|
|
|
|
| An Astronomer Reads Thoreau |
| Tom Calderwood |
| Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 8:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Henry David Thoreau is best known for his observations on botany, biology,
economics and politics, but his curiosity knew no bounds. He left behind
a journal of his thoughts and experiences, some two million words in
length. A reading of the journal reveals a remarkable number of
references to astronomy, revealing his interest in the field, even if he
was not an regular observer. There are entries regarding astronomical
science, night sky objects, atmospheric phenomena, optical effects, and
poetry (rather like Astronomy Picture of the Day):
"The boy's sled gets put away in the barn or shed, and there it lies
dormant all summer, like a woodchuck in winter. It goes into its burrow
just before woodchucks come out, so that you may say a woodchuck never
sees a sled, nor a sled a woodchuck, unless it were a prematurely risen
woodchuck or a belated and unseasonable sled... The sun now passes from
the constellation of the sled into that of the woodchuck." Journal, 25 March 1860
Speaker Bio
Tom Calderwood is a native of Oregon, becoming a New England transplant to attend
MIT, majoring in mathematics. He has worked on software to support the
Chandra X-ray Observatory and the sun-observing Hinode satellite. An
ATMoB member since 1984, he has made two mirrors at the clubhouse and is
the self-proclaimed "master" of the turned-down edge.
Please join us for a pre-meeting dinner discussion at Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA at 6:00pm before the meeting. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Other Monthly Meetings |
|
<<
2016
>>
|
| Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
| Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|
Logon
