Satellites

September 20 (Tuesday), 6 p.m., Teton Co. Library Auditorium – Open to Public. Presentation: “Satellites:  how they are made, launched and how they help us interpret our world”. Presented by Brent Schaffer, Retired Aerospace Engineer, GofJH Member.

We use satellites daily – and almost never even realize or consider that we are doing so. Whether we’re looking for directions on our cell phones or watching a weather forecast we are utilizing satellites.  Global Positioning Satellites enable us to measure land movement like those from the recent mega-quake in Nepal.  Mapping satellites provide cool Google earth views we download onto our computers.  Other satellites provide continuous monitoring of earth’s magnetic fields, climate, oceans and volcanoes.  In this talk, we will explore why some satellites orbit 100 miles above the earth while others orbit the earth at nearly a million miles.   We will explore how satellites are made and launched, and what types are orbiting today.  Some other questions we’ll answer:  Why don’t satellites last forever?  and What are satellites doing for geologists and how are they used? Their importance to our daily lives will be much better understood by the conclusion of this talk.