Posts tagged astronomy
A Charity & Costume Ball
Chief Astronomer and Planetarium Director of Franklin Institute, Derrick Pitts checking out the AfroFuturist Affair website! He said it was cool:) He’s also an Octavia Butler fan.
He’s on Ed Schultz right now.
Another fellow Black scientist!
Chief Astronomer and Planetarium Director of Franklin Institute, Derrick Pitts checking out the AfroFuturist Affair website! He said it was cool:) He’s also an Octavia Butler fan. Photo by Lindo Jones
Chief Astronomer and Planetarium Director of Franklin Institute, Derrick Pitts checking out the AfroFuturist Affair website! He said it was cool:) He’s also an Octavia Butler fan.
First X-ray diffraction of Martian soil
Curiosity’s CheMin (Chemistry and Minerology) experiment has been studying a sample of the Martian soil, taken from Gale Crater, for the ‘fingerprints’ of minerals, and analysis reveals crystalline feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine. The colours in the image represent intensity, with red being the most intense. The soil is similar, says the JPL release, to “weathered basaltic soils of volcanic origin in Hawaii.”
(Source: sciencesoup)
Who are the Black Astronomers & Astrophysicists?
“Today (2002) only 16 of the 3,302 PhD physicists at US National Labs are black. In these web pages we profile those modern astronomers of the African diaspora.”
AfroFuturist Field Trip: Night Skies @ The Franklin Institute
Last week, AfroFuturist Affair had the opportunity to shake hands and talk afrofuturism with Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer of The Franklin Institute at their monthly astronomy event, Night Skies at The Franklin. An enlightening presentation entitled “Telescopes as Time Machines” was given by Dr. Jason Kalirai (also a hue-man), research astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD.
We will be observing the Transit of Venus (an event that wont be repeated until the year 2117) with Dr. Pitts on June 5, 2012 at The Franklin Institute Observatory. Click here for more info: Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts guides visitors through the transit of Venus on the rooftop deck at The Franklin Institute!
