81R4474 JGH-D
By: Rose H.C.R. No. 21
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The 400th birthday of modern astronomy is being
marked in 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, and this
worldwide celebration represents a fine opportunity to pay tribute
to the Lone Star State's leadership in astronomical research; and
WHEREAS, In 1609, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei
first used a telescope to study the skies, and that same year, the
German astronomer Johannes Kepler published his famous laws of
planetary motion in the book Astronomia Nova; sponsored by the
International Astronomical Union and UNESCO, the International
Year of Astronomy 2009 commemorates these revolutionary
developments with activities and events around the globe; and
WHEREAS, Located in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, the
McDonald Observatory of The University of Texas at Austin is one of
the world's leading centers for astronomical research and
education; its research instruments include the Hobby-Eberly
Telescope, one of the world's largest optical telescopes, with a
433-inch mirror; and
WHEREAS, The Observatory Visitors Center delights and
informs 100,000 people a year with its exhibits, tours, and star
parties; the observatory also produces the nationally syndicated
StarDate and Universo radio programs and websites, bringing the
latest in scientific research to audiences in English and Spanish;
and
WHEREAS, During the IYA 2009, McDonald Observatory and the
physics department of Texas A&M University are beginning a
collaboration with several other institutions on a groundbreaking
study of dark energy, which has been called "the central problem for
physics" by Nobel laureate and U.T. professor Steven Weinberg;
representing 70 percent of the total energy in the universe, dark
energy is the mysterious force causing the expansion of the cosmos
to accelerate; and
WHEREAS, The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment,
or HETDEX, will use the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and the new VIRUS
spectrograph, developed and constructed by U.T. and Texas A&M, to
map the three-dimensional positions of one million galaxies over
three years, providing scientists with important clues to the
nature of dark energy; and
WHEREAS, The study of dark energy represents a revolution in
the science of astronomy, and it is most fitting that in this
anniversary year of historic scientific achievement, two of the
premier research institutions in Texas are working together in the
pioneering spirit of Kepler and Galileo to see further into the
heart of the universe than anyone has before; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby commemorate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 and
celebrate the great contributions of The University of Texas at
Austin McDonald Observatory and Texas A&M University in the
continuing quest, from time immemorial, to bring the heavens within
the compass of human understanding; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
for The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory and the
Texas A&M University Department of Physics as an expression of high
regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate.