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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The 400th birthday of modern astronomy is being |
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marked in 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, and this |
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worldwide celebration represents a fine opportunity to pay tribute |
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to the Lone Star State's leadership in astronomical research; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1609, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei |
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first used a telescope to study the skies, and that same year, the |
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German astronomer Johannes Kepler published his famous laws of |
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planetary motion in the book Astronomia Nova; sponsored by the |
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International Astronomical Union and UNESCO, the International |
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Year of Astronomy 2009 commemorates these revolutionary |
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developments with activities and events around the globe; and |
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WHEREAS, Located in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, the |
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McDonald Observatory of The University of Texas at Austin is one of |
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the world's leading centers for astronomical research and |
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education; its research instruments include the Hobby-Eberly |
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Telescope, one of the world's largest optical telescopes, with a |
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433-inch mirror; and |
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WHEREAS, The Observatory Visitors Center delights and |
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informs 100,000 people a year with its exhibits, tours, and star |
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parties; the observatory also produces the nationally syndicated |
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StarDate and Universo radio programs and websites, bringing the |
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latest in scientific research to audiences in English and Spanish; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, During the IYA 2009, McDonald Observatory and the |
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physics department of Texas A&M University are beginning a |
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collaboration with several other institutions on a groundbreaking |
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study of dark energy, which has been called "the central problem for |
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physics" by Nobel laureate and U.T. professor Steven Weinberg; |
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representing 70 percent of the total energy in the universe, dark |
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energy is the mysterious force causing the expansion of the cosmos |
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to accelerate; and |
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WHEREAS, The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, |
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or HETDEX, will use the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and the new VIRUS |
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spectrograph, developed and constructed by U.T. and Texas A&M, to |
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map the three-dimensional positions of one million galaxies over |
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three years, providing scientists with important clues to the |
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nature of dark energy; and |
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WHEREAS, The study of dark energy represents a revolution in |
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the science of astronomy, and it is most fitting that in this |
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anniversary year of historic scientific achievement, two of the |
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premier research institutions in Texas are working together in the |
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pioneering spirit of Kepler and Galileo to see further into the |
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heart of the universe than anyone has before; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby commemorate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 and |
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celebrate the great contributions of The University of Texas at |
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Austin McDonald Observatory and Texas A&M University in the |
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continuing quest, from time immemorial, to bring the heavens within |
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the compass of human understanding; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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for The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory and the |
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Texas A&M University Department of Physics as an expression of high |
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regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |