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NOVEMBER 23 - 27, 2009 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 12 noon: Solar, Stellar, and Planetary Sciences Division Lunch Talk. "A New Approach to Retrieve Atmospheric Properties of Extrasolar Planets," Nikku Madhusudhan, MIT. Pratt Conference Room. Abstract: I will present a new development in theoretical modeling and interpretation of exoplanet atmospheres. We have developed a new modeling method which allows one to place statistical constraints on the atmospheric properties of extrasolar planets, based on photometric and spectroscopic data. We can now compute error contours in chemical compositions, temperature structure, and day-night energy redistribution in the planet atmosphere. Our method involves large-scale computation of millions of 1D atmosphere models, with and without thermal inversions, to span the large parameter space. I will present the method and several new results that resulted from this approach. I will report results on several hot Jupiters from HST, Spitzer and Kepler data, address the fundamental question of whether hot Jupiters host thermal inversions, and discuss on how much data is required to estimate the atmospheric properties at a required confidence. 12:30 pm: Radio and Geoastronomy Division Lunch Talk. "Explosive Disintegration of a Massive Young Stellar System in Orion," Luis Zapata, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie. Room M-340, 160 Concord Avenue. Abstract: In this talk, I will present the results of recent millimeter observations made with the Submillimeter Array that indicate the well-known enigmatic wide-angle outflow located in the Orion BN/KL star-forming region to have been produced by such a violent explosion during the disruption of a massive young stellar system, and that this was caused by a close dynamical interaction about 500 years ago. This outflow thus belongs to a totally different family of molecular flows that is not related to the classical bipolar flows that are generated by stars during their formation process. These observations further confirmed that young massive stars in the center of crowded star clusters have close dynamical encounters that led energetic, and explosive events. Additionally, our molecular data allowed us to create a three-dimensional view of the debris flow and to link this directly to the well-known Orion H2 "fingers" farther out. Finally, I will discuss very briefly the relevance of these observations in the context of the formation of massive stars. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24 2:30 pm: Joint MIT/CfA/Tufts Cosmology Seminar. "Cosmology from the Redshifted 21cm Line," Jonathan Pritchard, CfA. Phillips Auditorium. SAO HUMAN RESOURCES NOTES Federal Leave Donations Needed Julius Cesar Lopez, a Federal employee at the Whipple Observatory, has been approved as a leave recipient under the Leave Transfer Program. Any Federal employee wishing to donate their annual leave to Cesar during his medical emergency may do so by completing a leave donor form. Please send your completed form to Linda McDonald at MS 17. Leave Transfer Program details can be accessed at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/hr/handbook/leaves.html. Please note that Federal employees may donate annual leave only to other Federal employees. Trust employees may only donate annual leave to other Trust employees. Combined Federal Campaign of Eastern Massachusetts You are invited to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign of Eastern Massachusetts. The mission of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is to support and promote philanthropy through a program that is employee-focused, cost-efficient and effective in providing employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all. Federal and non-federal employees may use payroll deduction, cash, or check to make pledges. All organizations listed in the CFC brochure have met the stringent application guidelines outlined by the Office of Personnel Management. For more information please refer to http://www.opm.gov/cfc/. For a complete list of the local, national and international charities please refer to the 2009 CFC brochure of Eastern Massachusetts, which can be accessed at the following website. If you wish to contribute to the Combined Federal Campaign of Eastern Massachusetts, please reply to Anne LeBlanc by return email no later than November 30, 2009. Upon receipt of your email, a pledge card and return envelope will be forwarded to you. Please return your pledge card in the envelope addressed to CFC, MS 17, no later than December 15, 2009. If you have any questions, please contact Anne LeBlanc at ext. 5-7371. Job Vacancies An online listing of all current SAO job openings is available. For more information, please call Human Resources, ext. 5-7371, or view your nearest bulletin board. |