Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@AOL.COM>]

1)  Media Annoucement

Last month, PBS began airing a new 15-episode program, "Closer to the Truth:
Science Meaning and the Future" which airs every Sundays (check your local
listings to confirm times).

Several prominent CSICOP fellows will be appearing on upcoming episodes and
we'll keep you up to date as these episodes appear. This Sunday's (May 11)
episode is themed "How Does Order Arise in the Universe?" Two Nobel
laureates one of them CSICOP fellow Murray Gell-Mann will take on the big
questions.

This episode explores one of the greatest challenges facing science at the
beginning of the 21st century:  How do we account for the evolution of the
universe, an evolution that includes the appearance of life on earth, when
we know that the universe relentlessly moves towards a state of disorder?
Both guests, each a Nobel laureate, contend that much of the knowledge being
uncovered today depends on a new set of trans-disciplinary skills that unify
the sciences once again.  Integration has already lead to more practical
problem solving, such as the search for a cure for AIDS.

Gell-Mann is a Nobel Laureate in Physics; Distinguished Fellow and
Co-Chairman of the Science Board, Santa Fe Institute; Emeritus Professor of
Physics, California Institute of Technology; and author of "The Quark and
the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex."

The other guest is David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine;
President, and Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology;
Chairman, AIDS Vaccine Research Committee, NIH; founding director, Whitehead
Institute for Biological Research, MI.

Contact:

Kevin Christopher
Public Relations Director
Center for Inquiry
P.O. Box 703
Amherst, NY 14226
E-mail: kchristopher@centerforinquiry.net



2)  From CSICOP Fellow Andrew Fraknoi

Dear Friends:

I thought you might like to have a week's
notice about an upcoming sky event that's
fun and safe to watch. Below is a copy
of the sheet I gave to my students.

Why have an astronomer as a friend if
you can't get the secrets of the heavens
early, right?

Andy


The May 15, 2003 Total Eclipse of the Moon
================================
An Information Sheet by
Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College)

1. What Is Happening?

         On May 15, there will be a total eclipse of the Moon, when the
full Moon and the Sun are exactly opposite each other in our skies, and the
Earth gets between them.  This means that the Earth's shadow will fall on
the Moon, darkening it over the course of several hours.

2. When Will the Eclipse Happen?

         On Thursday evening, the total phase of the eclipse (where the
Moon is completely in shadow) begins at 8:14 pm and ends at 9:06 pm PST.
(See the table at the end for other time zones.) The last of our dark
shadow moves off the Moon at about 10:17 pm.  Note that the Moon is rising
on the West Coast with the eclipse already in progress, so you need to find
a place where you can see the southeastern horizon (and hills, buildings,
chubby neighbors, etc. are not in your way.)  Most people spend more time
watching the eclipsed moon than they expect, so be sure to bring warm
clothing with you.

3. What is Visible During a Lunar Eclipse

         As the shadow of the Earth covers the Moon, note that our natural
satellite doesn't become completely dark.  Light bent through the Earth's
atmosphere still reaches the shadowed Moon and gives it a dull brown or
reddish glow.  The exact color of the glow and its darkness depend on the
"sooty-ness" of our atmosphere -- how recently volcanoes have gone off and
how much cloud cover, storm activity, and human pollution there is around
the globe.

4. Is it Safe to Watch, and How do I Watch?

         Since the Moon is always safe to look at, and the eclipse only
makes the Moon darker, there is no danger in watching this eclipse with
your eyes or through a telescope.  (The dangerous eclipse is the solar one,
where it is the Sun that gets covered.)  Lunar eclipses are quite nice to
look at without any equipment.  Binoculars also work great.  This is one
astronomical phenomenon that (provided the sky is clear) doesn't even
require you to go to a dark location to see it (although subtle changes in
color are best seen from dark locations.)

5. What Else Can I Tell My Kids (or Kid Brother or Sister)?

         Be sure to suggest that they take a careful look at the shadow of
the Earth as it moves across the bright face of the Moon.  What shape is
it?  The round shape of the Earth's shadow suggested to the ancient Greeks,
more than 2000 years ago, that the Earth's shape must be round
too.  Eclipse after eclipse, they saw that the Earth cast a round shadow,
and deduced that we lived on a round planet -- long before there were
spacecraft and astronaut pictures showing the Earth's blue globe from orbit.

May 15, 2003 Important Eclipse Times in Different US Time Zones:

Event                           Eastern         Central      Mountain
     Pacific

Shadow starts to move across    10:03 pm    9:03 pm 8:03 pm Moon not up
Total eclipse
begins            11:14    10:14           9:14            8:14 pm
Total eclipse ends            12:06
am        11:06           10:06           9:06
Shadow moves off the Moon          1:17         12:17
am        11:17           10:17


=================================
Andrew Fraknoi,  Chair: Astronomy Program,
Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road,
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, USA
E-mail: fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu