First of two monthly meetings of the Warren Astronomical Society. At the Cranbrook meetings, we spend the first hour or so of the meeting on club business and observing reports, then have two presentations, one short and one full-length.
For our September 10th meeting at Cranbrook, Jim Shedlowsky will bring us "Houston, We Have A Problem." For those of you not familiar with the classic quote, Jim has an explanation: "The third scheduled lunar landing exploration mission was scheduled for liftoff at 13 minutes after the 13th hour....and scheduled to land on the moon on the 13th day of April in 1970. A major accident turned the mission into one of the greatest and most gripping adventures in the history of space exploration. My presentation will chronicle this amazing adventure and the details & circumstances surrounding the nearly disastrous failures and incredible teamwork which conspired to recover and bring the crew back safely from 200,000 miles in space."
Jim Shedlowsky graduated from the University of Michigan in 1960 with a degree in Engineering Physics. After spending 2 years as an Artillery Officer in the US Army in Germany, he worked for 36 years at General Motors as a Vehicle Development Engineer/Manager specializing in Acoustics, Noise and Vibration, retiring in 1999. In his spare time he wrote and recorded music for Epic and Roulette Records as one of the “Skee Brothers.”
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Jim rekindled a lifelong interest in astronomy upon his retirement in 1999, and he joined the Warren Astronomical Society. His interests include observing and outreach, and he owns several telescopes, but in recent years his “passion” for astronomical history and technology has become a major factor. He is the Vice President of the McMath – Hulbert Astronomical Society, has visited a number of major observatories and has assembled a significant collection of books in this regard.
Jim and his wife winter in Mesa, Arizona (...a great place for observing...) and he participates in the activities of the East Valley Astronomy Club. He took part in the “All Arizona Messier Marathon” in March of 2009, earning a certificate for observing 104 Messier objects in one night.
