The Astronomical Society of Northern New England held its March Monthly Meeting on March 4. It was held in-person, and also, remotely, on Zoom.

The high point of the Meeting was a presentation by ASNM President Ian Durham, Ph.D. Durham, of Kennebunk, is a professor and chair of the Physics Department at Saint Anselm College and a member of the Foundational Questions Institute, or FQXi. His current research centers around foundational problems in physics, particularly the intersection of quantum mechanics, relativity, and information theory, as well as formal models of consciousness.

Durham is the member FQXi asks to pick the five most important physics stories of the year. He gave a run-through of the top five, which are:

#5. The currently-accepted model of physics predicts a characteristic of the muon, a sub-atomic particle, that differs from its experimentally-determined value. New, very careful, experimental results confirm the discrepancy.

#4. Using The Event Horizon Telescope, a global network of synchronized radio observatories that work in unison to observe radio sources associated with black holes, magnetic field lines of the black hole at the center of galaxy M87 were imaged.

#3. Using an incredibly accurate atomic clock, the way time is warped by gravity, according to the theory of general relativity, across the distance of one millimeter, was measured.

#2. Quantum entanglement between two macroscopic vibrating drumheads has been demonstrated by two independent research groups.

#1. A series of papers proved that the quantum-mechanical world needs imaginary numbers for its proper description.

Those interested in hearing the presentation may access the FQXi podcast at FQXi’s podcast archive at https://fqxi.org/community/podcast

The March Meeting also included Bernie Reim’s “What’s Up for the Month” and the ever-popular “Astro Shorts” where attendees and members share questions, activities, news and observations.

ASNNE is a local association of amateur astronomers that meets monthly at the New School, on Route 1, (York Street) in Kennebunk.  Meeting are on the first Friday of each month. The next meeting is Friday, 1 April at 7:30 p.m. with a business meeting at 7 p.m. All those interested in astronomy are welcome; from stargazers and hobbyists, to serious observers, astrophotographers, and those interested in astronomical theory. The general public is also most cordially invited and welcome. 

For more information about ASNNE, including directions and events, or to contact the club, visit the website www.ASNNE.org