CASE President attends High Energy Astrophysics Workshop at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama

 

Patrick is the third person on the right hand side, starting from the HEA banner. (Black shirt)

 

Club President, Patrick Carr attended the first High Energy Astrophysics Workshop sponsored by the American Association of Variable Star Obvservers (AAVSO), held April 13 & 14 in Huntsville, Alabama at the Marriott Hotel. This conference was the first of its kind to help amateurs understand the implications of High Energy Astrophysics (gamma rays, x-rays, extreme ultra-violet) and how they could help NASA and other research institutions to gain more information on these phenomena.

 

Topics covered at this two-day conference included GRBs (Gamma Ray Bursters), SRBs (Soft Gamma Ray Bursters), X-ray emissions, such as the Crab Nebula, Blazars, Pulsars, and Bl Lac objects. "I feel that this conference will help me in teaching the concepts of HEA to other amateur astronomers in my area, as well as to the local schools that I lecture at.", said Patrick Carr. "This is also a way of being able to 'give back' to the local astronomical community by helping in the observing of variable stars and gamma ray bursters."

 

Attendees were invited to participate inthe Global Coordinates Network (GCN), which will notify amateurs by pager, fax, or email of GRBs that occur. They in turn will be able to move their telescopes to the areas to record the afterglows that they see with their CCD cameras. Dr. Mattei, President of the AAVSO, listed the many ways that their members have been able to help the astronomical and scientific community in research.

 

Attendees are required to respond to the AAVSO in one year to report the ways that they were able to disseminate and present the HEA topics in their areas.

 

"I'm really looking forward to teaching HEA to the other astronomers in our club, as well as to interested junior high, high school and John Brown University students.", said Carr.

 

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