Cline Observatory - Speaker Series/NCAM
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North Carolina Astronomers’ Meeting
Saturday, 18 October 2008 |
Featured Speaker, Saturday Morning: Neil Gehrels, NASA/GSFC
Gamma Ray Burst Discoveries with the Swift Mission |
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| Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most fascinating occurrences in the universe. They are powerful explosions, visible to high redshift, and thought to be the signature of black hole formation. The Swift Observatory has been detecting 100 bursts per year for 3 years and has greatly stimulated the field with new findings. Observations are made of the X-ray and optical afterglow from ~1 minute after the burst, continuing for days. Evidence is building that the long and short duration subcategories of GRBs have very different origins: massive star core collapse to a black hole for long bursts and binary neutron star coalescence to a black hole for short bursts. The similarity to Type II and Ia supernovae originating from young and old stellar progenitors is striking. Bursts are providing a new tool to study the high redshift universe. Swift has detected several events at z>5 and one at z=6.3 giving metallicity measurements and other data on galaxies at previously inaccessible distances. The talk will present the latest results from Swift in GRB astronomy. |
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| Dr. Gehrels will also give a public lecture, "Black Holes, From Einstein to Gamma Ray Bursts" at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 17 Oct 2008, in the auditorium of the Koury Hospitality Careers Building at GTCC. |
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| Meeting Registration |
As usual, there is no registration fee for the NCA meeting. We will have a sign-in table in the Koury Building.
We would like to get a reasonably accurate head count for the meeting, so that we can let the site committee know how much food/drink to order for break refreshments. Please let us know beforehand by registering through the Online Registration Form if you are planning on coming. Registrations for presentations should be completed by Friday, 10 October 2008. If you plan to come but NOT to present, we would still like for you to register beforehand - you can do this up until 15 October. |
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| Directions To The Meeting |
The meeting is held in the Koury Hospitality Careers Building on the Jamestown campus of GTCC.
Follow this link for directions and maps.
Local Lodging: There are plenty of hotels around the area, but visitors to the High Point Furniture Market (which starts the week after our meeting) will snap up most of the hotel rooms in the area, and rates might be higher than normal - if you plan to stay overnight Friday (to attend the Friday lecture or just to get here early for Saturday), book your rooms early.
Find accommodations in the Greensboro area. |
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| Abstract Submission |
If you would like to present an oral or display presentation at the NCA meeting, please fill out and submit the
Online Registration Form by Friday, 10 October 2008 (You should also submit the form if you plan to attend without presenting.) Forms are submitted to Tom English (336-334-4822, ext 2620). You should receive confirmation of receipt within a day of submission - if not, call or e-mail to verify. |
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| Saturday Lunch Options |
We are pursuing a plan that will allow on-site purchase of tickets for a caterer-provided buffet lunch. Stay tuned for details. Nearby off-campus lunch options are also available. |
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| Meeting Agenda |
All oral presentations are held in the Koury Auditorium.
Display presentations will be set up in an adjacent space. |
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Saturday, 18 October
| 9:00 |
Open |
| 9:30 |
Welcome & Announcements |
| 9:40 |
Invited Presentation, Neil Gehrels |
| 10:30 |
Break |
| 11:00 |
Contributed Oral Presentations |
| 12:00 |
Lunch |
| 1:30 |
Contributed Oral Presentations |
| 2:30 |
Break |
| 3:00 |
Contributed Oral Presentations |
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| Detailed Agenda |
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| 2007 NCA Meeting photos posted at the PARI web site. |
| Past NCA Meetings |
