Br Guy's Sasquan Schedule
Carl Sagan Medal Speech
Wednesday 21:00 - 22:30, Integra Telecom Ballroom 100B (CC)
Longtime fan and the Vatican astronomer, Guy Consolmagno, won the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science. His speech is:
Discarded Worlds: Astronomical Ideas that Were Almost Correct...
Astronomy is more than just observing; it’s making sense of those observations. A good theorist needs a good imagination...and no fear of being wrong. Ptolemy in ancient Rome, the medieval bishops Oresme and Cusa, the 19th century astronomers Schiaparelli and Pickering, all rose to the challenge; and they were all almost correct. Which is to say, they were wrong...sometimes hilariously, sometimes heartbreakingly so. What lessons can 21st century astronomers take from these discarded worlds?
Star Party
Wednesday 22:30 - 23:30, King Cole Footbridge (Riverfont Park)
Brother Guy and the Spokane Astronomical Society will lead a walk in the park. What can we see in the sky from a city? We will stop by the Breezeway en route to the King Cole Footbridge in Riverfront Park. The Spokane Astronomical Society will provide some telescopes, but if you have a pair of binoculars, bring them along!
Pluto in Your Rear-View Mirror: News from the New Horizons Mission
Thursday 11:00 - 11:45, 302AB (CC)
Pluto has always been the planet...errhhh...dwarf planet of mystery. On July 14, the New Horizons spacecraft whizzed past Pluto and its satellites 9 years after blasting off from Earth. Find out what science has learned in 2015 about the worlds on the solar system's frontier, and where the New Horizons will journey next. This panel will open with a presentation on the New Horizons spacecraft mission by Bill Higgins and will include a discussion among the panelists.
Bill Higgins (M) , Alan Boyle , Tony Lewis , Guy Consolmagno, David Clements
Vesta and the Chaotic Formation of Planets
Thursday 14:00 - 14:45, 300D (CC)
The recent Dawn mission was sent to Vesta to inspect, close up, an intact protoplanet from the origin of the solar system. Except... Vesta's overall density is too low, and its core and crust too big, to fit anything like what we expect an intact protoplanet to look like. Was it ripped apart and re-assembled? It looks like Vesta is giving us new clues to planet formation and evolution in a violent early solar system.
Medieval Science and Engineering
Thursday 15:00 - 15:45, 300C (CC)
We often think of the Middle Ages as a time of science stagnation. However, much was going on in Europe and elsewhere in the development of science and engineering. A panel of scientists, engineers and historians will discuss what was happening in those long-past days.
Bradford Lyau (M) , Guy Consolmagno , Ada Palmer , Jo Walton , Eric Swedin
Tom Swift's Shopton Industries, or Bellwether?
Friday 10:00 - 10:45, 302AB (CC)
A panel of scientists and engineers describing how our lives fit, or does not fit, the way it is depicted in science fiction. People don't know what our daily life is like, how we pay our bills, how we interact with our bosses or The Suits; some SF stories get it pretty good, others get it completely wrong. Is our life more like Tom Swift or like Bellwether?
Guy Consolmagno (M) , Klarissa Davis , James C. Glass , Jordin T. Kare
Kaffee Klatche - Guy Consolmagno
Friday 12:00 - 12:45, 202A-KK2 (CC)
Limited to 10, requires advance sign-up (online signup enabled until 6am on Thur 8/20). Coffee and snacks available for sale on the 2nd floor.
Leslie Turek Guest Interview
Friday 13:00 - 14:15, Integra Telecom Ballroom 100B (CC)
Guest of Honor Leslie Turek will be interviewed by Brother Guy Consolomagno on her years in fandom. This interview may run as late as 3:45
Pluto Isn't Just a Disney Dog
Friday 19:00 - 19:45, 207 (CC)
(Kids Program) Pluto has now been explored! Join scientists to see what NASA has learned about the famous icy world on the edge of our Solar System.
Bill Higgins , Guy Consolmagno
Dawn of the Asteroid Belt: Exploring Vesta and Ceres
Saturday 10:00 - 10:45, 207 (CC)
Asteroids are relics of the ancient Solar System. NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbited Vesta for a year. Now its ion thrusters have propelled it across the Asteroid Belt to Ceres, the largest asteroid, where Dawn has again entered orbit. Join Bill Higgins to explore Dawn's findings at Vesta and its plans for doing science at Ceres.
Bill Higgins , Guy Consolmagno
Reading - Guy Consolmagno
Saturday 12:30 - 13:00, 303B (CC)