AstronomyTeacher

Via Alan Gould:
A new Supernova, known as 2005CS, has been discovered in
M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, in Canes Venatici, just south of the
nucleus on 6/27 by Wolfgang Kloehr. It is approximately 13th
magnitude and rising.

Perhaps some of you CCD imagers can start taking successive
images and derive a light curve. More on this at:
http://www.supernovae.net/supernova.html#2005cs

Coalition for Earth Science Education 2005 Meeting, September 23 and 24
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

The 2005 Coalition for Earth Science Education (CESE) meeting will focus on
increasing and improving implementation of the Earth System Science (ESS) in
K-12 schools by creating a large-scale effort and unified voice to bring
about greater and more widespread teaching of ESS. The goal of the meeting
will be (1), to establish action items to work toward overcoming barriers to
implementation of ESS and (2), to facilitate development of partnerships to
work on selected action items. Attendees will collaboratively determine
which barriers are most significant, then participants will select breakout
groups, and work together to create partnerships for addressing action
items. Attendees invited to present their own work in an interactive poster
session. Presentations from invited speakers will highlight related
initiatives, including status of the Revolution in K-12 Earth and Space
Science Education and efforts in Texas and California to keep Earth science
in state curricula. A special session will feature information on federal
education initiatives-NSF, NASA, NOAA, and USGS.

The meeting will be held Friday, September 23rd and Saturday, September 24th
at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Please go to
www.ceseweb.org too find out how to register for the meeting, lodging
information, and to learn more about CESE. Early registration is important
due to security restrictions at GSFC.

M. Frank Ireton, Meeting Chair, frank_ireton@ssaihq.com
John Carpenter, Program Chair. jpawleys@aol.com

Interesting and well organized lessons on the cosmic distance ladder.

MMSS-LSS Exercises

Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Three-planet race

When the full moon is on the horizon, it may look bigger. However, it is actually smaller as it is about 4000 miles farther away than when you see it farther away. The large appearance is an optical illusion, explained here.

Low, full moon bigger than usual? It's all in your head, scientist says

warning, popovers

Lexington Herald-Leader | 06/22/2005 | Mercury, Venus, Saturn won't collide

Still waiting for word as to why the probe might have failed.

The Planetary Society's Cosmos 1 Solar Sail Weblog

A robot moon base...hmm...interesting idea. Might work.

Cost efficient, if the robots are adaptable enough.

PC World | Japan dreams of robot moon base in 2025

Glass from Space

Good stories about rockets that blow up. Some of them even work.
The Biggest Bang - Popular Science

How much longer do we have to wait until some serious space probe uses this technology?

Solar sail launch set for June solstice - Space.com - MSNBC.com

From the Dome-L listserv:


Fellow Planetarians,

I have been asked by the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the
University of Chicago to alert you to a valuable opportunity, whose deadline
for applications is almost upon us; a funded residential weekend in Chicago
studying Cosmology with some of the countries top researchers, all gifted at
communicating the newest ideas in cosmology, designed with you in mind.
Having attended two of these courses myself, I can highly recommend them.
Your mind will be overflowing with ideas. There's two weeks to go before the
deadline.

So you know all about dark energy, dark matter, and how the age of the
universe is actually calculated? Very good. One of the best things about
this course it that it challenges the misconceptions you didn't even know
you had. This new-found clarity, combined with the basic cosmological
framework the course provides, will place you in a better position to
explain the origin of the universe to your audiences.

You'll get a set of the best tools available (complete PowerPoint slides
including: diagrams, animations, and short video clips from the researchers
themselves) to help you teach Cosmology. If you attended this course two
years ago, you need a refresher (remember when the acoustical interpretation
of the WMAP image made perfect sense? Or when we actually measured the CMB
from the roof of the University?) In the two years since the last
introductory course on Cosmology held at the University of Chicago, there
are so many developments too. So check out the course details at
.
"This three day course will take participants to the frontiers of current
cosmological research and provide them with the necessary tools to bring the
excitement of discovery back to their home institutions. By bringing
together the making the discoveries with planetarium/museum/science center
staff, who interact daily with the public, this course will help energize
the presentation of cosmology in informal educational settings."

If you need some justification for your administration, check out the
results from the course survey from past participants at


The deadline is July 1. There's an on-line registration form, which may be
worth printing off first to read the questions. Because the University have
a grant to pay for attendees to stay in Chicago (yes hotels and food are
covered, and travel allowances up to $200 can be applied for, all you have
to find is the $75 course fee and any additional travel expenses over $200),
you have to answer a few questions to get a place. The course is restricted
to 30 people, so apply now.

Martin Ratcliffe
Director, Theaters & Media Services
Exploration Place
300 N McLean Blvd
Wichita, KS 67203
Tel: +1 (316) 266-4255
Fax: +1 (316) 263 4545

Contributing Editor, Astronomy magazine - http://www.astronomy.com
Past-President, International Planetarium Society - see our web page at
http://www.ips-planetarium.org Discover the explorer in you at
http://www.exploration.org

posted by Jeff Adkins  # 8:06 AM 0 comments

I got this through a listserv and it did not include a deadline or expiration date. If you are reading this more than a month or two after the posting date, the position will probably have been filled...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Position Announcement

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) in San Francisco, California
is hiring a full-time Astronomy Educator to work on a new National-Science-
Foundation funded project to help educators at small science museums
and nature centers learn and do more hands-on astronomy.

Responsibilities include:

* Taking the lead on a team of astronomers and educators developing
and producing a suite of hands-on astronomy activities and "toolkits"
tailored to the needs of museum and nature center educators
* Conducting formative testing sessions on these activities in local museums
and nature centers before they are distributed nationally
* Assisting with the development of training protocols and agendas for the
project workshops
* Helping to train participants at on-site workshops nationally (some
travel required).
* Assisting with the adaptation of activities for "distance learning" and with
the development of on-line training protocols.
* Moderating distance learning and on-line workshop sessions and discussions.
* Assisting project evaluators with formative and summative data collection as
required.
* Helping with the recruitment of workshop participants.

Candidates are expected to have at least: a Bachelor¹s degree in the sciences
(astronomy preferred), three years of experience working in informal education
and outreach, and strong content knowledge in astronomy. They should also
have experience developing and/or adapting hands-on astronomy activities.
Some experience with distance/on-line learning is highly desired.

For more detailed information on qualifications and the application procedure,
see the third announcement on the web page:
http://www.astrosociety.org/about/career.html

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is the oldest and
largest general astronomy organization in the U.S., with members in all 50
states and in more than 70 other nations. Founded in 1889, the ASP is now a
nationwide leader in the field of astronomy education, with programs and
materials for students and educators, as well as for the public at large.
For more information about the ASP and its current projects, visit
http://www.astrosociety.org and click on education.

The ASP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Up until now, this blog has been a daily assignment and reminder blog for my astronomy and space science classes at Deer Valley High School. When reading past entries you will see many entries referring to school assignments mixed in with the links posted. I am going to consolidate my blogs somewhat and from now on, this blog (astronomyteacher.blogspot.com) will be about astronomy news and postings for astronomy educators. My astronomy students will have a separate blog for their assignments only.

Last year's practice test. Ignore the rocket stuff...we didn't get to that.

Astronomy and Space Science Final Spring 2004

Universe Today - Large Rocky Planet Discovered

Astronomers criticise plans to allow cellphone use on planes - Yahoo! UK & Ireland News

AllAroundPhilly

Yet another person gets fired for plagiarism. Think about that as you prepare your major projects this weekend...
Ga. Paper Columnist Fired for Plagarizing

Approaching Mars