Page 2 April 3, 2014 Calendar Manhattan Beach Calendar Thursday, April 10 • Public Works Department Community Meeting on the city’s proposed Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-2015 through 2018-2019, 6-8 p.m., Police/ Fire Conference Room, 420 15th St. For more information call (310) 802-5353. Saturday, April 12 • “What’s Bugging You?” class, 10-11 a.m., Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden Amphitheatre, west side of Polliwog Park. Registration required. For more information call (310) 546-1354 or email Julie@ manhattanbeachbotanicalgarden.org. Tuesday, April 15 • City Council Meeting, 6-11 p.m., City Council Chambers, 1400 Highland Avenue. Saturday, April 19 • “Bee Basics” class, 10-11 a.m., Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden Amphitheatre, west side of Polliwog Park. Registration required. For more information call (310) 546-1354 or email Julie@ manhattanbeachbotanicalgarden.org. Friday, April 25 • South Bay Business Leaders Summit, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Manhattan Beach Marriott, 1400 Parkview Ave. For more information call call (310) 545-5313 or visit www. manhattanbeachchamber.com. Saturday, April 26 • Earth Day Celebration and Concert Presented by the City of Manhattan Beach and V.O.I.C.E (Volunteers and Organizations Improving the Community’s Environment), 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., Polliwog Park, 1601 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. For more information call (310) 226-2927. • Take Back Event for Unwanted Prescription Drugs, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Manhattan Beach Police Department Community Room, 420 15th Street. Illicit substances and used/new hypodermic needles are not a part of this program and will not be accepted. • Free Community Workshops with Yarn Bombing Los Angeles, 1-4 p.m., Creative Arts Center, 1560 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. For more information call (310) 802-5440. • Neptunian Woman’s Club Annual Fashion Show, Doors open at 10:30 a.m., Neptunian Club House, 920 Highland Avenue in Manhattan Beach will on the day of the event. www.neptunians.org Upcoming • Police and Fire Station Open House, May 10 from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m., Manhattan Beach Police/Fire Station, 400 15th Street. The Police Jail and Fire Station will be open for guided tours throughout the day. Ongoing • Sea Story time, every Sunday at 11:30 a.m., at the Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the Manhattan Beach pier. For more information visit www.roundhouseaquarium. org. • Looking Up First Ring System Around Asteroid By Bob Eklund Observations at many sites in South America have made the surprise discovery that the remote asteroid Chariklo, only 100 miles in diameter, is surrounded by two dense and narrow rings. This is the smallest object by far found to have rings and only the fifth body in the solar system—after the much larger planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—to have this feature. “We weren’t looking for a ring and didn’t think small bodies like Chariklo had them at all, so the discovery—and the amazing amount of detail we saw in the system—came as a complete surprise!” says Felipe Braga-Ribas (Observatório Nacional/MCTI, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) who planned the observation campaign. Chariklo is the largest member of a class known as the Centaurs and it orbits between Saturn and Uranus in the outer solar system. Predictions had shown that it would pass in front of the star UCAC4 248-108672 on June 3, 2013, as seen from South America. Astronomers using telescopes at seven different locations were able to watch the star apparently vanish for a few seconds as its light was blocked by Chariklo. But they found much more than they were expecting. A few seconds before, and again a few seconds after the main occultation, there were two further very short dips in the star’s apparent brightness. Something around Chariklo was blocking the light! By comparing what was seen from different sites the team could reconstruct not only the shape and size of the object itself, but also the shape, width, orientation and other properties of the newly discovered rings. The team found that the ring system consists of two sharply confined rings only seven and three kilometers wide, separated by a clear gap of nine kilometers. “For me, it was quite amazing to realize that we were able not only to detect a ring system, but also pinpoint that it consists of two clearly distinct rings,” adds Uffe Gråe Jørgensen (Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark), one of the team. “I try to imagine how it would be to stand on the surface of this icy object—small enough that a fast sports car could reach escape velocity and drive off into space—and stare up at a 20-kilometer wide ring system 1,000 times closer than the Moon.” Westchester Star Party Meanwhile, much closer to home, on Saturday April 5, the local community will be able to look up at our own Moon and planet Jupiter and see them greatly magnified in high-quality amateur telescopes. The international public astronomy organization “Astronomers Without Borders” has named April 5 as Global Star Party Night, when people all over the world will be looking through telescopes—often for the first time in their lives. The local star party will be part of this global adventure. (see http:// astronomerswithoutborders.org/gam2014- programs/observing/1455-global-star-party. html.) Telescopes will be set up for the public’s enjoyment from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in the parking lot of the Christian Science Church, 7855 Alverstone Avenue (one block west of Sepulveda at the corner of 79th Street) in Westchester. There is no charge and refreshments will be served. If you have a telescope of your own, you’re welcome to bring it. All are welcome—bring the children, learn astronomy together and enjoy the sky! And if it’s cloudy, come anyway— we’ll have an indoor learning session on basic astronomy designed especially for children (of all ages). Questions? Contact star party host Bob Eklund, (310) 216-5947, beklund@ sprynet.com Asteroid image: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1410/ • Finance Money Talk: Educating the Next Generation (BPT) - At a certain age, kids stop listening to their parents on all topics except for one. Money. Yet recent research conducted by Bank of America found that although this is the one area where teens and tweens actually seek advice from their parents, it’s one many adults avoid due to their own lack of confidence in managing their finances. Whether you’re taking steps to proactively educate your children on money management or they’re confronting you with specific questions, be ready and equipped to help them learn about what’s important. Following the five simple steps below will not only help you brush up on the basics and build your own financial knowledge but better prepare you to teach your kids about managing money responsibly. • Expand your own financial knowledge. A recent Bank of America study on financial literacy reveals that 32 percent of U.S. adults recognize their lack of financial knowledge has led them to make poor financial decisions. Before you can educate your kids, make it a priority to educate yourself. Consider online resources as an easy way to expand your own financial knowledge. One option is BetterMoneyHabits.com, a free online learning platform offered through Bank of America’s partnership with Khan Academy, offering dozens of easy-to-understand personal finance videos on everything from using credit to saving and budgeting. • Educate by example. Teens and tweens often model their behaviors after their parents – both good and bad – particularly when it comes to money. By setting a good example and responsibly managing your own personal finances, you can begin teaching your children without much heavy lifting. • Talk to your kids. We’ve all made mistakes with money at one time or another – the important thing is that you and your children can learn from them. Begin talking to your children about the financial decisions you’ve made in the past to help spur open, ongoing dialogue about money. Knowledge of your personal financial challenges may prevent your children from facing similar issues and discussing your good decisions provides them with concrete examples to follow. • Get specific. Parents tend to give pie-inthe sky goals to their kids – like the need to save for college, which don’t resonate. Focus your kids in on immediate goals – like saving for a bicycle or a treat after school. Prior to making a purchase, challenge your children to research and compare. This approach helps teach many important aspects of money management including smart shopping, budgeting, finding and negotiating good deals, and avoiding impulse purchases. • Offer allowance. Once your children reach an age where you feel they’re comfortable with handling money, you can begin to offer an allowance. Whether it’s rewarding them for completing chores, good behavior or making straight A’s on their report card, make it clear to them what kind of expenditures the money is for and that they are expected to save some of it. This will likely be your child’s first chance at budgeting and managing money, so it’s important to give them the tools they need in order to be successful. Of course, there are no “one size fits all” answers to your child’s financial questions, but when the questions do come, it’s important to be ready by empowering yourself. It’s critical that parents are confident in their own money management skills in order to teach the next generation. •
Manhattan 04_03_14
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