SWOCC release – Recent Discoveries in Astronomy” with Dr. Scott Fisher. Coos Bay, OR – Dr. Scott Fisher of the University of Oregon Department of Physics and Pine Mountain Observatory returns to Southwestern to shed more light on the wonders of our universe. His talk “What’s Up Up There? Recent Discoveries in Astronomy” will take place Thursday, June 6, 2019 at 7:00 pm on the Coos campus of Southwestern, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay, in the Hales Center for the Performing Arts. In this presentation Dr. Fisher will describe and speak about recent discoveries from some of the largest telescopes in the world. In particular the discovery of Exoplanets – planets that orbit stars that are not the Sun. Along the way he will talk about what it is like to work as a staff scientist at a modern, large-aperture telescope, and how astronomy is taught at a large public university like the University of Oregon. This presentation is full of images and videos that will be presented at a level that is appropriate for all ages and all levels of astronomy knowledge. During the presentation and afterwards, Dr. Fisher will be happy to answer questions from the audience. Dr. Scott Fisher is a faculty member in the University of Oregon Department of Physics where he teaches introductory-level astronomy courses, runs an astronomical observatory, and serves as the Director for Undergraduate Studies. Scott previously worked at the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC where he was responsible for selecting and funding astronomy programs across the United States. Before his time in Washington, Scott was based in Hilo, Hawaii where he worked as a staff scientist of the Gemini Observatory. At Gemini, he worked as an instrument scientist and as a member of the Gemini Outreach team. Scott’s main areas of research is searching for and studying planet-forming disks around young stars and more recently, the evolution of galaxy clusters at high redshift. For more information please contact Dr. Aaron Coyner, Physics Instructor at Southwestern, at 541-888-7244.
