Astronomy.com blog : outreach

NASA technology in your world

Karri Ferron — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:58:00 GMT

NASA recently released its 2009 edition of Spinoff, an annual publication that chronicles successfully commercialized NASA technology. It’s easy to get lost in the magazine or its Web counterpart.

The 2009 issue features 49 “spinoffs” in the areas of health and medicine; public safety; consumer, home, and recreation; environmental and agricultural resources; and more. I enjoyed many of them, but my favorites are the life rafts that use water to prevent the them from capsizing, the star-mapping tools used to track whale sharks, and the “anti-gravity” treadmill that now helps patients relearn to walk or run.

Also, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s lunar landing, the creators of the publication have also recapped how Apollo continues to provide tangible benefits to the lives of people in the United States and around the world.

Do you appreciate how NASA has given the technology it develops back to the public? Or do you think these commercialized products aren’t anything to write home about? Which 2009 spinoffs are your favorites?

Kids: Learn about Apollo 11 from the experts

Karri Ferron — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:25:00 GMT

Next week (November 16–20), NASA’s Digital Learning Network will host a series of videoconferences with NASA employees who had a special connection with Apollo 11 to let students hear firsthand accounts from people who made the lunar landing possible. The 1-hour programs will be held each day at 1 p.m. EST from a different NASA location and will be webcast to the public. The schedule will run as follows:

Monday: (from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virgina) Explore the work of aerospace pioneer John Houbolt, and learn how a young engineer convinced his boss that lunar exploration would be possible only if something called “Lunar Orbit Rendezvous” was used as the passageway to the Moon.

Tuesday: (from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama) Learn how a rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty was constructed and why it tipped the scale of the space race in favor of the United States.

Wednesday: (from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida) Discover America’s spaceport, where the Apollo 11 astronauts made their final preparations before counting down to launch on the fastest rocket in the world, the Saturn V.

Thursday: (from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston) Learn more about the home of the astronaut corps and take a peek inside NASA's Mission Control Center, the setting of communication with Apollo 11 astronauts.

Friday: (from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California) Discover how NASA may one day return to the Moon and explore the universe beyond with the Constellation Program.

Are we boldly going places?

Bill Andrews — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:55:00 GMT

NASA’s done a good job getting us into space, but should it work harder on convincing people why that’s a good idea? NASA photo

Chances are you’ll recognize the phrase, “To boldly go,” as part of the monologue introducing each episode of Star Trek. I’ve heard it called the most famous split infinitive in the English language, and whatever a person’s science knowledge or familiarity with Star Trek, they’ll usually recognize “To boldly go — where no one has gone before.”

Jeremy McCarter argues in “Rocket Men,” a story in the November 9 issue of Newsweek, that we need more of Star Trek’s ilk. He says a big factor in NASA’s past successes was the public’s general fascination with space, thanks to TV shows and popular books. He quotes from the book Rocket Men (2009) that “all three of rocketry's founding fathers read From the Earth to the Moon, and it changed the course of their lives.” To really get the population excited about space, he says, we need to show space once again as a backdrop for excitement, drama, and adventure, and not just the place where killer asteroids, aliens, and lousy movies come from.

Now, half the fun of the article was renewing my geek cred as McCarter listed off popular depictions of space. I agreed with almost all his characterizations, especially his praise for the underappreciated TV show Firefly and its movie sequel, Serenity. And while I can’t lay claim to having seen The Empire Strikes Back “several hundred” times, as he does, I once performed in a musical adaptation of it.

But, more than simply agreeing about classic sci-fi, I agreed with everything else McCarter said too. If we really want to go out and conquer the stars — or even just the nearest planets and their moons — we need a public that thinks it’s a good idea. Science and a sense of adventure have historically gone hand in hand, and if that isn’t clear to us anymore, someone has messed up. NASA does a pretty good job of keeping folks amused with its videos and tweets, but amusing is a long way from astounding, mesmerizing, or even just super cool.

I’m probably not an expert on super cool (see Star Wars musical reference, above), but I know Star Trek, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels, and Contact helped get me interested in space, and I’m definitely not the only one. NASA’s been going into space for a few decades now, but perhaps it’s time it start boldly going.

Did any movies, books, or TV shows inspire you to get into space? Do you think NASA’s doing a fine enough job right now, thank you very much? Or do you (impossibly) think Firefly wasn’t that good?

SmartBean encourages kids’ interest in astronomy

Karri Ferron — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:19:00 GMT

Smartbean lists images from the Hubble Space Telescope like this one of the Bug Nebula (NGC 6302) as a reason kids will love astronomy. NASA photo

Cultivating children’s interest in astronomy is a goal for professional scientists, planetarium directors, schoolteachers, and astronomy clubs alike. So it’s nice to see when parents are encouraged to get involved in astronomy with their kids. In a recently published article, SmartBean is doing just that.

SmartBean is a web site dedicated to providing parents with excellent K-12 academic resources and news. In honor of the International Year of Astronomy’s Galilean Nights, it published “10 Reasons Your Child Will Love Astronomy.” The article highlights things like the breathtaking views a kid can see through a telescope, the educational but fun way astronomy activities can be incorporated into a child’s life, and the fact that astronomy is constantly changing with new discoveries and research.

I thought the article was a nice jump-start for parents. What do you think? What resources would you recommend for young kids interested in astronomy?

Get ready for some Galilean Nights

Karri Ferron — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:27:00 GMT

Official Galilean Nights poster

Another International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone Project kicks off tomorrow night around the globe. The goal of Galilean Nights, October 22-24, is to allow hundreds of thousands of people all around the world to experience their own “Galileo moment” when they look up at the sky through a telescope for the first time. Currently there are more than 1,000 public observing events in more than 70 countries to help achieve such a goal. The Galilean Nights web site lists them all.

Plenty of astronomy clubs, universities, and professional observatories in the United States are participating, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find an event to attend. But even if there isn’t one near you, it’s never too late to plan your own observing party. Invite friends and neighbors over one night for their first view of Jupiter. While they’re there, have them do some star counts to learn the visibility in your area. Start Stephen James O’Meara’s Ghost Hunt challenge, and see how many spooky objects on his list you can find.

The Galilean Nights organizers are also encouraging participants to photograph what they see and share the sights with the wider world through the Galilean Nights astrophotography competition. Astrophotographers of all levels are encouraged to participate.

In addition to these great activities, observatories are making their facilities available to the world for remote observing sessions. As well as attending local Galilean Nights observing events, anybody with access to the internet will be able to control telescopes on the other side of the world. Those taking part in remote observing sessions will be able to take photographs of astronomical objects from their own personal computers.

All in all, there are tons of ways to participate and enjoy some observing and outreach. So how will you be spending your Galilean Nights?

Stephen James O’Meara recaps the George Moore Astronomy Workshop

Matt Quandt — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:59:00 GMT

Please enjoy this guest post from Astronomy magazine Columnist Stephen James O’Meara:

Just wrapped up with a successful and fun George Moore Astronomy Workshop at Camp Maskepetoon near Pigeon Lake in Alberta. The Edmonton Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada sponsors the event and hosted me.

Aside from meeting old friends, like Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Alister Ling, who gave a wonderful presentation on how best to use the Sky Clock to maximize your chances of heading outside on a great starlit night, we had a full evening of starlight. Larry Wood of Edmonton set up his 12-inch f/5 reflector and treated many of us to views of obscure planetary and reflection nebulae.

Variable star guru Rick Huziak of Saskatoon shared some wonderful views of the Veil Nebula and other deep-sky delights through his 10-inch 5/5.6 reflector. Most impressive, however, was something I had seen for the first time: four geosynchronous-orbit satellites in a z shape (the brightest of which was 3rd magnitude). We viewed this pattern through Rick's scope at high power. We turned off the drive and watched the satellites stay in the field of view while the stars zipped by “behind” them. Awesome!

Kathleen Houston had fun finding M81 and M82, and a special guest — Sverir Rrudmundsson of Iceland — shared the wonders of observing from his home country and provided an international flavor to the event.

Thanks, Steve!

A Moon resource guide

Karri Ferron — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:07:00 GMT

A waxing gibbous Moon. Astronomy.com member "LATiger" photo

I have a love-hate relationship with the Internet. It makes getting information easier than ever, but it also can make getting the CORRECT information more difficult than ever. Sometimes, it takes a lot of sifting through less-than-reputable sites to find goods ones you can trust. So it’s a bonus when someone else does it for you.

The Astronomy Society of the Pacific has been working to collect series of resources on different astronomy topics for its “Family ASTRO” education program. Among them is one about our nearest celestial neighbor, the Moon.

If you’re looking for complementary online resources to go with Astronomy.com’s “Intro to the sky: The Moon and planets” or the “Observe the Moon with a small telescope” how-to video, this resource is a great place to go. It has links for information about scientific understanding of the Moon as a world, the appearance of the Moon in our skies, and the Moon in popular culture and historical events. Andrew Fraknoi, chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College in California and the person behind this collection, admits that this resource guide is by no means complete, but it is a good place to start as it suggests some resources that may be useful for beginners.

What do you think of this collection of links? Is it a good start for beginners, or do you have other suggestions for sites? Where do you send people who want more information about the Moon?

Seeing the (faint) light in Tucson

Bill Andrews — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:52:00 GMT

While it’s no secret that Astronomy magazine just opened its own observatory, don’t think it’s something only professionals can aspire to.

The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) has been working to establish a permanent dark observing facility for more than 2 years now, and it’s impressive how much they’ve already done. After finding a good spot, the group had to convince the surrounding community they wouldn’t be lousy neighbors. Apparently, the idea of a star party conjured up images of booze and paparazzi, rather than a peaceful get-together to look at the night sky.

After enlisting the aid of local schools and community leaders, the TAAA received the appropriate paperwork and the deed to their 16 acres in early 2009. Then the hard work really began. They’re currently finishing Phase 1 of construction, meaning they’re simply making the place habitable – adding improvements like electricity, better roads, and a bathroom. Without such basic amenities, the club can’t even host a member star party.

By year’s end the TAAA hopes to begin Phase 2, which will see the construction of concrete observing pads, an observatory, an amphitheater, RV parking sites, and some other niceties. In January, they’ll choose an official name for the site (currently just called “The Dark Site”) from entries in a naming contest. Eventually they’ll move on to Phase 3, which will include a bunkhouse, more observing pads, numerous small observatories, and a caretaker’s residence.

While money has occasionally been a problem over the years, the TAAA’s lucky that its membership is so committed. One club member donated some $33,000 worth of new equipment, including four telescopes (14-inch, 11-inch, 9.25-inch, and 8-inch Celestron SCTs), an AP 1200 mount, and high-end eyepiece kits. The land itself is the gift of a group of members dubbed The Perseus Group. And, of course, all of this is strictly volunteer work – no one in the TAAA gets paid for any of it.

So the next time you’re wondering what you or your small group can do, keep the TAAA in mind. They’ve been able to accomplish some pretty ambitious goals, just by working together and planning well (and having some pretty generous members, too). And if you’re curious what it’ll be like, just wait a little and you can go see for yourself because the site will be open to the public. It just goes to show that, in many ways, astronomy really is the people’s science.

Photos credit: John Kalas

Astronomy editors sit down with the band They Might Be Giants

Bill Andrews — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:51:00 GMT

As a journalist, I’ve had the chance occasionally to meet some famous people and even interact with them. Just a few weeks ago I joined many of my colleagues to hang out with noted author Dava Sobel, and I’ve taken classes from pretty famous physicists. I once even interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, trying to ask professional, interesting questions and not reveal how awestruck I was to be in the man’s presence. Until yesterday, that had been the undisputed peak of my career. Now, a new contender has emerged.

Accompanying Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich and Online Editor Matt Quandt, I got to interview and hang out with Grammy Award-winning group They Might Be Giants (TMBG) — my absolute favorite band. (Well, technically it was only half of the two-man band, but that just gives me something to shoot for next time.) It was pretty surreal to just chat it up with John Linnell (second from the left in image), a guy whose voice I’ve listened to for countless hours, spanning more than a dozen albums, over about half my life.

We caught up with Linnell just before the band’s October 11 concert in Madison, Wisconsin. They’re on tour to promote their latest album, Here Comes Science, which features four astronomy-themed songs. It’s the band’s fourth album for kids, and the third explicitly educational one (after 2005’s Here Come the ABCs and 2008’s Here Come the 123s). It’s a testament to their talent that these songs are just as much fun to listen and jam out to as their earlier, more grown-up releases — and I’m not just saying that because I own their entire collection.

TMBG has a particular genius for fitting interesting, catchy music around mind-bending concepts and words, whether an ode to how loud a nightclub can get (“Man, It’s So Loud In Here”), a ditty about a wannabe drummer with a ridiculous stage name (“Doctor Worm”), or one of their most famous numbers about a night light’s feelings of existential angst (“Birdhouse in Your Soul”). Who better, then, to take complex subjects like the color spectrum and the true nature of the Sun and set them to rock songs with good beats?

I was surprised how easy it was to talk to Linnell during the interview (perhaps because Bakich asked most of the questions). He acted like a regular guy, answering questions about his inspiration for “fact-based songs” and what it’s like to write educational songs that aren’t quite “thuddingly didactic.” He posed for pictures with us, casually shot the breeze before and after the interview, and overall was pretty friendly for a guy whose music plays on the radio, on TV, and in movie theaters.

After the interview, my wife and I stayed for the show, which was (naturally) a lot of fun. It was the first family-friendly TMBG concert I’d been to, and my fifth overall. At first we felt a little out of place as the only adults without children. We quickly spotted other couples, though, and soon got lost in the music. At various points we sang along with scores of 5-year-olds about the Sun, the number 7, and Istanbul not being Constantinople.

Once again, my chosen profession yielded unexpected benefits and a great time. So let that be a lesson to you aspiring writers, TMBG-fans, and everyone else: Dreams really can come true, and you don’t even need to wish upon a star — just know its chemical makeup.

Editor’s note: Stay tuned to Astronomy.com for videos of our visit with John Linnell.

Photo credit: Holley Bakich

Astronomy contributing editor attends White House star party

Matt Quandt — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:53:00 GMT

Special guest blog from Contributing Editor Martin Ratcliffe

President Barack Obama and his family joined 150 school children, dozens of amateur astronomers, professional scientists, and education and public outreach professionals Wednesday night during the Star Party at the White House. And how cool was this? “Cool” doesn’t even come close. I was lucky to be a part of the exciting events running one of the planetarium domes set up on the South Lawn of the White House.

Thirty of us spent most of the day setting up for the 2-hour evening event. And weather cooperated except for some strong winds during the daytime. A more perfect night could not have been achieved, with crystal clear skies of the nation’s capital.

Crater impact experiments and samples of Moon rock provided great activities to highlight today’s LCROSS impact on the Moon. Many telescopes ranging from 2 to 18 inches were available. Dr. Stephen Pompea demonstrated the 2-inch Galileoscope, and he showed me a great view of Jupiter’s moons. Dean Koenig of the Starizona company brought his amazing f/2 Fastar imaging system, which showed one group of children a quick image of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) right after they had seen M31 in my planetarium dome. The teacher had asked if they could see M31 directly, and I suggested they visit the Fastar scope and ask for a CCD image, and they saw it in all its glorious detail.

This unique night included special guests such as astronaut John Grunsfeld (Hubble servicing mission), Sally Ride (first American woman in space), Buzz Aldrin (second man on the Moon), and Charlie Bolden (NASA administrator, who helped launch Hubble from the cargo bay of the space shuttle).

White House staffers said presidents are not known to spend much time at events on the South Lawn. The Obamas spent more than an hour at the event, and the family showed a great deal of interest. They looked through telescopes at Jupiter and the Moon, and after his formal remarks, the president and first lady viewed the famous Double-Double in Lyra. As readers of Astronomy magazine know well, these objects are star party favorites.

Two planetarium domes were there, one supplied by Sky-Skan, Inc., a major digital planetarium supplier, and a second from Goddard Space Flight Center. The Obama family, daughters included, climbed into the Sky-Skan dome along with 25 school children, and they spent 10 minutes flying around the solar system and asked interesting questions. With two girls of my own, I know how important it is to expose your kids to science, and astronomy is a great way to do it. It was a great privilege to present the planetarium show for the president’s family, huddled as we were inside the 25-foot diameter dome.

Providing a cosmic perspective to young children is fun, engaging, and important, and bringing astronomy to the nation’s attention for a brief moment Wednesday night was the highlight of nearly 6 months of behind-the-scenes work by NASA educators, who, following encouragement from IYA organizers and many individuals to host a star party at the White House, were called in by the White House to plan the event.

Martin Ratcliffe, in addition to being a contributing editor to Astronomy magazine, is also Director of Professional Development for Sky-Skan.