June 2008 Education Update
NASA Earth and Space Science Education E-News
June 2008
This monthly broadcast includes upcoming educational programs, events, opportunities and the latest resources from NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
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(1) NASA Town Hall Meeting at American Astronomical Society Meeting (June 2)
(2) GLAST Satellite Targeted for June 3 Launch
(3) Earth’s Water Cycle in a Changing Climate - NASA Presentation Series at the Library of
Congress (June 4)
(4) Mars Exploration Rovers: Where Are They Now? NASA/NSTA Web Seminar (June 5)
(5) Climate Discovery Online Courses for Educators (June 20-Aug. 15)
(6) The Earth Then, Earth Now: Our Changing Climate Educator Conference (July 23-24)
(7) NASA Will be Featured Agency in 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival (June 25-29 & July 2-6)
(8) Colloquium – Space Science: 50 Years and Counting (June 26)
(9) Send Your Name to the Moon! (Deadline: June 27)
(10) Solar System Ambassadors: Summer Events (June –Aug.)
(11) Total Solar Eclipse: Live Webcast from China (Aug 1)
(12) No Child Left Inside: 2008 Earth Science Week (Oct. 12-18)
(13) Polar-Palooza: Coming to a City Near You this Fall
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(14) Mars Educational Resources
(15) Space Math Problems of the Week (Grades 9-11)
(16) Storytelling: Wandering Planets
(17) First Contact: Polar Scientist Robert Bindchadler
(18) ICESat Museum Exhibit
(19) NASA Earth Observatory Feature Article
- Disintegration: Antarctic Warming Claims Another Ice Shelf
- On the Shoulders of Giants: William Smith
(20) NASA Earth Explorers Series: Robotic Rovers to the Rescue
(21) NASA Launches IYA 2009 Web Site
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(22) Strange Ring Found Circling Dead Star
(23) Satellites Illuminate Pollution’s Influence on Clouds
(24) NASA Mars Lander Prepares to Move Arm
(25) Cartwheel Coronal Mass Ejection
(26) NASA’s Phoenix Spacecraft Lands on Mars
(27) 100 Explosions on the Moon
(28) Scientists Identified Earthquake Faults in Sichuan, China
(29) New Findings on Ocean Nitrogen
(30) NASA Satellite Finds Interior of Mars is Colder
(31) NASA Study Links Earth Impacts to Human-Caused Climate Change
(32) NASA Announces Success of Long Galactic Hunt
(33) Galactic Hunt Bags Missing Supernova
(34) Planets by the Dozen
(35) Weiler Assumes Official Role as NASA Science Chief
(36) A Super Solar Flare
(37) 4D Ionosphere
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS/EVENTS [Top]
(1) NASA TOWN HALL MEETING AT AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY (AAS) MEETING
If you are planning on attending the spring meeting of the American Astronomical Society in St. Louis on June 2, please join Dr. Yvonne Pendleton from NASA's Science Mission Directorate for a short presentation and an informal Q&A session from 6:15-7:30 pm. She will discuss the current status of science research, data analysis, education and public outreach programs. This is an excellent opportunity to interact with NASA SMD program officers and senior leadership from the Science Mission Directorate. Students are highly encouraged to attend. For more information on the AAS meeting, visit http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas212/.
(2) GLAST SATELLITE TARGETED FOR JUNE 3 LAUNCH
NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope will study Gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. GLAST will help scientists study supermassive black-holes, pulsars, and the origin of cosmic rays. Visit the GLAST Mission Website at: http://www-glast.sonoma.edu click on the link for “Educators” for links to educational resources and programs. More information is also available at: http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
(3) EARTH’S WATER CYCLE IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
NASA Presentation Series at the Library of Congress
Water is always cycling, changing from liquid to water vapor to ice – on, under and over the surface of the Earth. A leading NASA scientist will explain how this water cycle is being affected by a warming climate and what we might expect for the future.
Peter Hildebrand, Chief of the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will discuss “Earth’s Water Cycle in a Changing Climate” at the Library of Congress at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.
The presentation, the third in a series of five programs in 2008, is presented through a partnership between the Library's Science, Technology and Business Division and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.
Upcoming programs in the series include:
- Sept.10, Jim Smith, Space-Based Ornithology: on the Wings of Migration and Biophysics.
- Oct. 21, Jeff Morrisette, Invasive Species in the United States.
Webcasts of these presentations will be available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
(4) MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? NASA/NSTA WEB SEMINAR
Join Dr. Steve Ruff of Arizona State University for this free Web seminar as he presents an update on the Mars Exploration Rovers, including a description of an important new discovery by the Spirit rover in the Gusev crater concerning water and habitability on Mars. Dr. Ruff will also talk about initial results from the proposed May 25th landing of the Phoenix mission and describe future Mars exploration plans. Designed for educators of grades 5-12, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on June 5, 2008.
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/JPL2/webseminar13.aspx
(5) CLIMATE DISCOVERY ONLINE COURSES FOR EDUCATORS – SUMMER SESSION NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS!
Are you seeking a K-12 professional development opportunity that will enhance your qualifications, competency, and self-confidence in integrating Earth system science, climate, and global change into your science classroom? This summer NCAR offers a series of seven-week online courses for middle and high school teachers that combine geoscience content, information about current climate research, easy to implement hands-on activities, and group discussion. The courses run concurrently beginning June 20 and run through August 15 and include: Introduction to Earth's Climate; Earth System Science: A Climate Change Perspective; and Understanding Climate Change Today.
There is a $200 fee per course. For complete course schedule and registration information, visit http://ecourses.ncar.ucar.edu
(6) THE EARTH THEN, EARTH NOW: OUR CHANGING CLIMATE EDUCATOR CONFERENCE
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Sally Ride's first space shuttle mission, an educator conference will be presented to explore how Earth has changed in the 25 years since Dr. Ride first viewed it from above.
Participants will investigate the basic science behind our understanding of climate change. They will also learn about the global impact of climate change on the atmosphere, ocean, continents and ecosystems. Dr. Ride will give a keynote talk, and leading climate scientists will give presentations. The conference will also include hands-on activities, materials for the classroom, and current ideas for facing our climate challenge and creating a healthier planet. Participants will also learn about the wide-ranging career opportunities in this expanding and dynamic field.
The conference is taking place on July 23-24, 2008, at the NOAA Science Center in Silver Spring, Md. The registration fee of $60 covers teaching materials and most meals.
For more information and to register for the conference online, visit http://www.sallyridescience.com/conference.
(7) NASA WILL BE FEATURED AGENCY AT 2008 SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL
NASA and the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage are partnering for the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which will run on the National Mall from June 25 – 29 and July 2 - 6, 2008. NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond will showcase the role that the men and women of NASA have played in broadening the horizons of American science and culture, as well as the role that they will continue to play in helping to shape the future by stirring the public imagination.
The NASA program will include live presentations, hands-on educational activities, demonstrations of skills, techniques, and knowledge, narrative "oral history" sessions, and exhibits that will explore the spirit of innovation, discovery, and service embodied by the agency and its personnel. Visitors will be able to interact with astronomers, astronauts, astrophysicists, educators, engineers, and other NASA experts. For more information, go to: http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2008/NASA/index.html.
(8) COLLOQUIUM – SPACE SCIENCE: 50 YEARS AND COUNTING
The Space Studies Board (SSB) will be capping its yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversaries of the space age, the International Geophysical Year, and the SSB with this all-day colloquium at the National Academy of Sciences on June 26, 2008.
The morning session will include retrospective and prospective policy-oriented discussions. An afternoon session will include forward-looking assessments of successes, shortfalls, opportunities and challenges in the sciences. This session will revolve around a series of town-hall-format interactions between the audience and panelists about applying lessons from the first 50 years of space exploration to hopes and aspirations for the next 50 years in four areas of space research. These areas are astrophysics and space physics, microgravity life and physical sciences, planetary exploration and astrobiology, and Earth sciences.
For more information about the colloquium, including online registration and a detailed schedule of events, visit http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/IGY_DC_event.html.
(9) SEND YOUR NAME TO THE MOON!
Deadline: June 27, 2008
NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the moon for years to come. Participants can submit their information, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. For more information, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html
(10) SOLAR SYSTEM AMBASSADORS: SUMMER EVENTS
This summer is just starting to heat up with presentations by NASA Solar System Ambassadors at local venues - libraries, schools, state parks, museums and more - across the U.S.
“Barnstorming the Solar System,” “Phoenix Landing,” “Summer Solstice and the Sun,” “Moon Observing,” and “Twin Robots on Mars in 3-D” are just a few of the themes planned for these public events.
Solar System Ambassadors is a public outreach program designed to work with motivated volunteers across the nation. Ambassadors are space enthusiasts from various walks of life who are interested in providing greater service and inspiration to the community at large. There are now 523 Ambassadors in 50 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico bringing the excitement of space science and exploration to the public in their local communities.
For information on upcoming events, go to: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/events.html
(11) TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: LIVE WEBCAST FROM CHINA
On August 1, 2008, a total solar eclipse begins at 6:09 pm China time near the windswept high grasslands northeast of the small hamlet of Yiwu, about two hours north of Hami in the Xinjiang province of China. As in the total solar eclipses of 1999, 2001, and 2006, a team of Exploratorium and NASA heliophysics experts will adeptly capture and broadcast the Eclipse live from yet another specially chosen international locale. Like the Olympics, the thrills of live viewership can still be yours even if you can’t travel to China for this major celestial event. Thanks to satellite technology, you can watch it from your planetarium or local museum -- or even from home at your computer screen.
Websites (will keep being updated as the date approaches):
http://www.sunearthday.nasa.gov
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse
(12) NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE: 2008 EARTH SCIENCE WEEK
Celebrate Earth Science Week from Oct. 12-18, 2008. This year's theme, "No Child Left Inside," will encourage young people to learn about the geosciences by getting away from the television, off the computer, and out of doors.
NASA is a sponsor of Earth Science Week and contributes educational materials to the toolkits. To order a kit or learn more about Earth Science Week and related educational events and contests, visit: http://www.earthsciweek.org
(13) POLAR-PALOOZA: COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU THIS FALL
Over the Memorial Day weekend, more than 6,000 people participated in POLAR PALOOZA weekend at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. These events featured a photo studio where visitors could try on cold-weather clothing, information and video booths, live arctic foxes, and seven stage presentations where Arctic and Antarctic scientists, including NASA’s Robert Bindschadler, discussed the latest polar research.
POLAR-PALOOZA is an International Polar Year activity, sponsored by NSF and NASA. The project is conducting a 26-stop tour at museums and science centers around the country with high-energy public presentations entitled "Stories from a Changing Planet."
The POLAR PALOOZA tour will resume this fall with presentations scheduled for museums and science centers in Cleveland, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Richmond, St. Louis, Boise and Denver. In the meantime, be sure to check out the POLAR PALOOZA Website - http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp01.php - for multi-media resources including video and audio podcasts, blogs and much more!
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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES [Top]
(14) MARS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
On May 25, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Mission executed a storybook landing on the arctic plains of Mars. The mission was named for the mythological bird that rose out of the fire to be reborn, and has two bold objectives: (1) study the history of water in the Martian arctic and (2) search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary.
Learn more about the Phoenix Mars Mission and the latest news by visiting: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu. Following are some of NASA’s educational resources for teaching and learning about Mars.
MarsBots: Robotic Learning Module (Grades 3-5)
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/kids_marsbots.php
Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School (Ages 5-12)
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/145913main_Mars.and.Earth.Guide.pdf
Buried Water Ice on Mars (Grades 7-9)
http://grs.lpl.arizona.edu/lessons/buried_water.html
Getting Dirty on Mars (Grades 5-12)
http://marsed.asu.edu/pages/pdfs/GettingDirtyOnMarsTG_v2.01.pdf
Earth/Mars Comparison Poster (K-12)
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/earthMarsForm.html
ASU Mars Education Program (Activities for all levels)
http://marsed.asu.edu/activities.php
(15) SPACE MATH PROBLEMS OF THE WEEK (GRADES 9-11)
http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Problem 145 – Black Holes—What is Inside? (Grades: 9-11)
Students work with the Pythagorean Theorem for black holes and investigate what happens to space and time on the other side of an Event Horizon. [Skills: Scientific Notation; distance; time calculations; algebra]
Problem 146 – Black Hole Power (Grades: 9-11)
Students calculate how much power is produced as a matter falls into a rotating and non-rotating black hole including solar and supermassive black holes. [Skills: Scientific Notation; Spherical shells; density; power]
Problem 147 – Black Hole—Fade Out (Grades 9-11)
Students calculate how long it takes light to fade away as an object falls into a black hole. [Skills: Scientific Notation; exponential functions]
Problem 148 – Spitzer—Exploring a Dying Star (Grades: 9-11)
Students use data from the Spitzer satellite to calculate the mass of a planetary nebula from a dying star. [Skills: Scientific Notation; unit conversions; volume of a sphere]
(16) STORYTELLING: WANDERING PLANETS
http://sunearthday.gsfc.nasa.gov/2008/multimedia/podcasts.php
Jordan Hill shares a fantastic folk tale about why the planets in our solar system have auroras.
(17) FIRST CONTACT: POLAR SCIENTIST ROBERT BINDCHADLER
Meet NASA scientist, Dr. Robert Bindschadler, as he reports on his recent field trip to Antarctica to begin research on the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf. Over the past month, the Website with the two-minute video has received more than 1.7 million hits. To download the video podcast, or read the transcript, go to the following link: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/PIGIceShelfVod.html (click “View now” to download the MP4 file). To learn more about the Pine Island Glacier Project, go to: http://pigiceshelf.nasa.gov.
(18) NEW ICESAT MUSEUM EXHIBIT
This new display focuses on ICESat mission and how NASA studies polar ice sheet thickness, sea ice, vegetation, clouds and aerosols from space. The exhibit is currently located in three public venues: the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Visitors Center, Greenbelt, Md.; the Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Fla; and Reading Public Museum and Planetarium, Reading, Pa. (http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=86570). Contact Brian Campbell (Brian.A.Campbell@nasa.gov) for more information.
(19) NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY FEATURE ARTICLES
Disintegration: Antarctic Warming Claims Another Ice Shelf
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/WilkinsIceSheet/
In late February 2008, the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula disintegrated, an indication of warming temperatures in the region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites provided some of the earliest evidence of the disintegration.
On the Shoulders of Giants: William Smith
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/WilliamSmith/
The story of William Smith, a young British surveyor and canal engineer, who observed dramatic changes in the kinds of fossils found in the rocks between strata layers leading him to coin the term faunal succession.
(20) NASA EARTH EXPLORERS SERIES: ROBOTIC ROVERS TO THE RESCUE
Studying ice in extreme environments can be a bone-chilling challenge. Derrick Lampkin is doing what he can to make these challenges a bit less daunting for scientists. With a grant from NASA, the Penn State University geography professor is designing robotic rovers to help scientists study icy locations from the comfort of their laboratories. Read more about Lampkin and his rovers in the latest article appearing in the Earth Explorers Series.
Anyone can be a scientist, no matter the challenges that may stand in the way. That's the message NASA communicates through its Earth Explorers and Space Science Explorers series, both of which appear on the NASA Web site. In an effort to show that a science career is a worthy and attainable goal, both series profile real-life scientists, young and old, with a variety of backgrounds and interests. Most articles are presented in three different versions according to reading level -- one for grades 9–12 and up, one for grades 5–8, and one for grades K–4.
Earth Explorers
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/F_Meet_the_Next_Earth_Explorers.html
Space Science Explorers
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/F_Meet_the_Next_Space_Science_Explorers.html
(21) NASA LAUNCHES IYA 2009 WEB SITE
In 1609, an Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei became the first known person to study the stars and space through a telescope. To celebrate the 400-year anniversary of Galileo's historic gaze into the night sky, 2009 has been proclaimed the International Year of Astronomy by the International Astronomical Union and the United Nations. NASA's newly launched IYA Web site highlights news, events, resources and mission discoveries related to the IYA. Read more about the Web site on the NASA portal.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/nasa-launches-iya-09-web-site.html
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SCIENCE NEWS [Top]
For the latest NASA Earth and space science news, visit the Science Mission Directorate website (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/), the NASA Earth Observatory (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov) or Science@NASA (). Science@NASA stories are also available as podcasts, as well as translated into Spanish at their sister site, Ciencia@NASA, http://ciencia.nasa.gov/. NASA science is also regularly featured on Earth & Sky radio shows available at http://www.earthsky.org/.
(22) STRANGE RING FOUND CIRCLING DEAD STAR
May 29 - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a bizarre ring of material around the magnetic remains of a star that blasted itself to smithereens. Although rings and spheres of material are common in the universe, this one is not quite like any ring astronomers have seen before.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/29may_magnetar.htm?list1022025
(23) SATELLITES ILLUMINATE POLLUTION'S INFLUENCE ON CLOUDS
May 27 - Using data from instruments in a constellation of NASA satellites scientists have discovered that they can see deep inside of clouds. The satellites are taking first-of-a-kind measurements, shedding new light on the link between clouds, pollution and rainfall.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/atrain_climate.html
(24) NASA MARS LANDER PREPARES TO MOVE ARM
May 27 - NASA's Phoenix Lander is ready to begin moving its robotic arm, first unlatching its wrist and then flexing its elbow. Mission scientists are eager to move Phoenix's robotic arm, for that arm will deliver samples of icy terrain to their instruments made to study this unexplored Martian environment.
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_27_pr.php
(25) CARTWHEEL CORONAL MASS EJECTION
May 27 – Imagine a billion-ton cloud of gas launching itself off the surface of the sun and then doing a cartwheel. That's exactly what happened on April 9, 2008, when a coronal mass ejection or "CME" pirouetted over the sun's limb in full view of an international fleet of spacecraft. The cartwheel set off a chain of events that amazed even veteran solar physicists.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/27may_cartwheelcme.htm?list1022025
(26) NASA’S PHOENIX SPACECRAFT LANDS ON MARS
May 25 - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed on Mars Sunday, May 25th, to begin three months of examining an arctic site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm. Check today's story for details of the landing and first pictures beamed back from the landing site.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/25may_phoenix2.htm?list1022025
(27) 100 EXPLOSIONS ON THE MOON
May 21 – NASA astronomers have been watching the Moon to see how often meteoroids crash into the lunar surface and they've just video-recorded their 100th explosion. This surprisingly bountiful data set allows researchers to start drawing conclusions about when, where, and how often the Moon gets hit.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/21may_100explosions.htm?list1022025
(28) SCIENTISTS IDENTIFIED EARTHQUAKE FAULTS IN SICHUAN, CHINA
May 16 – Last summer scientists published research concluding that geological faults in the Sichuan Basin, China "are sufficiently long to sustain a strong ground-shaking earthquake, making them potentially serious sources of regional seismic hazard."
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2008/2008051626765.html
(29) NEW FINDINGS ON OCEAN NITROGEN
May 15 - As much as a third of the nitrogen entering the world's oceans from the atmosphere is man-made, according to new findings by an international team of scientists.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2008/2008051526762.html
(30) NASA SATELLITE FINDS INTERIOR OR MARS IS COLDER
May 15 – New observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought. The findings suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface and any possible organisms living in that water, would be located deeper than scientists had suspected.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/may/HQ_08128_MRO_Mars_Temp.html
(31) NASA STUDY LINKS EARTH IMPACTS TO HUMAN-CAUSED CLIMATE CHANGE
May 14 - A new NASA-led study shows human-caused climate change has made an impact on a wide range of Earth's natural systems, including permafrost thawing, plants blooming earlier across Europe, and lakes declining in productivity in Africa.
(32) NASA ANNOUNCES SUCCESS OF LONG GALACTIC HUNT
May 14 – NASA announced the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was made possible by combining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with ground-based observations. For more information about NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra.
(33) GALACTIC HUNT BAGS MISSING SUPERNOVA
May 14 – For many years, astronomers have been puzzled by something missing in the Milky Way galaxy: exploding stars. Supernovas are supposed to appear two or three times every century, but none have been seen since the year 1680. Where are they? At long last, one of the "missing supernovas" has been found.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/14may_galactichunt.htm?list1022025
(34) PLANETS BY THE DOZEN
May 8 – A NASA-supported sky survey set to begin in 2008 could dramatically increase the number of known planets outside our solar system.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/08may_marvels.htm?list1022025
(35) WEILER ASSUMES OFFICIAL ROLE AS NASA SCIENCE CHIEF
May 7 – Administrator Michael Griffin announced that Ed Weiler would remain as NASA’s associate administrator for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. Weiler was named interim chief of the directorate March 26. Weiler will direct a wide variety of research and scientific exploration programs for Earth studies, space weather, the solar system, and the universe. In addition, he will manage a broad spectrum of grant-based research programs and spacecraft projects.
(36) A SUPER SOLAR FLARE
May 6 – In September 1859, the sun unleashed a solar flare so intense it was visible to the unaided human eye. A ferocious geomagnetic storm ensued in which Northern Lights descended as far south as Cuba, the Bahamas and Hawaii. Meanwhile, telegraph engineers disconnected their batteries and powered communications by electricity from the auroras! Could it happen again? Read today's story to find out.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/06may_carringtonflare.htm?list1022025
(37) 4D IONOSPHERE
April 30 – NASA-funded researchers released to the general public a new "4D" live model of Earth's ionosphere. Without leaving home, anyone can now fly through the layer of ionized gas that encircles Earth at the edge of space itself. All that's required is a connection to the Internet.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30apr_4dionosphere.htm?list1022025
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CALENDAR [Top]
June 2
NASA Science Mission Directorate – Short Presentation and Q&A with Dr. Yvonne Pendleton
June 3
NASA’s Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) launch, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/main/index.html.
June 4
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Earth’s Water Cycle in a Changing Climate, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
June 5
Mars Exploration Rovers Web Seminar – 6:30 pm EDT, http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/JPL2/webseminar13.aspx.
14-15 June 2008
OSTM/Jason-2 Educator Launch Conference, http://endeavours.org/sec.
June 15
NASA launches the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite, http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ostm.html.
June 15
Deadline for entries, 2008 Discovery Education/3M Young Scientist Challenge, http://www.discoveryeducation.com/youngscientist.
June 20 – Aug. 15
Climate Discovery Online Courses for Educators, http://ecourses.ncar.ucar.edu.
June 22-27
MY NASA DATA 2008 summer workshop for teachers, Hampton, Va, http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/workshop.html.
June 22-27
GLOBE Student Learning Expedition, University of Cape Town, http://www.globe.gov.
June 25-29
2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2008/NASA/index.html.
June 26
Colloquium – Space Science: 50 Years and Counting, Washington DC, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/IGY_DC_event.html.
June 27
Deadline for submitting names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html.
June 30
Proposals Due: NASA University Research Centers at Minority Serving Institutions, http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations.
July 2-6
2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2008/NASA/index.html.
July 9-10
Teacher Workshop on Geoscience Time Scales & Global Climate Change, UW-Madison, http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/teacherworkshop/.
July 13-19
Floods and Flows: Exploring Mars Geology on Earth, field experience for middle school science teachers, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/fieldtrips/2008/.
July 15
NASA launches the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), http://www.ibex.swri.edu.
July 15
Proposals Due: Opportunities in NASA SMD E/PO, http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations.
July 23-24
The Earth Then, Earth Now: Our Changing Climate Educator Conference, http://www.sallyridescience.com/conference.
Aug. 1
Total Solar Eclipse, Live Webcast from China, http://www.sunearthday.nasa.gov
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse.
Aug. 8
NASA launches Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-O, http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/index.html.
Sept. 10
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Space-Based Ornithology: on the Wings of Migration and Biophysics, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
Oct. 12-18
Earth Science Week, http://www.earthsciweek.org/.
Oct. 21
NASA/Library of Congress Public Presentation Series: Invasive Species in the United States, http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/events/events.html.
Dec. 15
NASA Launches the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [Top]
NASA Science Mission Directorate: Larry Cooper, Ann Coren, Doris Daou, and Ming-Ying Wei.
Editor: Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), theresa_schwerin@strategies.org.
Writer: Catherine Fahey, IGES, catherine_fahey@strategies.org.
Contributions from: Jeannie Allen, Robert Bindschadler and Brian Campbell, NASA GSFC; Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, Passport to Knowledge; Karin Hauck, University of California, Berkeley; Sandra Henderson, UCAR; Ruth Netting, NASA HQ; Peg Steffen, NOAA; Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute; and Dan Stillman, Institute for Global.Environmental Strategies.