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Astrophysics Missions, Grants,
and Forum
Nuggets for September 2011
Chandra X-ray Observatory E/PO launched their new
partnership with Space Scoop, the astronomy news
service for children produced by the European Union’s
“Universe Awareness” (EU-UNAWE) program in
conjunction with the European Southern Observatory
(ESO). EU-UNAWE sponsors programs in 40 countries
with a global network of over 500 astronomers, teachers
and other educators.
Since it began in February 2011, Space Scoop has been
translating press releases from ESO into child-appropriate
language (~for ages 6-11). The Chandra-UNAWE
collaboration complements the ESO releases from groundbased telescopes by introducing children to NASA’s spacebased astronomy.
Chandra releases are converted into child-appropriate language
by UNAWE, reviewed by Chandra E/PO, and released at
the same time as the main Chandra release. Space
Scoop is disseminated by UNAWE & Chandra distribution
networks. The partnership gives Chandra & NASA results
access to a world-wide distribution network focused on 2
elementary and middle school aged populations, such as
National Geographic-Kids.
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Kepler Planet Candidate Data Explorer http://184.72.55.19/kepler/
New tools for displaying and manipulating Kepler planet candidate data
a Kepler and Exoplanet Program E/PO collaboration
Explorer Table: Filter set for candidates in habitable zone, less than 2 Earth radii…
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Plot of RA vs Dec, candidates in habitable zone in red
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On July 26-27, 2011, NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) E/PO presented two
workshops as part of the Global Hands On Universe conference, which took place near in
Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Approximately 35 teachers and education professionals from around
the United States as well as from countries such as Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Kenya, India and
Canada attended the workshops, which showed teachers how to use WISE data to create
their own color images as well as educational tours on the free WorldWide Telescope
software.
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On the website, we are now doing science updates and alternating them with featured images. So
far we've done updates about Compact Blue Dwarfs, Earth's Trojan Asteroid, and the Tail of Comet
Hartley 2.
The WISE website now features Science Updates.
L to R: Compact Blue Dwarfs, Earth's Trojan Asteroid, and the Tail of Comet Hartley 2.
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WISE E/PO has created a WorldWide Telescope tour for the public and
classrooms that teaches about the mission, the electromagnetic spectrum, and
the advantages of seeing astronomical objects in infrared. We’ve also created
pdf instructions on how to find and download images from the WISE data
archive, as well how to create color pictures from those images.
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Bryan Mendez gave the Dean Lecture at the California Academy of Sciences to
~150 people on Sep 13.
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WISE website continues to routinely post featured images:
Messier 101, IRDC G11.11-0.11, Y-Dwarf (artist’s conception)
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Music and Astronomy Under the Stars at Tanglewood
Summer home of the Boston Symphony & Boston Pops Orchestras
"Music and Astronomy Under the Stars" combines a star party with outdoor displays and hands-on activities at outdoor concerts to bring
astronomy to the people. On August 2, 2011, a Music and Astronomy Under the Stars event was held at Tanglewood, as part of
"Tanglewood on Parade." 5000 people participated in the astronomy program. Activities and displays included:
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From the Earth to the Universe posters (NASA)
Visions of the Universe Posters (NASA)
“Sounds of the Sun sonification demonstration with images of the Sun (partially NASA funded)
Galileo” lectured about astronomy accompanied by lute music composed by Galileo’s father and brother
Transit of Venus lecture by Dr. Jay Pasachoff
Telescope observations of the Sun, Moon, stars, & planets
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8’ x 20’ From the Earth to the Universe poster
Galileo with From the Earth to the Universe Exhibit
A Hubble Gallery
A new feature entitled “A Hubble Gallery” has been added to
the Amazing Space website. The gallery makes it possible to
enjoy some of Hubble’s most popular images in new and
creative ways. For example, users can examine images
through 3D animations and/or use interactive zoom
capabilities. The gallery is a also a new resource that
educators can use in their classrooms either as an engagement
tool, or as extension activity that challenges students to
explore HST images in new ways. Current gallery images
include the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the Orion Nebula, the
Carina Nebula, and the Interacting Galaxies ARP 273.
Additional images will be added to the gallery over time.
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Amazing Space Recommended by Georgia’s
Department of Education – Division of
Exceptional Students
Over the years, the Amazing Space website has served
the needs of many different types of audiences and
learners within the K-12 education community. The state
of Georgia’s Department of Education –Division of
Exceptional Students has recommended it as a resource
for its students. It describes Amazing Space as a science
education choice with “lots of teaching materials and
resources related to space and the planets.” Amazing
Space has been incorporated into Georgia’s Department
of Education Resource Guide that serves as a resource
for educators throughout the state who work with special
needs learners.
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NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP – 2011)
NITARP pairs NASA scientists with teachers to provide them an
authentic research experience using real data and tools. With their
mentors, teachers do research, write up results, and present their
results at a professional meeting. NITARP is aimed at high school
teachers, but middle school, community college, and informal
educators may also benefit. The teachers first attend a professional
meeting to start. They then visit Caltech/JPL for 3 days. At the end
of the program they present their results. Three teams visited
Caltech/JPL this summer: Bright Rimmed Clouds which uses Spitzer
data to look for new young stars, Period Pontificators which uses
Kepler data to investigate the properties of selected stars, and Team
Red Shift which uses Spitzer data to search for galaxy clusters
around active galactic nuclei. 2012 teacher applications were due
September 23; the program is open to any U.S. educator.
The three current teacherscientist teams will present their
results at the 2012 AAS in
Austin.
Gordon Squires
[email protected]
Music and Astronomy at Ravina 2011
Summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Visions of the Universe posters
Stargazer
Astronomy Club
Volunteers
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"Music and Astronomy Under the Stars" combines a star party with outdoor displays and hands-on activities at outdoor concerts to bring
astronomy to the people. On August 5, 2011, a Music and Astronomy Under the Stars event was held at the Ravinia Music Festival in Highland
Park, IL, in conjunction with a performance by Yo-Yo-Ma and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Adler Planetarium, Chicago Astronomical
Society, Naperville Astronomical Association, Northwest Suburban Astronomer, and Skokie Valley Astronomers assisted with this program.