Mittelman Observatory will again host stargazing open house nights this autumn. These Observatory events are scheduled for Friday evenings, September 16, October 7, and October 28, from 8:30 PM until 10:00 PM, weather permitting.
Jupiter and Saturn will be in the evening sky on these dates. A variety of interesting stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies will be visible through the Observatory’s telescopes. The Observatory includes a 24-inch telescope in a dome and smaller telescopes on the roof deck.
Due to COVID-19 policies and best practices, not all telescopes may be open and masks may be required of attendees.
Observatory open house nights are free and open to the public. However, these events will take place only if the sky is expected to be mostly clear. Please check the Observatory web site at go/observatory or call the Observatory at 443-2266 after 6:30 PM on the evening of the event for weather status.
Additional shorter-notice weather-optimized events may also be scheduled periodically and announced through our Observatory-News e-mail list, to which one can subscribe at go/observatory-news.
In the 4th episode of Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower, hosts Sarah and Hanna are joined by Jeffrey Lewis, Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Jeffrey is also the founder of Arms Control Wonk, the leading blog and podcast on arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation.
Today’s discussion topics include:
the implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s growing nuclear arsenal on the concept of nuclear deterrence;
the ways forward in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program;
the challenges to arms control posed by disinformation;
Mittelman Observatory is happy to announce the next edition of the Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series. This aperiodic series presents astronomy and astronomy-related talks that will often be broad and interdisciplinary in nature.
The next talk will be given virtually by astronomer Hugh Crowl on Tuesday, July 12, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Dr. Crowl’s talk is entitled “How Do Galaxies Lose Their Gas? Galaxy Transformation in the Virgo Cluster”. He is a member of the faculty in Physics and Astronomy at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont.
This talk is presented in collaboration with the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group and the Dublin School.
And, please note that registration is required for this free webinar at go/astrotalk.
Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series announcements, as well as aperiodic stargazing event notices, will routinely happen through the Observatory News mailing list at go/observatorynews.
Mittelman Observatory will again host stargazing open house nights this summer. These Observatory events are scheduled for Wednesday evenings, June 29, July 20, July 27, and August 3, from 9:30 PM until 11:00 PM, weather permitting.
Saturn will be in the evening sky on some of these dates. A variety of interesting stars, star clusters, and nebulae will be visible through the Observatory’s telescopes. The Observatory includes a 24-inch telescope in a dome and smaller telescopes on the roof deck.
Due to COVID-19 policies and best practices, not all telescopes may be open and masks may be required of attendees.
Observatory open house nights are free and open to the public. As these are minimal language events, they are also appropriate for Language Schools students. Some Observatory staff may also speak select languages offered as part of Language Schools. These events will take place only if the sky is expected to be mostly clear. Please check the Observatory web site at go/observatory or call the Observatory at 443-2266 after 7:30 PM on the evening of the event for weather status.
Additional shorter-notice weather-optimized events may also be scheduled periodically and announced through our Observatory-News e-mail list, to which one can subscribe at go/observatory-news.
We are happy to announce the summer 2022 series of our MiddLab Data Workshops! Our workshops are discipline-inclusive and are open to students, faculty, and staff across the institution, from the sciences to the humanities and beyond.
Organizing and Managing Research Data
Resource and Citation Management with Zotero
Designing Better Data Visualizations
Introduction to R and R Studio
Data Wrangling in R with dplyr and tidyr
Creating High Quality Graphics in R with ggplot2
Introduction to Text Mining in R
Introduction to Geospatial Data in R
The Terminal and the Command Line (parts I & II)
Python (parts I & II)
Linux at Middlebury
High-Performance Computing and Slurm at Middlebury
To learn more about the individual workshops and to register, please visit:
Because of space constraints and geographic inclusion, we will be holding this year’s workshops virtually via Zoom. Zotero workshops will have a limited number of in-person seats.
Mittelman Observatory will host a special total lunar eclipse open house night, weather permitting. This Observatory event is scheduled for Sunday evening, May 15, from 10:00 PM until 12:00 AM, weather permitting.
Viewing of the lunar eclipse will happen from the roof deck with smaller telescopes as well as with the unaided eye. Please note that for this event, the larger 24-inch telescope in the dome will not be available. The lunar eclipse is best appreciated with the larger field of view of a smaller telescope or without any telescope at all.
Due to COVID-19 policies and best practices, not all telescopes will be open and masks will be required of attendees.
Observatory open house nights are free and open to the public. However, these events will take place only if the sky is expected to be mostly clear. Please check the Observatory web site at go/observatory or call the Observatory at 443-2266 after 8:00 PM on the evening of the event for weather status.
Additional shorter-notice weather-optimized events may also be scheduled periodically and announced through our Observatory-News e-mail list, to which one can subscribe at go/observatory-news.
Mittelman Observatory will again host stargazing open house nights this spring. These Observatory events are scheduled for Friday evenings, April 22 and May 13, from 9:00 PM until 10:30 PM, weather permitting.
A variety of interesting stars, star clusters, and nebulae will be visible through the Observatory’s telescopes. The Observatory includes a 24-inch telescope in a dome and smaller telescopes on the roof deck.
Due to COVID-19 policies and best practices, not all telescopes will be open and masks will be required of attendees.
Observatory open house nights are free and open to the public. However, these events will take place only if the sky is expected to be mostly clear. Please check the Observatory web site at go/observatory or call the Observatory at 443-2266 after 7:00 PM on the evening of the event for weather status.
Additional shorter-notice weather-optimized events may also be scheduled periodically and announced through our Observatory-News e-mail list, to which one can subscribe at go/observatory-news.
Sarah Bidgood, Prof. Scott Sagan, Dr. Mariana Budjeryn, Dr. Kristin ven Bruusgaard, and Hanna Notte
Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower is a new podcast series on arms control, nonproliferation, and international security issues. In each episode, hosts Sarah Bidgood and Hanna Notte discuss cutting-edge research and what it means for the most pressing challenges facing policymakers today. In conversation with expert guests, Sarah and Hanna break down these complex topics in ways that bridge the divide between scholarship and the real world. Join them each month as they bring Machiavelli into the Ivory Tower!
The third episode of the series, published on April 25, 2022, deals with nuclear escalation and the war in Ukraine. Sarah and Hanna invite Dr. Kristin ven Bruusgaard, a Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo, to discuss the implications of Russian nuclear strategy and the modernization of its conventional forces for the ongoing war in Ukraine. Will the Russian government likely decide to resort to nuclear weapons? Tune in to find out.
Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower Ep 3: Nuclear Escalation and the War in Ukraine. A Conversation with Dr. Kristin ven Bruusgaard
In the second episode, Sarah and Hanna speak with Dr. Mariana Budjeryn, a research associate with the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Dr. Budjeryn discusses her new book, Inheriting the Bomb: The Collapse of the USSR and the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine. In their conversation, the hosts and guest draw connections between Dr. Budjeryn’s findings and the war in Ukraine, focusing in particular on the implications of Russia’s unprovoked invasion for nonproliferation and arms control and Russia’s spurious allegations that Ukraine is pursuing a nuclear capability.
Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower Ep 2: Nuclear Weapons and the War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Dr. Mariana Budjeryn
In the first episode, Sarah and Hanna speak with Prof. Scott Sagan, who is the Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University, about the relationship between nuclear doctrine and the law of armed conflict, related ethical and legal concerns, the implications for US policymakers and military planners, recommendations for the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review, and more generally the dangers inherent in “siloing” legal and strategic studies.
Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower Ep 1: A Conversation with Professor Scott Sagan
Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower is also available on:
Mittelman Observatory is happy to announce the next edition of the Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series. This aperiodic series will involve occasional astronomy and astronomy-related talks that will often be broad and interdisciplinary in nature.
The next talk will be given virtually by planetary astronomer Amanda Bosh on Tuesday, June 8, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Dr. Bosh’s talk is entitled “What the Outer Edges of Our Solar System Tell Us About Its Beginnings”. She is Observatory Operations Manager at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
This talk is presented in collaboration with the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group and the Dublin School.
And, please note that registration is required for this free webinar at go/astrotalk.
Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series announcements, as well as aperiodic live virtual stargazing event notices, will routinely happen through the Observatory News mailing list at go/observatorynews.
Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!
Mittelman Observatory is happy to announce the next edition of the Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series. This aperiodic series will involve occasional astronomy and astronomy-related talks that will often be broad and interdisciplinary in nature.
The next talk will be given virtually by planetary astronomer Richard French on Tuesday, January 12, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Dr. French’s talk is entitled “The Cassini Mission to Saturn: An Insider’s View of an International Journey of Discovery”. He is McDowell/Whiting Professor of Astrophysics and Professor of Astronomy at Wellesley College.
This talk is presented in collaboration with the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group and the Dublin School.
And, please note that registration is required for this free webinar at go/astrotalk.
Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series announcements, as well as aperiodic live virtual stargazing event notices, will routinely happen through the Observatory News mailing list at go/observatorynews.
Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!
