Understanding Our Nearest Star and Our Place in the Universe

Instructors: Robert Berta and Angelo DiDonato

Bob Berta and Angelo DiDonato team up again to provide a fascinating look beyond Earth.

Bob—Our star, the sun, is going through its 11-year cycle and will soon enter Solar Max, when the sun reaches its most active stage. We will discuss and demonstrate why this is important, what it means to space travel, and space science. If the weather is clear we will use a special Ha Solar telescope to safely look at the sun and see prominences or flares of material ejected from the sun, sunspots, and activity around those sunspots.

Angelo—This portion of the course will cover our location in the universe and latest solar system discoveries. Included will be an update of planned future manned and unmanned missions to the moon and beyond as well as planet discoveries around other stars. We will conclude with a virtual tour of the November night sky.

About the Presenters: Bob Berta is a retired electrical engineer and safety engineering director in the California electrical power industry. Bob also owned a photography studio, and is currently a solar system ambassador for NASA/JPL.

Angelo DiDonato is a retired automotive and defense industry engineer. His particular fields of interest in astronomy are the study of deep sky objects and the origin and evolution of the universe.
The MORE program is fortunate to have Bob and Angelo as regular presenters with their wealth of knowledge about the cosmos.