St. Louis Astronomical Society Meeting - The Connection Between the Periodic Table of the Elements and Astronomy

St. Louis Astronomical Society Meeting - The Connection Between the Periodic Table of the Elements and Astronomy

An illustrated presentation by Larry Bartoszek of Bartoszek Engineering

Larry Bartoszek is an Illinois Licensed Professional Engineer and owner of Bartoszek Engineering. His consulting firm specializes in the design of nuclear and high energy physics facilities, both here and abroad. Mr. Bartoszek worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory from 1983 to 1993. While there, he was responsible for major equipment designs, including the 4,000 ton hadron calorimeter.

Most of what is known about the distant Universe comes from decoding the spectrum of starlight. The specific colors present – or missing – in the spectrum of a star reveals the chemical elements present in the star. Mr. Bartoszek will start with a brief history of the Universe to discuss where atoms come from and the forces that hold them together. He will explain how the electron energy shell structure of each type of atom allows the atom to give off a unique pattern of light – its spectrum. The spectrum identifies the element and aids in placing it into the Periodic Table. Mr. Bartoszek will also talk about how the light from distant stars and galaxies changes as the galaxies move away from us. He will show how spectroscopy of starlight reveals the expansion of the Universe as well as the acceleration of the expansion now thought to be caused by Dark Energy. He will also discuss the work that he did in helping to build the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Telescope (SDSS). 

The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes.  The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events.  For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org or call 314-962-9231.  The event, cosponsored by NASA's Missouri Space Grant Consortium, is open to the public free of charge.

To get the link to the Zoom meeting if you are a non-member of SLAS, simply send a request to:  

Contactus@slasonline.com