Under the Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitors Programme, Lord Martin Rees will be speaking at two public lectures. Admission is free; however, registration is required at http://www.lkydvp.sg/. Details are as follows:

Our Universe and the Role of Life in It

Date: 24 August 2009 (Monday)

Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Venue: Shaw Foundation Alumni House, Auditorium, Level 2, 11 Kent Ridge Drive, Singapore 119244, National University of Singapore

Synopsis: Our concept of the cosmos has expanded hugely in recent decades. We now have strong evidence that everything began nearly 14 billion years ago in a mysterious ‘big bang’. As our cosmos expanded and cooled, atoms, stars, and galaxies formed. And on at least one planet (our Earth) life began, and Darwinian evolution led to the eventual emergence of creatures able to ponder their origins. This progress brings into focus a new set of questions: Is the cosmos even vaster than the region our telescopes can probe? Is there life beyond the Earth? What is the long-term future of the cosmos? And can we understand, at a deeper level, the physical laws that govern it?

The World in 2050

Date: 27 August 2009 (Thursday)

Time: 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Venue: Lecture Theatre 2A, North Academic Complex, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Nanyang Technological University

Synopsis: This century is the first in the Earth’s history when one species, ours, has the Earth’s future in its hands. In 2050, the world’s population may well have reached 9 billion. Unless we make wise choices about the direction of economic development and energy use, our collective impact on the planet’s resources, environment and climate could cause irreversible damage. Advanced technology will open up huge new opportunities, but it will open up new risks. We will all be living in an ever more interconnected world, increasingly vulnerable to breakdowns. Individuals, empowered by powerful technology and choosing to misuse it, will pose ever-greater threats. And the advance of science will pose ever more ethical challenges: there will be a widening gap between what we are capable of doing and what it is prudent or ethical actually to do. The lecture, raising questions rather than offering answers, will address some of these issues.

About the speaker

Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He holds the honorary title of Astronomer Photo credited to Lucinda Douglas-Menzies Royal and also Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and at Leicester University. In 2005, he was appointed to the House of Lords and elected President of the Royal Society. He held post-doctoral positions in the UK and the USA, before becoming a professor at Sussex University. In 1973, he became Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge and served for ten years as director of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. From 1992 to 2003, he was a Royal Society Research Professor. He is a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Pontifical Academy, and several other foreign academies. His awards include the Balzan International Prize, the Bower Award for Science of the Franklin Institute, the Cosmology Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation, the Einstein Award of the World Cultural Council and the Crafoord Prize (Royal Swedish Academy). He has been president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1994-95) and the Royal Astronomical Society (1992-94) and a trustee of the British Museum, NESTA and the Kennedy Memorial Trust. He is currently on the Board of Trustees of the National Museum of Science and Industry, the Institute for Public Policy Research, and the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, and has served on many bodies connected with education, space research, arms control and international collaboration in science. He is the author or co-author of more than 500 research papers, mainly on astrophysics and cosmology, as well as seven books (five for general readership), and numerous magazine and newspaper articles on scientific and general subjects. He has broadcast and lectured widely and held various visiting professorships.

Posted by Rong'en
Categories: Talks & Lectures

The Thrill of Adrenaline: That’s what AstrOrdinary Camp is all about! From the dark sky environment in the jungle at the Pulau Ubin, youths of all ages explore “the heavens” with telescopes and experience the joys fellowship with astronomers from various schools. In this “immersion” experience people get to know and interact with amateur astronomers, learn to operate telescopes, keeping night-time hours, and interpreting their own observations.

This camp emphasizes hands-on learning experiences. This camp allows youths experience astronomy in an adventure way during the day time with exciting outdoor activities. In addition, students from other schools who are interested in astronomy are invited as well. The participant does not require a prior background in astronomy to join for this camp.

Details of the camp are as follows:
Duration: 20 Jun 09 – 21 Jun 09
Time: 12.00pm to 11.00am
Venue: Pulau Ubin (Kekek Quarry)

Please refer to the publicity poster above and document attached here for more details about the camp. It is compulsory for participants to bring the consent & indemnity form found here on the day itself.

Early bird promotion: All bumboat ride and bicycles are sponsored for the first 24 campers to sign up!

You may register by emailing to mpastrosociety @ gmail.com

Posted by Rong'en
Categories: Stargazings & Observations

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA) Exploration Workshops (Lower Secondary) are a series of two separate one-day workshops which will be held during the first week of the June school holidays in conjunction with the IYA2009 initiative in Singapore, which is led by the Science Centre Singapore. This event will be organised by Hwa Chong Institution (College Section) and Raffles Institution (Junior College), with the generous support of the Science Centre Singapore.

Venue: Science Centre Singapore

Duration of workshop: 01 Jun – 02 Jun 09, 0830 hrs – 1630 hrs

Open to student levels: Secondary 1 & 2

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Categories: Series of Events, Talks & Lectures

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009, SSYSF will be introducing many interesting and mind-stimulating activities focusing on Space and Astronomy. Two of the activities are as follows:

Science Explorama

Science Explorama is one of the key activities of SSYSF, drawing thousands of primary and secondary students to the Science Centre every year. Students will get to explore space science this year with activities that will bring about of enjoyment and edutainment to our students whilst stimulating their young minds. The activities that have been lined up are:

1. Garden of Inspiration: Ecogarden Trail with hands-on activity stations
2. Science Gallery Hunt: Activities to help students fulfill tasks on the “I am a Young Astronomer” activity card
3. Space Science Show: Destination Pluto
4. Science FilmFest: Sea Monsters & Post movie lecture; Space Station (Students will be given a $1 subsidy for each movie.)

The Science Explorama runs from 20 May – 22 May, and 25 May – 29 May 09, at the Science Centre.

Please click here for timing and availability.
Please click here for the booking form.

For more information, please contact:
Mrs Ong Me Lan (mlong@science.edu.sg)
Ms Pearly Ng (Pearly_NG@moe.gov.sg)

Public Seminar

The public seminar aims to provide the public with a unique opportunity to hear from and be excited by a scientist passionate about astronomy. It seeks to provide the public with insights into the developments and possibilities of science in the new frontier.

This public talk is held on 23 May 09 at the Maxwell Auditorium, Science Centre.

Students’ Seminar

The Students’ seminar aims to provide students with a unique opportunity to be inspired by scientists passionate about their fields of endeavour. This year students will have the pleasure of attending a seminar given by a scientist with a passion for astronomy. This seminar hopes to ignite their passion and fuel their imagination to explore new frontiers in space.

This students’ seminar is held on 25 May morning at the Science Centre Annexe Hall 1.

Teachers’ Seminar

A regular feature of SSYSF, the Teachers’ Seminar aims to connect teachers with a scientist passionate about astronomy. The hope is to inspire teachers by providing them with insights into the work of scientists and the possibilities of science in emerging fields

This teachers’ seminar is held on 25 May afternoon at the Science Centre Annexe Hall 1.

For more information about the 3 above-mentioned seminars, please contact:
Mr John Ow (John_OW@moe.gov.sg)
Ms Sharlene Anthony (s_anthony@science.edu.sg)

Posted by Rong'en
Categories: Series of Events, Talks & Lectures

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA) Exploration Workshops (Upper Primary) are a series of three separate one-day workshops which will be held during the first week of the June school holidays in conjunction with the IYA2009 initiative in Singapore, which is led by the Science Centre Singapore. This event will be organised by Raffles Girls’ School and Raffles Institution (Secondary), with the generous support of the Science Centre Singapore.

Venue: Science Centre Singapore

Duration of workshop: 03 Jun – 05 Jun 09, 0830 hrs – 1630 hrs

Open to student levels: Primary 5 and 6.

Posted by Rong'en
Categories: Talks & Lectures

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009, Science Centre Singapore and The Astronomical Society of Singapore (TASOS) together with their partners, HISTORY^TM, StarHub and VivoCity, are bringing to Singaporeans a Sidewalk Astronomy Carnival. The Carnival will provide a unique opportunity for the public to gain an understanding of astronomy through observations of the sky and related educational talks, activities and documentaries that bring enjoyment and edutainment to both young and old. The public will be able to get up close and personal with the Moon and Saturn through telescopes set up on site.

Details of the carnival are as follows:

Dates: 1 & 2 May 09
Time: 6pm – 10pm
Venue: VivoCity Skypark

The programme is as follows:

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Categories: Stargazings & Observations, Talks & Lectures

There will be a public lecture by Professor Jeremy Bloxham from Harvard University titled “Solar System Planetary Magnetic Fields”. It will be held at Lecture Theatre 31, Block S16, Level 3, NUS Faculty of Science, Lower Kent Ridge Road, on 23 Apr 09 at 6:00pm.

Synopsis

The planets in our Solar System exhibit a wide range of magnetic fields. Earth and the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn have strong, predominantly dipolar magnetic fields. The ice giants Uranus and Neptune have strong but highly non-dipolar fields. Mercury has a weak field, Mars an extinct field, and Venus no field.

Magnetic fields are generated by dynamo action in electrically-conducting, convecting regions in a planet’s interior. This dynamo action can be investigated both experimentally and numerically. The last decade has seen great advances in numerical models of dynamo action, but they still operate in a numerical regime that is far from that which is appropriate. Given the limitations of the numerical models we ask whether the gross differences that we see between the magnetic fields of the different planets can be explained by the gross differences in those planets’ internal structure. We also examine the critical role of observations, and the constraints that observations can place on dynamo theory.

CV

Geophysicist Professor Jeremy Bloxham is Dean of Science in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), Mallinckrodt Professor of Geophysics, and professor of computational science in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He was first appointed to the Harvard faculty as an assistant professor in 1987, promoted to full professor in 1993 and assumed the Mallinckrodt chair in 2005. In 2002, he was named a Harvard College Professor, a distinction recognizing exceptional undergraduate teaching. Prof Bloxham studies how planets generate magnetic fields, a long-recognized dynamic phenomenon that is still not fully understood despite more than four centuries of scientific investigation. His research group has developed a three-dimensional numerical model that could help explain why the Earth’s magnetic field has weakened by as much as 10 percent over the past 150 years. Other interests include the application of high-performance computing and visualization to problems in geophysics. Prof Bloxham holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Mathematics from Cambridge University awarded in 1982 and 1986 respectively, and a Ph.D. in Geophysics awarded by Cambridge University in 1986. He is a fellow of the Royal Society, Royal Astronomical Society, and the American Geophysical Union, and a member of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Geophysical Research and Geophysical Journal International and has received professional honors including a Packard Foundation Fellowship in 1990, the Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1991, the Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union in 1994, and the Chapman Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2001.

Posted by Rong'en
Categories: Talks & Lectures

The 16th IPS-NYP Annual Astronomy Retreat is confirmed! This year we will celebrate UNESCO International Year of Astronomy, 400 years since Galileo’s discovery of the Heavens!  It will be a 4D3N trip, 5 meals a day, with lodging. The venue will be Desaru Golden Beach Resort (sounds familiar, anyone?). Travelling will be by coach SIN – DESARU – SIN, both to and fro.

Prices are as follows:
Twin sharing – S$ 295.00/person
(Triple Sharing) – S$275.00/person

Please note that there will be no refund after closing date of 15/05/2009.

For more information about Desaru Golden Beach Resort, please visit
http://www.desaruresort.com/DesaruGoldenBeach/main.htm.

For more details, please contact Ms Carole Aw at yenaw @ pacific.net.sg, or Mr Au Mun Chew at auasoc @ singnet.com.sg.

To register, please download and fill up the CosmoCraft Application form, and mail it to the address stated in the application form.

At this point of time….due to Malaysia case of H1N1.

MOE have advise all traveling to affect country to cancelled.

WE have decide to cancelled this June trip.

Posted by Rong'en
Categories: Stargazings & Observations