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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...