EVENTS For information on JPL tours and the speakers bureau, visit our PUBLIC SERVICES site. The Solar System Ambassador Program sponsors events in communities around the country. Find out how to become a volunteer Solar System Ambassador.		Topic - Ultra High Resolution Astronomy Wide in the Middle, Hot at the Top: The Direct Measurement of the Shapes of Stars Presented by Dr. Gerard Van Belle Keck Operations Scientist, California Institute of Technology, Michelson Science Center RealPlayer (with caption): "Measuring Star Shapes" Archived Webcast RealPlayer (w/out caption): "Measuring Star Shapes" Archived Webcast If you don't have RealPlayer, you can download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic.   Thursday, March 16 The von Kármán Auditorium at JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA For directions, click here. Friday, March 17 The Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College 1570 East Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA For directions, click here. Both lectures begin at 7 p.m. PST and run for approximately an hour. Admission is free. Seating is limited. For more information, call (818) 354-0112. Using the highest resolution telescopes in the world, the sizes and shapes of rapidly spinning stars have been determined for the first time. These "Tasmanian Devils" of the sky rotate more than 50 times as fast as our sun, almost stretching themselves apart at the equator, and leaving behind hot polar caps. Observations of the rapid rotators Altair, Regulus and Alderamin will be detailed, along with a brief introduction to the past 100 years of astronomers' indirect observations of these objects. These ultra-high-resolution techniques are leading the way to new discoveries, which ultimately will include the detection of Earth-sized planets in orbit other stars. To learn more about high resolution astronomy, click here.