First Lady News

First lady Michelle Obama makes rare speaking appearance in Dallas

Michelle Obama is coming to Dallas.

Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian/The White House

Former first lady Michelle Obama will be making a speaking appearance in Dallas in the spring. The event will take place at the Winspear Opera House on March 8 at 7:30 pm as a special add-on presentation of the Center’s #hearhere speaker series.

"A Conversation with Former First Lady Michelle Obama" will be an exclusive optional add-on to the Center's #hearhere series. Current subscribers can add Mrs. Obama's engagement to their subscription package during a special window between January 19-26.

The appearance was announced from the stage at the Winspear Opera House prior to Neil deGrasse Tyson's sold-out engagement on January 18; the Tyson show was also part of the #hearhere series.

Other speakers in the series include Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer; Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner Rita Moreno; award-winning television and film actor Rob Lowe; actor, writer, and comedian Bill Murray & Friends; and NPR's Ira Glass, which is another optional add-on.

Michelle Robinson Obama served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. During her time, she launched and led four key initiatives: Let’s Move!, to address the challenge of childhood obesity; Joining Forces, to support veterans, service members, and their families; Reach Higher, to inspire young people to seek higher education; and Let Girls Learn, to help adolescent girls around the world go to school.

Before becoming first lady, Michelle Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama.

She later worked in the Chicago mayor’s office, the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. She also founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for careers in public service.

This spring, she has other speaking engagements including an appearance in Indianapolis and a two-night stand in Vancouver in February.

Tickets will be available starting January 19 at noon to current and new #hearhere subscribers. Current subscribers can call 214-880-0202 to add this event to their subscription and must do so by January 26 at 8 pm. New subscriptions can be purchased by phone or online, or in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House Box Office at 2403 Flora St. The box office is open Monday-Friday, 10 am-4:30 pm, and before performances.

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Meteor News

Best time to see the Draconid meteor shower in Dallas this week

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Meteor shower

A meteor shower will be visible from most of North America, including Dallas, during the week of October 6-10.

The Draconid meteor shower – also called the Giacobinids – is predicted to produce the most meteor activity on the night of October 7 and through the early hours of October 8. The peak is expected to occur at 12 am on Monday night/Tuesday morning.

But there will still be sightings on subsequent nights, stargazing experts say, with the overall duration of the shower extending from October 6-10.

According to EarthSky, a cool website devoted to all things starry, the Draconids will be visible right after it gets dark, rather than the more common early morning hours most meteor showers are visible.

The best time will be just after sunset, until around midnight. Viewers won't have to stay up until the crack of dawn.

Helping to make the meteor even more visible is a waxing moon, barely a crack — only 27 percent illuminated — which will cast less light and keep the sky darker overall.

EarthSky says that the meteors are radiating from two stars known as the Dragon’s Eyes, called Eltanin and Rastaban, found in the constellation Draco. Which is located in between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.

However, the meteor shower will be visible across the sky.

The shower is dubbed a "sleeper" in that it produces only a handful of meteors — 10 per hour. But they move slower, so the duration of each streak of light sometimes lasts longer — one to two seconds, rather than a rapid flash.

Meteor showers consist of debris left behind by comets and asteroids, which throw off bits of rock and ice as they orbit the sun. The Draconids are the result of Earth passing through this trail from the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet completes an orbit of the sun about every seven years, and according to CNN, the last time got this close to Earth was in September 2018.

The best way to see it is to find a place that's far from artificial light, then lie on your back and look up at the sky with a wide view. No special equipment is needed.

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