‘The New Keplerian Revolution’ was the Title of Prof Donald Kurtz presentation at the October meeting of Keighley Astronomical Society
Don Kurtz is currently a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire He researches in the fields of asteroseismology and magnetic stars. After growing up in California and obtaining his PhD in astronomy from the University of Texas, Don spent 25 years living in South Africa where he spent lots of time rock climbing and gazing at the southern night sky.
During this time he also furthered his studies at the University of Cape Town, where he became a Professor, and has since been at UCLAN. Being aware of his near-to 400 professional publications, one can understand how knowledgeable Don is; there’s no need to even mention that he is the discoverer of a class of pulsating, magnetic stars which continue to fascinate astronomers, as the “rapidly oscillating Ap stars”.
His lecture covered his research in asteroseismology, which included a definition thereof, as well as discussions around planets, exoplanets, habitable zones and the physics of interstellar motion.
Don’s explanation of stars made it clear that he most likely knows everything there is to know about a star, and we got a deep understanding of the newly discovered magnetic stars which pulsate with light and sound, enabling very clever astronomers with expensive telescopes to “see into their core”, greatly enhancing star knowledge worldwide. We hope to have him pay us a return visit in the near future.
