June 10, 2007

Coral reef lecture, shuttle flight highlight this week's science events calendar

THE WEEK AHEAD

Gary Robbins

Sunday: The space shuttle Atlantis docked with International Space Station shortly after noon today. If all goes well, the crew will use a robotic arm to transfer the S3/S4 girder to the space station's robotic arm. About half of the girder was designed at Boeing-Huntington Beach.

Monday: Spacewalkers from Atlantis are scheduled to begin installing the 45-foot long S3/S4 girder on the International Space Station.

Monday: Near-Earth Object hunters Peter Birtwhistle and James McGaha will be Mat Kaplan's guest on Planetary Radio at 5:30 p.m., KUCI/88.9. Click here for the podcast.

Kaplan says that McGaha and Birtwhistle have collectively discovered more than 13,000 NEOs.

Monday: Today is the 25th anniversary of the release of the sci-fi classic "E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial."

Tuesday: Earth scientist Sean Chamberlin will give a lecture titled "Coral Reefs: Cities Under Seige," 1:15 p.m., Ruby Gerontology Center, Cal State Fullerton.

Tuesday: You know that bright light you've been seeing just after sunset? It's Jupiter. And you'll find it 16 degrees above the southeast at 9 p.m.

Wednesday: At 8 p.m., the History Channel series "Modern Marvels" will spend an hour exploring the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which extends for 2,400 miles, making it the world's longest inland waterway.

Thursday: Phil Brigandi, an archivist for the county, will discuss, "Orange County--From Native Americans to the Internet," 1:15 p.m., Ruby Gerontology Center, Cal State Fullerton