Bob Abel, Olympic College (Emeritus), DiRAC Institute, Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, “First Light: Early Results from the Rubin Observatory.” Join us as we hear updates of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory which officially began operations in June. Located on an Andean peak, with a huge mirror and the largest digital camera ever built, its deep, panoramic images record the entire night sky every three days, and it will repeat this process for ten years. This is by far the most ambitious sky survey ever: by the time of this talk, it will have already gathered more data than all of the telescopes in history combined. The first official data release is scheduled for mid-2028, but the observations obtained while calibrating the telescope are already providing new insights into our solar system, our galaxy, and the universe beyond.

Musician and historian Joel Underwood delighted our members with stories and songs of Woody Guthrie last year. He returns, this time with a performance featuring the music and history of America’s most influential songwriter: Bob Dylan. Come sing along with a dozen Dylan favorites, such as “The Times, They Are A’Changin'”, “Blowin’ In the Wind” and yell out the eternal question, “How does it feel?”. In addition, Underwood dives into the stories of the Nobel Prize-winner’s early years in Minnesota and New York, and lays out what really happened the fateful night he “went electric” in Newport. Sometimes poignant, often funny, occasionally infuriating, Bob Dylan’s story adds depth and understanding to a unique treasury of music, and Underwood mines those narrative veins with his voice, guitar, and a master storyteller’s touch. 

Bio: Joel Underwood is a musician, historian, and lecturer based in Olympia. While preparing his graduate thesis on Woody Guthrie’s WWII service in the Merchant Marine, he was named the 2022 Guthrie Fellow and researched at the Guthrie Center Archives in Tulsa. In 2024, Underwood was selected as a speaker for Humanities Washington, traveling throughout the state speaking (and singing) on Guthrie’s time on the Grand Coulee Dam project here in the Pacific Northwest, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. His performance series on Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams (and soon Buddy Holly!) has garnered rave reviews and critical acclaim. Underwood is currently on the faculty of Pierce College, where he teaches early and modern American History.