in January and reached its maximum around Jan. 8, Morton said.

He said the main sunspot was so large, estimated at about 40,000 miles across, that it could be seen without a telescope if the viewer used the proper filter.

I could see it through a filter with the naked eye, he said.

It was part of a larger group of about 45 sunspots around 120,000 miles across.

Morton has long had an interest in astronomy, even building his own observatory as a young man.

Now retired for several years, and back in Rexburg where he grew up, Morton taught beginning classes in astronomy and geology at Central Arizona College from 1974 to 2003 and was in charge of the Central Arizona College observatory during that time.

Morton said the recent sunspot group had the potential to send disruptive radiation our way, but when it pulsed last week it did not amount to anything extraordinary.

It was kind of eerie because it can be thought of as a large solar cannon pointed toward the earth capable of doing us harm, he said.

Steady solar radiation occurs constantly, but sunspot activity can trigger large geomagnetic storms affecting electrical grids, satellite and radio communication and navigation aids.

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Seeing spots: Tracking a solar storm

R.I.P. John Dobson

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Ever heard of the Dobsonian telescope? Or of the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers? The amateur astronomer John Dobson who founded the Sidewalk Astronomers and did so much more besides died on January 15, 2014, leaving a legacy thats sure to endure.

John Dobson is a hero to all who love astronomy, telescopes, and astronomy for the public. Hes been called the Pied Piper of Astronomy, and the Star Monk. As described in his bio on the website of the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers, he is:

arguably one the most influential personalities in amateur astronomy in the last 50 years. He has almost single-handedly revolutionized backyard astronomy by bringing it out to the street, making it accessible for anyone who has ever looked up in wonder, and asked Why?

Born in Peking (Beijing), China in 1915 to a family of musicians and intellectuals, Dobson joined the Vedanta Monastery in San Francisco in 1944, becoming a monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He built his first telescope in 1956 and was said to be so fascinated with what he saw that he said to himself:

Everybodys got to see this.

Telescopes at the time were complicated and expensive pieces of equipment, and Dobson was a monk, with no money. He ultimately developed what has come to be known as the Dobsonian telescope with an inexpensive mounting thats unique is its simplicity, moving up and down, left and right. The design for these telescope mounting has been duplicated by countless amateur astronomers who wanted to find an inexpensive way to build what they needed to peer up at the night sky.

But Dobson didnt stop there. In 1968, he founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers, who began bringing astronomy to the streets and to parks. His efforts inspired amateur astronomers around the world to share their equipment and their knowledge with the public at regular star parties. If youve ever attended a star party, its perhaps thanks to John Dobsons early efforts.

A note at John Dobsons Facebook page yesterday said:

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we have to report the passing of Mr John L. Dobson. He died peacefully this morning, January 15th, 2014, in Burbank, California. He was 98. John leaves behind a son, many close friends, and legions of friends, fans, and admirers around the globe.

ISAN 7 (International Sidewalk Astronomy Night) will be held in honor of John on March 8th. Amateur astronomers worldwide can join in and celebrate his life by carrying the torch that John lit back in 1968 when he co-founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers.

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R.I.P. John Dobson

How Would a Planet Move if the Sun’s Gravity Disappeared? : Astronomy Lessons – Video

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How Would a Planet Move if the Sun #39;s Gravity Disappeared? : Astronomy Lessons
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How Can an Astronomer Detect a Large Planet Orbiting a Star? : Astronomy Lessons – Video

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How Can an Astronomer Detect a Large Planet Orbiting a Star? : Astronomy Lessons
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How Can an Astronomer Detect a Large Planet Orbiting a Star? : Astronomy Lessons - Video

Complete Coverage: Astronomy News from the 223rd AAS Meeting

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More than 3,000 scientists are gathering in Washington, D.C. this week for a five-day conference that has been billed as the "Super Bowl of astronomy." The 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) ran from Jan. 5 to Jan. 9. Researchers from around the world presented the latest findings about our own solar system, alien planets, black holes and the evolution of the universe, among other topics.

SPACE.com reporters Miriam Kramer and Tanya Lewis are in Washington for the AAS conference. Our complete coverage of meeting appears below, with the latest news first:

Friday, Jan. 10:Searching for Time Travelers, Scientists Look to Social Media Time travelers, if they exist amongst us, have yet to betray their period-hopping ways online, according to a fun, new study that tried to search out visitors from another time, based on their digital footprints.

Space Images from the 223rd American Astronomical Society Meeting: Gallery

3D-Printed Hubble Telescope Photos Help Blind Touch the Universe: Video Astronomers with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore are using a 3D printer to turn Hubble images into textured pictures, opening up the wonders of the universe to people who are visually impaired.

Thursday, Jan. 9

Super-Earth Planets May Have Watery Earthlike Climates According to a new model, tectonically active "super-Earth" exoplanets likely store most of their water in the mantle, leaving exposed continents and oceans that would create a stable climate such as that of Earth.

Wednesday, Jan. 8

Scale of Universe Measured with 1-Percent Accuracy An ultraprecise new galaxy map is shedding light on the properties of dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be responsible for the universe's accelerating expansion.

Smallest, Faintest Galaxies of the Ancient Universe Spotted The Hubble Space Telescope utilized a natural zoom lens to capture nearly 60 of the smallest, faintest galaxies ever spotted in the distant universe. In a separate study, observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope helped researchers determine the masses of four of the brightest early galaxies after Hubble picked them out.

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Complete Coverage: Astronomy News from the 223rd AAS Meeting

Royal Astronomical Society Honors Outstanding Astronomers and Geophysicists

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On Friday 10 January the Royal Astronomical Society, the UK's leading voice for astronomers and geophysicists, will announce the recipients of the Society's medals and awards for 2014. The prizes honor individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to astronomy (here designated 'A') and geophysics ('G') and will be presented at the 2014 National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2014) to be held in Portsmouth in June.

Professor David Southwood, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, congratulated the winners: "For nearly two centuries the RAS has supported the work of astronomers and geophysicists in the UK and around the world. It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce the winners of our medals and awards for 2014, recognizing the extraordinarily talented men and women who reach the highest levels of achievement in our field."

Full list of medal and award recipients:

* Gold Medal (A): Professor Carlos Frenk FRS, University of Durham

* Gold Medal (G): Professor John Zarnecki, Open University

* Eddington Medal (A): Professor Andrew King, University of Leicester

* Price Medal (G): Professor Seth Stein, Northwestern University, USA

* Herschel Medal (A): Professor Reinhard Genzel, MPIE Garching, Germany / University of California, Berkeley, USA

* Chapman Medal (A): Professor Louise Harra, Mullard Space Science Laboratory

* Jackson-Gwilt Medal (A): Professor George Fraser, University of Leicester

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Royal Astronomical Society Honors Outstanding Astronomers and Geophysicists

Astronomy: How Much of the World Can See a Lunar Eclipse? : Astronomy Lessons – Video

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Astronomy: How Much of the World Can See a Lunar Eclipse? : Astronomy Lessons
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