Last week, I spent some time under the sunny, clear skies of Las Vegas, Nevada. I was the invited guest speaker at the Atomic Testing Museum. This facility — a real gem — sits 7 blocks from the famed Strip in downtown Las Vegas.
The museum chronicles the development and testing of thermonuclear weapons. The exhibits (many of which are interactive) proceed chronologically, and several videos show test explosions. If you visit, don’t miss the 6-minute show in the museum’s Ground Zero Theater. It will (ahem) blow you away.
The Atomic Testing Museum’s director is Raymond Shubinski, who is also a contributing editor of Astronomy. Ray is working to expand the museum’s audience, but he doesn’t want to veer too far afield. A lecture on astronomy seemed a good match.
For my illustrated talk, I tried to tie in as closely as possible to the museum’s theme by choosing “The Amazing Atomic Lives of Stars.” I talked about how stars form, which nuclear reactions in their cores generate the energy they release, and the different “corpses” stars leave when they die.
Based on the questions and comments afterward, the audience enjoyed the talk. I met and chatted with several members of the Las Vegas Astronomical Society. This club has about 120 members and a big advantage over most other astronomy clubs — 90 percent of their nights are clear. Unfortunately, my visit coincided with Full Moon.
Oh well, as they say in Vegas, “Better luck next time!”