Mercury Magazine Summer 2013
Contents and Select Excerpts
Vol. 42 No. 3
Summer 2013
A conferenceˆÒs success is often determined by the quality of the papers, and how well theyˆÒre presented. So before you next step up to the podium, consider the numerous tips in ˆÓBetter Conference Talks,ˆÔ a story that will help you prepare, and present, a superior talk in the Summer 2013 issue of Mercury.
This page contains the table of contents and select excerpts only and is not a complete reproduction of this issue. Complete content for online Mercury is available to ASP members and institutional subscribers. Already a member? You can retrieve the latest issue of Mercury by logging into the ASP membership portal.
Table of Contents
[19] Better Conference Talks, Emily Lakdawalla
IˆÒve been to a lot of conferences and attended a lot of talks, and the best advice I can give for presenting a better talk is: Respect your audience.
[28] Divine Animals: Plato, Aristotle, and the Stars, Stephen Case
The ideas of Plato and Aristotle on the nature of the stars gave rise to distinct traditions in the history of astronomy.
[34] The ASP at its Heart, James G. Manning
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is 124 years old this year, and while our vision has evolved, we are still working together to advance science literacy through astronomy.
[39] Astronomy in the News
A Moon mystery solved, a new kind of variable star discovered, and the Big Bang theory strengthened ˆ× these are a few of the discoveries that recently made news in the astronomical community.
Departments
[4] Perspectives, Paul Deans
Where is the Long View?
[5] First Word, Jim Manning
Serendipity and NASAˆÒs Proposed EPO Cuts
[7] Annals of Astronomy, Clifford J. Cunningham
The Water Telescope
[8] AstronomerˆÒs Notebook, Jennifer Birriel
The Amazing Red Spider Nebulae
[10] Planetary Perspectives, Emily Joseph
Curiosity Update
[11] Armchair Astrophysics, Christopher Wanjek
Here Comes the Anti-Glitch
[13] Education Matters, David Bruning
Miles to Go and Promises to Keep
[14] Reaching Out, Bethany Cobb
Why Do I Engage in EPO?
[16] Societal Impact, James Manning & Jeff Mangum
ASP Scientific Publications: Going Strong Since 1889
[47] ASP Tidings
ASPˆÒs 2013 Award Recipients
[52] Sky Sights, Paul Deans
DonˆÒt miss the Perseids in August
[55] Reflections, Suomi NPP
The Americas by Day and Night
Better Conference Talks
by Emily Lakdawalla
This article came about because of my frustration at how bad presentations can get in the way of really exciting science. (The Planetary Society)
IˆÒve been to a lot of conferences and seen a lot of talks, and itˆÒs amazing to me how a bad presentation can get in the way of really exciting science. This article is a response to my frustration about bad conference presentations. I do feel a little hesitant to set myself up as an expert on this, because I know I have a lot of work to do to improve my talks. Still, I think I have useful advice to offer.
I can summarize that advice in three words: Respect Your Audience. All those people in the room in front of you ˆ× they are not you. But their time is as valuable as yours. Work to deliver them a presentation that is designed for them, to inform and interest them in your work, to leave them pleased that they spent that five or 10 or 50 minutes of their valuable time listening to you. Here are five key questions to consider as you prepare your talk.
Divine Animals: Plato, Aristotle, and the Stars
by Stephen Case
Bust of Plato (left) from a copy of the portrait made by Silanion ca. 370 BC, and a bust of Aristotle (right), a Roman copy after a Greek bronze original by Lysippos from 330 BC. (Both from Wikipedia/Jastrow.)
Speculation on the nature of the stars has, for most of history, operated at or beyond the edge of evidence. For the early natural philosophers, naked-eye observations of the night sky were the only way to reach conclusions about the heavens.
In the centuries before the telescope, the stars provided an unchanging vista for everyone of sufficient visual acuity. Yet from this seemingly uniform set of empirical data, astronomers and philosophers reached widely varying conclusions. On the question of the stars, the writings of the two founders of Western philosophy and science, Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC), defined opposing schools that remained influential for a millennium. While the Aristotelian view of the stars as aethereal, unearthly bodies gained dominance in the medieval period, the rediscovery of Platonic writings in the late Renaissance contributed to early modern conceptions of the stars as rotating, fiery objects.
The ASP at its Heart
by James G. Manning