AstronomyTeacher

www.developmentcenter.info

Pictures from a new solar spacecraft, including some ultra-high resolution images of the surface of the sun, and the usual scale picture showing the sun with the earth in the image to scale. Nice images though.

Via Andrew Fraknoi

Free Public Talk on Climate Catastrophes Among the Planets
(Dr. David Grinspoon to Receive Carl Sagan Medal at the Event)
==============================================

On Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at 7 pm,
Astronomer David Grinspoon (of the Denver Museum
of Nature and Science) will give a
non-technical, illustrated talk on:
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"Comparing Worlds: Climate Catastrophes in
the Solar System"
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as part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
in the Smithwick Theater, Foothill College,
El Monte Road and Freeway 280,
in Los Altos Hills, California.

Free and open to the public.
Parking on campus costs $2.

Call the series hot-line at 650-949-7888 for
more information and driving directions.

This will be the Carl Sagan Medal Lecture
of the American Astronomical Society.

No background in science will be required for
this talk.
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What happened to the lost oceans of Mars and Venus?
What have scientists been discovering about the thick
atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan? How has the climate
changed on each of these worlds, and could what happened
to them happen to our Earth? Take an entertaining and
enlightening journey through the history of our solar system,
discovering runaway greenhouses and snowball planets.
And, most important, learn how studying the evolution of other
planets can help us understand and predict climate change
on Earth.

Dr. David Grinspoon is the recipient of the 2006 Carl Sagan
Medal for Excellence in Public Communication, awarded
by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American
Astronomical Society. Among his many accomplishments,
the awards committee cited his ability "to make science hip."
He will receive his medal at the beginning of the program.

Dr. Grinspoon is the Curator of Astrobiology at the Denver
Museum of Nature & Science, having previously been a
Professor of Astronomy at the University of Colorado. He is
Interdisciplinary Scientist on the European Venus Express
mission, serves as an advisor to NASA on space exploration strategy,
and studies the possible evolution of Earth-like planets elsewhere
in the universe. He is the author of two popular books, "Lonely
Planets" and "Venus Revealed" and gives many public lectures
on planetary science around the country. Dr. Grinspoon appears
regularly on television and radio, explaining planetary developments.
He also played lead guitar for a band called "The Geeks."

The lecture is co-sponsored by:
* NASA Ames Research Center
* The Foothill College Astronomy Program
* The SETI Institute
* The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

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Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available
in MP3 format at:
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies


From Theresa Schwerin, FYI. Please pass this along to anyone you know who would be interested in this opportunity.

************************************************************
Thacher Scholars Award: Deadline Approaching

* Earth Science Contest for Grades 9-12
* Cash Awards: $2,000, $1,000 and $500
* Entries Postmarked by April 2, 2007

The countdown has begun! Entries for the 2007 Thacher Scholars Award must be postmarked by April 2, 2007. The award will be given by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) to secondary school students designing and conducting the best projects using satellite remote sensing of the Earth.

U.S. students in grades 9-12, including U.S. citizens attending schools in foreign countries, are eligible to receive cash awards in the amount of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place. For each winning student, a teacher or designated adult coach will receive a $200 gift card to Amazon.com.

Entries will be judged by IGES staff based on their scientific and technical accuracy; creativity and originality; quality of presentation; thoroughness of research, methods and procedures; and demonstration of knowledge gained. Winners will be announced by May 2, 2007.

For more information on the Thacher Scholars Award, including contest rules and guidelines, please visit:

http://www.strategies.org/ThacherScholars

CONTACT
Theresa Schwerin
Associate Director, Education
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
E-mail: theresa_schwerin@strategies.org


Thanks to Jim Head for passing along this opportunity.

Telling Time by the Stars - Sidereal Time�

Interesting mathematical back-of-the-envelope projects, several of which deal with astronomical topics.

Saturn's Icy Moon May Have Been Hot Enough for Life, Study Finds: "One of the places in the solar system most likely to have
extraterrestrial life may have gotten off to a hot, highly radioactive
start, scientists reported yesterday at a meeting in Houston, Texas.



Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, stunned scientists two years ago when NASA's Cassini orbiter discovered geyser-like jets of water vapor shooting into space from its south pole."

Wired News: March 13, 1781: Heavenly Body: "Herschel originally christened his discovery Georgium Sidus ('George's Star') in honor of Britain's King George III and, in fact, a host of names were proposed before Uranus finally won out."

I believe one of the other names was Herschel. It took a generation of astronomers dying off before all the "modern" names gave way to the planet Uranus.

BTW it's Yoo RahNuss, not Yer Anus, or Urine-Us. Nineplanets.org has a link to each planet's name with the proper pronounciation. Lends a little gravitas to your argument with the kiddies.

Hermograph Press: The Astronomy Times & Review : "The Real Zodiac :Odds Are You Aren't The Sign You Think You Are"

While the newspapers may list 12 equally sized star groupings for horoscope lovers, the astronomical fact is that the Sun passes through 13 constellations and touches a 14th. This automatically means that the sun can not possibly spend 30 days in each constellation!

NASA - Stereo Eclipse
"What an extraordinary view," says Lika Guhathakurta, STEREO Program Scientist at NASA headquarters. The fantastically-colored star is our own sun as STEREO sees it in four wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light. The black disk is the Moon. "We caught a lunar transit of the sun," she explains.

New Mexico Lawmaker Petitions to Restore Pluto's Planet Status - Yahoo! News: "The state of New Mexico could effectively secede from the astronomical community if a resolution to call Pluto a planet is passed."

Supporting Educational Materials for the TLRBSE Solar Magnetic
Fields Research Project

From a listserv posting sent by Alan Gould:

In appreciation of Astronomy
This is a poem by our national poet laureate Tom Kooser, and is submitted by in appreciation of the work of astronomy teachers everywhere.

Telescope

This is the pipe that pierces the dam
that holds back the universe
that takes off some off the pressure,
keeping the weight of the unknown
and washing us all down the valley
Because of this small tube,
through which a cold light rushes
from the bottom of time
the depth of the stars
stays always constant
and we are able to sleep,
at least for now,
beneath the straining wall of darkness

Memos Tell Officials How to Discuss Climate - New York Times: "Internal memorandums circulated in the Alaskan division of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service appear to require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they are not designated to do so."

Scientists show that asteroids are solar powered
| Science
| Reuters

: "By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sunlight can cause asteroids to spin more quickly, scientists said on Wednesday, showing anew just how dynamic a place our solar system can be."

Neatorama Blog Archive 9 Laws of Physics That Don't Apply in Hollywood: "Yeah, the action scenes look great and all, but in reality momentum is conserved, such that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, when you see a gal kick someone across the room, technically, the kicker (or holder of a gun) must fly across the room in the opposite direction %u2013 unless she has a back against the wall."

MIT OpenCourseWare: Physics

MIT's open courseware project includes lecture notes and assignments from students attending MIT's classes. An invaluable resource.