Seminars and Events
Boise State University Department of Physics
First Friday Astronomy
Events
Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event:
Friday, April 2, 7:30pm
Dr. Ami Choi, Department of Physics, Ohio State University, will present:
“Seeing the Dark Side of the Universe through Cosmic Lenses”
Online lecture begins at 7:30pm MDT – http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-cosmic-lenses/
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event:
Friday, March 5, 7:30pm
Prof. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, will present:
“Psyche: Journey to a Metallic World”
Online lecture begins at 7:30pm MDT – http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-psyche/
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Please join us for the First Friday Astronomy Event on
Friday, February 5, 7:30pm
Lisa Grossman, Astronomy Writer at Science News, will present:
“How to Talk So Science Journalists Will Listen”
Online lecture begins at 7:30pm MDT – http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-science-journalists/
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event:
Friday, January, 1, 7:30pm
Prof. Brian Jackson, Department of Physics, Boise State University, will present on:
“The Discovery of Neptune”
Online lecture begins at 7:30pm MDT – http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-neptune/
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event:
Friday, December 4, 7:30pm
Dr. Cathy Olkin, Southwest Research Institute, will present on:
“NASA’s Lucy Mission: 1 Spacecraft, 7 Trojan Asteroids, 12 years”
Online lecture begins 7:30pm MT http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-lucy-mission/
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event on
Friday, November 6, 7:30pm
Prof. Barbara Ryden, Dept. of Astronomy at The Ohio State University, will present on:
“A Practical Guide to Time Travel”
Online lecture begins 7:30pm MT http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-time-travel/
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event:
Friday, October 2, 7:30pm
Dr. Laura Mayorga, Space Telescope Science Institute will present on:
“The Solar System Laboratory: A Testbed for Exoplanet Studies”
Online lecture begins 7:30pm MT http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-solar-system-lab
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

Online Colloquium Series
Friday September 4, 2020 at 3:00PM to 4:00PM
Prof. Darci Snowden
Dept. of Physics, Central Washington University
“Titan’s Enigmatic Upper Atmosphere and its Interaction with Saturn’s Magnetosphere”
ABSTRACT: Titan orbits at the edge of a region of space altered by Saturn’s magnetic field, known as Saturn’s magnetosphere. In this talk, she will review how planetary atmospheres are altered by their space environment. She will also discuss some of the most exciting discoveries from the Cassini mission: like the discovery of massive organic ions at much higher altitudes in Titan’s atmosphere than expected. Finally, Prof. Snowden will show how she uses computer models and data from Cassini to understand how Saturn’s magnetosphere affects the structure, energetics, and chemistry of Titan’s thermosphere.
Join us online via Zoom. The pass code is 393953.
The session was recorded and available via YouTube.
Fall 2020 Event Lineup:
September 4: Prof. Darci Snowden, Dept. of Physics, Central Washington
http://www.cwu.edu/faculty/snowden
Peering Through the Haze:
Titan’s Fascinating Atmosphere and Surface
October 2: Dr. Laura Mayorga, Space Telescope Science Institute
https://lcmayorga.wordpress.com/
The Solor System Laboratory:
A Testbed for Exoplanet Studies
November 6: Prof. Barbara Ryden, Dept. of Astronomy, Ohio State
http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~ryden/
A Practical Guide to Time Travel
December 4: Dr. Cathy Olkin, Southwest Research Institute
https://www.boulder.swri.edu/~colkin/
NASA’s Lucy Mission:
1 Spacecraft, 7 Trojan Asteroids, 12 years
Virtual Lectures at 7:30PM MT on the First Friday of the month
http://boi.st/PhysicsEvents
Events are open to the public and donation-supported. Donate at http://boi.st/GiveToAstronomy.

First Friday September
Please join us online for the First Friday Astronomy Event on
Friday, September 4, 7:30PM
Prof. Darci Snowden, Department of Physics at Central Washington University will present on:
“Peering Through the Haze: Titan’s Fascinating Atmosphere and Surface”
Online lecture begins 7:30PM MT http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-titan-haze
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

First Friday August
Online First Friday Astronomy Event on
Friday, August 7, 8:30pm
Sub-Orbital Ballooning Experiments and Education
Dr. Paul Verhage – Treasure Valley Math & Science Center
http://nearsys.com/
Online lecture begins 8:30pm MDT – http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-ballooning
Donate at give.boisestate.edu/astronomy

First Friday June
We invite you to join us online for our First Friday Astronomy Event.
Friday, June 5, 2020, 8:30pm
Dr. James Evans, Professor of Physics, University of Puget Sound
will present: “The Antikythera Mechanism”
Join us online at 8:30pm @http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-antikythera/

First Friday May
We invite you to join us online for our First Friday Astronomy Event.
Friday, May 1, 2020, 8:30pm
Dr. Kelsie Krafton, Bahcall Public Policy Fellow at the American Astronomy Society will present on “Science and Space Policy in the Current Era”
Join us online at 8:30pm @ http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-space-policy/

First Friday Lineup
We invite you to join us again for our First Friday Astronomy Event.
Dr. Kelsie Krafton May 1
Bahcall Public Policy Fellow, American Astron. Society
Science and Space Policy in the Current Era
https://kelsiekraftondotcom.wordpress.com/cv/
Prof. James Evans Jun 5
Dept. of Physics, University of Puget Sound
The Antikythera Mechanism
http://www2.ups.edu/faculty/jcevans/
Prof. Kathryn Devine Jul 3
Mathematics and Physical Sciences Dept., College of Idaho
Massive Star Formation
https://www.collegeofidaho.edu/directory/kathryn-devine
Dr. L. Paul Verhage Aug 7
Treasure Valley Math and Science Center
Sub-Orbital Ballooning Experiments and Education
http://nearsys.com/
Lectures at 8:30p on the First Friday of the month
Check http://boi.st/PhysicsEvents for details about how to attend.
Events are open to the public and donation-supported. Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy

First Friday April
We invite you to join us for our First Friday Astronomy Event – which will be online this month.
Friday, April 3, 2020, 7:30pm
Professor Devon Burr from Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at Northern Arizona University, will speak about Rivers Across the Solar System
Join us online at 7:30 @ http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-rivers/
Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy

Dr. Ben Margalit
Please join us as NASA Einstein Fellow Dr. Ben Margalit will present on the following topic:
Fast Radio Bursts and Discovering Unknowns in Astronomy
Friday, March 6, 2020
Lectures in MPCB, room 118 at 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Or join us for his presentation in the evening with our First Friday Astronomy Event:
Friday, March 6, 2020
Lectures in Sci/Ed Bldg, room 112 at 7:30 p.m., Stargazing in Boise State’s Observatory at 8:30 p.m.
Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy

Additional Information: Fast radio bursts (FRBs), radio pulses from space only milliseconds long, have remained an enigma for decades. Join Boise State Physics on Friday, Mar 6 at 7:30pm in the Education/Science Building, room 112 to hear Dr. Ben Margalit from UC Berkeley explain how he helped solve this mystery and how FRBs might herald the birth of stars with magnetic fields so strong they could rip the iron from your blood. After the lecture, we’ll visit Boise State’s on-campus observatory. The event is free and open to the public.
How old are Saturn’s rings and moons?
Prof. Matthew Hedman Friday, Feb 7
Physics, Univ. of Idaho
Lectures in Sci/Ed Bldg, room 112 at 7:30 p.m., Stargazing in Boise State’s Observatory at 8:30 p.m.
Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy

Department of Physics, First Friday Astronomy
Dr. JA Grier Jan 3
Planetary Science Institute
The Stories of Impact Craters and How Scientists Learn to Tell Them
Prof. Matthew Hedman Feb 7
Dept. of Physics, University of Idaho
How old are Saturn’s rings and moons?
webpages.uidaho.edu/mhedman
Dr. Ben Margalit Mar 6
NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley
Fast Radio Bursts and Discovering Unknowns in Astronomy
benmargalit.com
Prof. Devon Burr Apr 3
Astronomy & Planetary Sciences, NAU
‘Water, water everywhere, but no a drop to drink’: Rivers Across the Solar System
Lectures at 7:30 p.m., Stargazing at 8:30 p.m. at the Sci/Ed Bldg on campus.
Events are open to the public and donation-supported. Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy

Department of Physics, First Friday Astronomy Event:
Dr. Gwen Barnes, University of Idaho
Geology of the Moon, on December 6
Seminar Series @ 1:30-2:30pm, Multipurpose Building, room 108
Evening Lecture @ 7:30pm, Science & Ed Building , room 112
Following the evening lecture, at 8:30pm, we will move to Boise State’s Observatory for stargazing, weather permitting.

Boise State Physics First Friday Astronomy Event
Friday, Oct 4
Strange New Worlds
Prof. Ray Jaywardhana
Dept. of Astronomy – Cornell University
Lecture in Ed/Sci Bldg, room 112 at 7:30 p.m.
Stargazing at Boise State’s Observatory at 8:30 p.m.
Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy

Special Events
Boise State Physics First Friday Astronomy
Join Boise State Physics in the Fall 2019 to hear about cutting-edge astronomy research. Events consist of a lecture and then stargazing at the on-campus Boise State Observatory. Events are open to public and donation-supported. For more information, contact Prof. Brian Jackson: bjackson@boisestate.edu
Events
Prof. Brian Jackson Sep 6
Boise State Physics
Dust Devils Throughout the Solar System
www.astrojack.com
Prof. Ray Jayawardhana Oct 4
Cornell Astronomy
Strange New Worlds
astro.cornell.edu/ray-jayawardhana
Dr. Niko Lecoeuche Nov 1
LIGO Caltech
Gravitational Waves
www.ligo.caltech.edu
Dr. Gwen Barnes Dec 6
Univ. of Idaho Physics
Geology of the Moon
uidaho.edu/sci/physics/people/faculty/gbarnes
Lectures at 7:30 p.m., Stargazing at 8:30 p.m. at the Ed/Sci Bldg on campus.
Donate at boi.st/GiveToAstronomy
