AstronomyTeacher

News articles and posts about astronomy and astronomy education

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Make Up Your Minds

Even astronomers can't seem to settle on whether or not Pluto is a planet. And the press, of course, has to fan the flames of controversy wherever they may tread. SPACE.com -- Pluto: Down But Maybe Not Out

posted by Jeff Adkins # 10:57 PM 0 comments

Lockheed Martin Wins NASA Moon Contract

It's been announced recently that the new moon ship will be called Orion.

How likely is it that this initiative will survive the next election?

Many scientists think manned spaceflight doesn't serve good scientific purposes. I believe a strong manned spaceflight program increases interest in space so much that the unmanned program benefits more than it would otherwise. Unlike many anti-manned spaceflight proponents, I don't think it has to be a zero-sum game.

Lockheed Martin Wins NASA Moon Contract

posted by Jeff Adkins # 8:51 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Supernova captured in 'real time'

The Swift spacecraft gives astronomers a chance to see a supernova occur as it happens, rather than days or weeks after the explosion begins. Exciting stuff!BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Supernova captured in 'real time'

posted by Jeff Adkins # 11:04 PM 0 comments

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Pluto in Maine's solar system

Interesting point. I think all scale models of the solar system should keep Pluto and add in Ceres, Pallas, UB313, and some others as well. Pluto in Maine's solar system

posted by Jeff Adkins # 9:13 AM 0 comments

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Free Resources for Science Teachers

Free stuff for teachers, via the NSTA newsletter.
Free Resources for Science Teachers

posted by Jeff Adkins # 6:56 PM 0 comments

CNN.com - Pluto gets the boot - Aug 24, 2006

IT'S OFFICIAL!

CNN.com - Pluto gets the boot - Aug 24, 2006

posted by Jeff Adkins # 7:57 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

And then there were 8

Looks like the voting might go towards eliminating Pluto as a planet and calling it a dwarf.
Positing new planets divides astronomers

posted by Jeff Adkins # 1:01 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Colliding Clusters Shed Light on Dark Matter

I've always been a little skeptical of the whole dark-matter thing...more of a physicist's point of view, I guess. It's not real until you put it on the table and let me manipulate it. This discovery has started nudging me over to the dark-matter camp. Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Colliding Clusters Shed Light on Dark Matter

posted by Jeff Adkins # 5:50 PM 0 comments

Saturday, August 19, 2006

IAU Website: NEWS

More technical background on the planet definition thing from the IAU's web site.
IAU Website: NEWS

posted by Jeff Adkins # 10:23 PM 0 comments

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Rocky Mountain News: Local

MORE on the continuing controversy about the new definition of planet.

You might be interested in why Pluto's moon "Charon" is included. It's because the Pluto-Charon system is considered a double planet. Both objects orbit a point between them, rather than having the balancing poing within the larger planet (as it is with the Earth and moon or Jupiter and its moons.) Rocky Mountain News: Local

posted by Jeff Adkins # 5:51 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The IAU Draft Definition Of Planets And Plutons

The IAU Draft Definition Of Planets And Plutons: "'A planet is a celestial body that (a) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet.' Member of the Planet Definition Committee, Richard Binzel says: 'Our goal was to find a scientific basis for a new definition of planet and we chose gravity as the determining factor. Nature decides whether or not an object is a planet.'"

posted by Jeff Adkins # 12:26 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 14, 2006

One Million Pennies

posted by Jeff Adkins # 12:24 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Astronomers Struggle to Define 'Planet'

I for one am kind of glad it's a little bit vague--the definition of a planet makes an excellent discussion in class. Astronomers Struggle to Define 'Planet'

posted by Jeff Adkins # 5:30 PM 0 comments