[AANC Contacts] Reminder: Free Public Talk on "Doomsday 2012" at Foothill College April 21

[Andrew Fraknoi]

NOTE to AANC Club members:  We expect
big crowds, so it might be best to come a
little early.
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On Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at 7 pm,
Astronomer David Morrison of NASA's Ames
Research Center will give a non-technical,
illustrated talk on:
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A Scientist Looks at "Doomsday 2012" and
the Rise of Cosmophobia
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as part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
in the Smithwick Theater, Foothill College,
El Monte Road and Freeway 280,
in Los Altos Hills, California.

Free and open to the public.
Parking on campus costs $2.

Call the series hot-line at 650-949-7888 for
more information and driving directions.

No background in science will be required for
this talk.
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Many people have heard the rumors (through the media,
on the Internet, seeing the big-budget movie, or from friends)
that the world will end in 2012 -- and that some astronomical
event or alignment is to blame. According to some versions,
this doomsday scenario was predicted by ancient civilizations
and we are just waking up to the truth!  Is there scientific
basis to these rumors?

Dr. David Morrison runs the web site through which
the public can ask NASA questions about life in the universe,
and for the past two years he has found himself
overwhelmed by questions on this topic. He has now tracked
down many of the stories that gave rise to a new fear of the
heavens (what he calls "cosmophobia"). He will tell us about
the scientific perspective on the chances that we won't be
around after 2012. There are lessons here about the way a
scientifically unsophisticated segment of the public can be
manipulated by hoaxers out to make a buck by
frightening people.

David Morrison is the Director of NASA's Lunar
Science Institute and the Director of the Carl Sagan
Center for the Study of Life at the SETI Institute.
Dr. Morrison, a world-renowned planetary scientist
and expert in the field of asteroid impacts, is the
author of more than 155 technical papers
and has published a dozen popular books and intro-
ductory textbooks. He is the recipient of numerous awards
for his scientific and educational work, including the
Sagan Medal of the American Astronomical Society
for public communication.  Dr. Morrison was a founder
of the multi-disciplinary field of astrobiology.  Asteroid
2410 Morrison is named in his honor, but he assures
us that it is not one of those that might hit the Earth.

The lecture is co-sponsored by:
* NASA Ames Research Center
* The Foothill College Astronomy Program
* The SETI Institute
* The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

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Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available
in MP3 format at:
<http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html>http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html



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Andrew Fraknoi, Chair, Astronomy Program
Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd.,
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, USA

Telephone: (650) 949-7288
E-mail: fraknoiandrew at fhda.edu
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