ORION Archives - Oak Ridge Today

International fusion energy project to be discussed

Posted at 12:27 pm May 10, 2021
By David Fields Leave a Comment

David Rasmussen

An international fusion energy project that involves Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be discussed in an online meeting on Wednesday, May 19.

The featured speaker will be David Rasmussen, the leader of the technical integration of the U.S. contributions to the international fusion project, which is under construction in France and known as ITER.

Rasmussen’s areas of responsibility have included the ITER plasma heating and fueling systems, a press release said. He has been a plasma research scientist at ORNL since 1981. He has more than 35 years of fusion and plasma science experience in diagnostic measurements and the technology development needed for magnetic confinement fusion and other plasma technology applications, the release said. Rasmussen received a Ph.D. in applied science, specializing in plasma physics, from the University of California at Davis in 1981 where his graduate work was a study of inertial laser fusion wave plasma interactions.

The May 19 talk is hosted by ORION, an amateur science and astronomy club based in Oak Ridge. The talk is scheduled to begin on Zoom at 7 p.m. May 19, and it is open to the public. If you are interested in joining, the Zoom meeting ID is 885 2873 5960, and the passcode is 716689. Alternatively, you can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88528735960?pwd=KzY4bnBHcjlhTzg3L3pOcjY0TFovUT09. [Read more…]

New telescope offers peeks into universe’s distant reaches

Posted at 11:18 pm November 4, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

John Jaruzel, who donated the powerful telescope shown above to Roane State Community College’s Tamke-Allan Observatory, helps a young visitor get acquainted with the device. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

An eight-foot-tall telescope with an 18-inch diameter lens has been donated for use at Roane State Community College’s Tamke-Allan Observatory, and it offers the clearest views yet of the universe’s distant reaches.

Like the two powerful telescopes already in place at the observatory, the latest telescope is a donation, this time from former long-time Alaska resident and avid amateur astronomer John Jaruzel, who now calls Oak Ridge home.

“It is by far the most powerful telescope (at Tamke-Allan) in terms of collecting light,” said David Fields, director of the observatory. “This scope will enable the viewer to see extremely dim stars and objects,” he said.

“This is a wonderful thing to be able to offer the students views of such distant celestial objects,” Fields said of the gift. “It’s inspiring.”

[Read more…]

Dick Smyser Lecture on Thursday features science educator discussing total solar eclipse

Posted at 1:31 am May 16, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Chap Percival (Submitted photo)

The 20th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series opens on Thursday, May 18, and it will feature Chap Percival, a science educator from Sarasota, Florida.

Percival will talk about the total solar eclipse that will occur on August 21. The title of his presentation is “Go See the Eclipse.”

This event is co-sponsored by the Oak Ridge Isochronous Observation Network (ORION), the National Park Sevice (NPS), and Friends of ORNL (FORNL), a press release said.

It’s free of charge, and it will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. A reception will be held in the museum lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture will start at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium.

“This talk should be of interest to students and the general public,” the press release said.

Percival is a lifelong educator. He lives in Sarasota, Florida. He has a BA in mathematics and physics from Taylor University, an MAT in planetarium education from Michigan State University, and an MEd in instructional technology from the University of Virginia, the press release said. [Read more…]

Learn more about total solar eclipse during Dick Smyser Community Lecture in May

Posted at 1:14 am April 25, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Photo courtesy National Park Service

Educator Chap Percival will discuss the upcoming August 21 solar eclipse during a May 18 lecture in Oak Ridge.

Percival will be the featured speaker at this year’s Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series.

The free lecture is scheduled for Thursday, May 18, at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. A reception will be held in the museum lobby starting at 5:30 p.m., and the lecture will start at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking at least part of the sun as viewed from some areas of Earth. During a total solar eclipse, the moon completely obscures the sun so that only the sun’s corona is visible for a moment in time. On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will be visible along a roughly 67-mile-wide path across the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina, a press release said. [Read more…]

Astronomy club meeting Wednesday features ORNL engineer, citizen science, radio astronomy

Posted at 6:15 pm November 13, 2016
By Jennifer Hartwig Leave a Comment

Bogdan Vacaliuc

The Wednesday meeting of ORION, an amateur science and astronomy club based in Oak Ridge, will feature Bogdan Vacaliuc of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a discussion of citizen science and radio astronomy.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 16, at the historic Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

ORION was founded in April 1974 by a group of scientists at the United States Department of Energy facility in Oak Ridge. Its purpose is to promote learning and inquiry throughout the cities of Oak Ridge and Knoxville, and the counties of Anderson, Knox, and Roane, a press release said.

The group meets monthly at the Grove Theater at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month, starting with coffee and conversation with the program beginning 15 minutes thereafter. For directions, please visit the website at www.orioninc.org. Programs are free and open to the public. [Read more…]

UT assistant professor to talk about chemical oceanography on July 20

Posted at 5:50 pm July 17, 2016
By Jennifer Hartwig Leave a Comment

Drew Steen

An assistant professor of environmental geology at the University of Tennessee will talk about chemical oceanography in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

The title of the presentation by Drew Steen, of the UT Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, is “Heterotrophic Organisms in the Deep Marine Sediments” or “What to Do When You’re Hungry but You’re 100,000 Years Late for Dinner.”

The Wednesday talk starts at 7 p.m. July 20. It’s hosted by the ORION astronomy club. [Read more…]

ORION astronomy club to feature talk on origin of universe, life on Earth

Posted at 10:26 am April 14, 2016
By Jennifer Hartwig Leave a Comment

Bob Compton

The ORION astronomy club will have a discussion of the origin of the universe and life on Earth during a talk next week.

The talk will be presented by Robert N. Compton, senior corporate fellow emeritus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and professor emeritus (physics and chemistry), University of Tennessee.

His talk is titled “On the Origin of the Universe and Life on Earth.”

Humans have long desired to understand our origin and place in the grand cosmos, a press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL associate lab director to discuss discovery of elements 115, 117; super-heavy nuclei; ‘island of stability’

Posted at 9:20 pm March 8, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jim Roberto

Jim Roberto, an associate laboratory director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will discuss the discovery of elements 115 and 117, super-heavy nuclei, and the “island of stability” during a Wednesday evening talk next week.

Roberto, ORNL associate laboratory director for science and technology partnerships, will give the featured talk to the ORION astronomy club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. The talk will be at the Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

Roberto’s talk is titled “The Discovery of Elements 115 and 117: SuperHeavy Nuclei and the ‘Island of Stability.'” Roberto will review recent progress in super-heavy element research with particular focus on the significance of element 117 and its decay products as evidence for the existence of the presumed “island of stability” for super-heavy nuclei, a press release said. [Read more…]

ORION astronomy club meeting features UT professor on Wednesday

Posted at 10:14 pm April 14, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Wednesday meeting of the ORION astronomy club will feature Professor Denise Phillips, director of graduate studies in the Department of History at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Her presentation, “Can Peasants Be Scientists? Debates about the Social Reach of Science in the 18th-Century Europe,” is from her current book project, which includes both lay and professional astronomers.

The meeting is at the Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge at 7 p.m. Wednesday April 15. (See http://orionastronomy.wordpress.com, for more information.)

ORION has supported educational and astronomy activities in Oak Ridge and the surrounding region since 1974. These include the free public star gazes at the Tamke-Allan Observatory in Rockwood scheduled on the first and third Saturday of the month. (See www.roanestate.edu/TAO or contact David E. Fields at [email protected].)

Amateur rocketry to be featured at astronomy club meeting

Posted at 3:55 pm October 15, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

In advance of the October Sky Festival, the ORION astronomy club presents Nicholas “Sterling” Edmunds III, a notable figure in amateur rocketry, who’ll speak on tracking and real time telemetry and data logging in rocketry, as well as on designing rockets with “Rocksim.” He will feature the Phoenix XL Rocket.

Come to the Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge on Wednesday October 15, at 7 p.m., a press release said. (See http://orionastronomy.wordpress.com for more information.) [Read more…]

Physics professor to give sun-Earth astronomy talk at Grove on Wednesday

Posted at 11:48 am April 13, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Grove Theater at High Places Community Church is pictured above.

An adjunct physics professor in east Tennessee will give a basic astronomy talk in Oak Ridge on Wednesday that focuses on “Selected Topics on the Sun-Earth Connection.”

John C. Mannone will give his talk to the ORION astronomy club at the Grove Theater at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“Emphasis will be placed on the role of magnetic fields in the formation of our sun, the nature of sunspots, and their role in solar and terrestrial weather,” a press release said. [Read more…]

First Oak Ridge nature walk Saturday

Posted at 1:01 am February 21, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Environmental Research Park’s first spring nature walk of 2013 will focus on studies of the American woodcock and winter astronomy on Saturday, Feb. 23.

The walk from 5:30-9 p.m. will include opportunities to view demonstrations of the American woodcock’s elaborate flight displays. Also, a trained falconer from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will have two different hawks on hand for participants to learn about.