NASA Earth and Space Science Education E-News
October 2008
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/education/edreports/index.html
This monthly broadcast includes upcoming educational programs, events, opportunities and the latest resources from NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

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UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS

(1) LIMA II: Student Antarctic Research Challenge, Grades 4-8 (Opening Webcast Oct. 1)
(2) NASA Stardust Capsule Display Opens at Smithsonian (Oct. 1)
(3) The Journey to Palomar – Documentary and Webcast (Oct. 8 and Nov. 10)
(4) Celebrate World Space Week (Oct. 4-10)
(5) Earth Science Week: No Child Left Inside (Oct. 12-18)
(6) Celebrate Solar Week (Oct. 20-24)
(7) NASA’s 50th Anniversary Conference (Oct. 28-29)
(8) Cassini Mission: Scientist for a Day Essay Contest (Grades 5-12) – Deadline Oct. 30
(9) Send Your Name Around the Earth on NASA’s Glory Mission – Deadline Nov. 1
(10) NASA Science Education at Upcoming Conferences
(11) The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) Planetarium Program
(12) GLOBE Partner Expedition to Antarctica: Looking Back in Time to See the Future
(13) International GLOBE Gathering Kicks off New Student Research Approach

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

(14) Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowships in Exoplanet Exploration

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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

(15) NASA Launches New Hubble Web Site for Educators
(16) Amazing Space Launches Hubble Servicing Mission Web Site
(17) NASA E-Clips: A New Approach to Learning
(18) Space Math Problems of the Week (Grades 9-11)
(19) NASA Earth Observatory Feature Article - Rapid Retreat: Ice Shelf Loss along Canada's Ellesmere Coast
(20) Great Planet Debate

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SCIENCE NEWS

(21) Hubble Serving Mission Launch Delayed
(22) NASA Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow, Soil Data Suggest Liquid Past
(23) NASA Orbiter Reveals Rock Fracture Plumbing on Mars
(24) Ulysses Reveals Global Solar Wind Plasma Output at 50-Year Low
(25) NASA’s Mars Rover to Head Toward Bigger Crater
(26) NASA's Swift Spots Farthest Gamma-Ray Burst
(27) Cool Movies of Polar Crown Prominences
(28) Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Lowest Coverage for 2008
(29) NASA Selects Mission to Study Mars Atmosphere
(30) Spooky Hurricane Science
(31) Report Explores Use of Earth Data to Support National Priorities
(32) NASA to Explore a “Secret Layer” of the Sun
(33) Amateur Astronomers See Perseids Hit the Moon

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CALENDAR
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS/EVENTS

(1) LIMA II: Student Antarctic Research Challenge, Grades 4-8
Oct. 1 – Opening Webcast
Nov. 5 – Preliminary Proposals Due

In this challenge, students become scientists and propose Antarctic research. Using the Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA), the first true-color high-resolution satellite view of the Antarctic continent, students must develop a research question and debate the value of studying the chosen feature.

Registration is currently open and educational resources are available online.  For more information, visit http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lima. Questions about this challenge should be directed to Quest-Challenge@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

(2) NASA STARDUST CAPSULE DISPLAY OPENS AT SMITHSONIAN (OCT. 1)
Having returned the world's first particles from a comet, NASA's Stardust sample return capsule will join the collection of flight icons in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. The capsule will go on public display in the museum's Milestones of Flight Gallery on Oct. 1, the 50th anniversary of NASA. Stardust, comprising a spacecraft and capsule, completed a seven-year, 3-billion-mile journey in 2006. A tennis racket-like, aerogel-lined collector was extended to capture particles as the spacecraft flew within 150 miles of comet Wild 2 in January 2004.

For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/stardust.

(3) The Journey to Palomar – Documentary and Webcast
(Oct. 8 and Nov 10)
The Journey to Palomar, a 90 minute documentary about George Ellery Hale and the building of the giant telescope at the Yerkes, Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, will air nationwide on PBS, Nov. 10. A teacher’s guide created by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be available for free download at http://pbs.org that includes images for use in the classroom.

Prior to the airing of The Journey to Palomar, a live student Webcast will be held for students from middle school through undergraduate. The Webcast, “George Ellery Hale’s Legacy and the Future of Giant American Telescopes,” will provide students a special opportunity to interact with astronomers who are building the next generation of giant American telescopes. The Webcast airs Oct. 8 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (2:00 PM Eastern). Watch online at http://www.journeytopalomar.org (Click on NASA Webcast) or visit http://quest.nasa.gov/lunar/palomar/.

(4) Celebrate World Space Week (Oct. 4-10)
Join educators and space enthusiasts around the world to celebrate World Space Week, Oct. 4-10, 2008. This international event commemorates the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957.

During World Space Week, teachers are encouraged to use space-themed activities in the classroom to promote student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This year, $500 teacher grants will be awarded for the most creative use of space in the classroom during World Space Week. For more information about World Space Week, visit http://www.worldspaceweek.org/index.html.

As part of World Space Week, UC Berkeley and Stanford University are promoting space science activities and discussions about the Sun’s massive storms and their affect on Earth using real data from current scientific studies of the Sun, the Earth’s magnetic field and ionosphere. Share your discoveries with others on an interactive message board where you can also ask questions of space scientists: http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/segway/WSW.html.

(5) Earth Science Week: NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE (Oct. 12-18)
The theme for this year's Earth Science Week encourages young people to learn about the geosciences by getting away from the television and off the computer, and going outdoors. The American Geological Institute hosts Earth Science Week, which is supported by NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and other geoscience groups.  Visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/ for resources to celebrate Earth Science Week, including contests, investigations, curriculum materials and much more.

(6) Celebrate Solar Week (Oct. 20-24)
Every fall and spring since 2000, Solar Week provides a weeklong series of Web-based educational classroom activities and games geared for upper elementary, middle and high school students with a focus on the Sun-Earth connection. Students learn about solar eclipses, sunspots and solar storms through a series of activities, games and lessons.

Solar Week is ideal for students studying the solar system, the stars and astronomy in general. Kids will also learn what it is like being a scientist and science career choices. The Web site is especially designed to spark the interest of pre- and early-teen girls with activities and interaction with leading scientists at the forefront of Sun-Earth research, but is a great place for all students.

Visit the Web site at: http://www.solarweek.org.

(7) NASA’s 50th Anniversary Conference (Oct. 28-29)
“NASA’s First 50 Years: A Historical Perspective,” will be held Oct. 28-29 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The purpose of this conference is a scholarly analysis of NASA’s first 50 years. Historians will discuss NASA’s role in aeronautics, human spaceflight, space science, life science and Earth science, as well as cross-cutting themes ranging from space access to international relations in space and NASA and the public. For more information including an agenda, bios and abstracts, visit: http://history.nasa.gov/50thannnasaconf/.

(8) CASSINI MISSION: Scientist for a Day Essay Contest (Grades 5-12) – Deadline Oct. 30 at 12:00 Noon Pacific Time
Students in grades 5-12 are invited to participate in the Fall 2008 edition of the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest. Students may work alone or in groups of up to four students to write a 500-word essay about one of three possible imaging targets (Saturn's moons Tethys, Titan or Mimas – note the Cassini spacecraft is scheduled to image these moons on Nov. 26) and justify their choice as to which would potentially yield the best science. Contest winners will be invited to participate in a dedicated teleconference with Cassini scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For more information, go to: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientist/6th_edition/index.cfm.

(9) SEND YOUR NAME AROUND THE EARTH ON NASA’S GLORY MISSION – Deadline nOV. 1
Members of the public can send their names around Earth on NASA's Glory satellite, the first mission dedicated to understanding the effects of particles in the atmosphere and the sun's variability on our climate.

The "Send Your Name Around the Earth" Web site enables anyone to take part in the science mission and place their names in orbit for years to come. Participants will receive a printable certificate from NASA and have their name recorded on a microchip that will become part of the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is Nov. 1, 2008.
The Web site, where participants can submit their information, is located at: http://polls.nasa.gov/utilities/sendtospace/jsp/sendName.jsp.

(10) NASA SCIENCE EDUCATION at Upcoming Conferences

Look for NASA at the following fall conferences:

The California Science Teachers Association will be holding its annual conference, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2008, at the San Jose Convention Center.
http://www.cascience.org/csta/csta.asp

Girl Scouts of the USA will be holding their national conference in Indianapolis, IN, from Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2008. http://www.girlscouts.org/convention/ncs.asp

NASA will deliver dozens of teacher workshops at the fall National Science Teachers Association regional conferences in:

Charlotte, NC, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 - http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008CHA

Portland, OR, Nov. 20-22
http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008POR

Cincinnati, OH, Dec. 4-6
http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008CIN

To find all the NASA sessions at NSTA regional conferences, go to the session browser Websites for each conference (identified above) and search for the key word “NASA.”

The Cincinnati regional NSTA features a symposium on Dec. 5, “Discover the Universe – From Galileo to Today” (ticketed event: $47 advance; $54 on-site), which also includes two follow-on Webinars in December and January. Register for the symposium at:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/symposium.aspx

(11) The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) Planetarium Program
NASA’s IBEX, scheduled to launch on Oct. 19, will focus on discovering the global interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium by taking a set of global energetic neutral atom (ENA) images.
 
Following the launch, the full-length digital planetarium program, "Search for the Edge of the Solar System," will open at Adler Planetarium in Chicago, sometime in November 2008. Additional venues will also open the show in 2008 and 2009.

View a trailer of the IBEX show at: http://ibex.swri.edu/planetaria/index.shtml
To learn more about the IBEX mission and available resources, visit: http://ibex.swri.edu.

(12) GLOBE Partner Expedition to Antarctica
October 2008 marks the start of a three-month International Polar Year expedition, called the Offshore New Harbor, to image sediments located below the sea floor. This project is part of the ANDRILL Program (ANtarctic DRILLing), a multinational initiative to recover stratigraphic core records for interpreting Antarctic’s climatic, glacial, and tectonic history.

The expedition team will include scientists, students, and a schoolteacher who will live on the sea ice while collecting data that will seismically image the sediments that lie beneath the sea floor in the New Harbor area. The objective of this expedition will be to locate the optimal site to drill these sediments in the near future.
 
Educational activities are planned while on the ice, including the collection of meteorological data to be entered into the GLOBE Web site for use in student research. There will also be links posted to expedition audio and video blogs. Once the expedition gets under way, there will be a link to these materials through the main GLOBE Web site: http://www.globe.gov.

Until then, read more about the mission at: http://www.globe.gov/fsl/STARS/ART/Display.opl?lang=en&star=Antarctic_Ex.

For more information about the educational efforts of the Offshore New Harbor Expedition, visit: http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/offshore_new_harbor/offshore.htm.

(13) International GLOBE Gathering Kicks off New Student Research Approach
An Aug. 3-9 workshop brought together a diverse cross-section of the international GLOBE community. GLOBE partners and trainers received a hands-on introduction to GLOBE’s Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) and the GLOBE model of student research designed to support student scientific research around environmental topics.

This workshop is the first of several events designed to introduce the fundamentals of these projects and to glean feedback vital to the further development of ESSPs suitable for use in a wide variety of geographic regions, climate zones, and classroom environments around the world. The workshop was co-sponsored by GLOBE and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE).

As a major outcome, GLOBE Partners are developing a professional staff development plan that they will be able to implement with Partners and teachers in their countries and regions during the coming year—focusing on curriculum elements and inquiry and research strategies that are easily adaptable to local implementation.

The ultimate outcome will be the development of a new GLOBE Student Research Collaboratory and a global campaign that focuses on climate change. The Student Research Collaboratory is intended to be a one-stop Web site that will provide a discreet set of tools and resources designed to support student inquiry and teacher facilitation of student scientific research as well as on-line collaboration between students, teachers, and scientists.

For more details, including links to the ESSPs, see
http://www.globe.gov/fsl/STARS/ART/Display.opl?lang=en&star=DLESE_Workshop.

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

(14) Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowships in Exoplanet Exploration (Applications Due: Nov. 6, 2008)
The new Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowships in Exoplanet Exploration were created to inspire the next generation of explorers seeking to learn more about planets, and possibly life, around other stars. The program will award stipends of approximately $60,000 per year, for a period of up to three years, to selected postdoctoral scientists. Topics can range from techniques for detecting the glow of a dim planet in the blinding glare of its host star, to searching for the crucial ingredients of life in other planetary systems.

The Sagan Fellowship will join NASA's new Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship in Physics of the Cosmos and the Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cosmic Origins. All three fellowships represent a new theme-based approach, in which fellows will focus on compelling scientific questions, such as "are there Earth-like planets orbiting other stars?"

The application deadline is Nov. 6, 2008. For specific fellowship guidelines and application information, visit http://nexsci.caltech.edu/sagan/fellowship.shtml.

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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

(15) NASA Launches New Hubble Web Site for Educators
NASA has launched a new Web site with resources for educators on the Hubble Space Telescope. The site celebrates Hubble as a unique tool of exploration and as a catalyst of inspiration to wonder -- to ponder new questions and to seek expressive responses to the magnificent visual imagery it enables people to "see." This site will continue to follow the Hubble journey into 2010, Hubble's 20th anniversary year.
 
The Hubble educational resource site offers activities and resources for three primary themes: Hubble Careers, From Galileo to the Great Observatories, and the Hubble Walk: Spacesuits and Spacewalks. Revisit this Web site often throughout the next year for updates and added activities, resources, links to complementary sites, and notices of special events.
http://www.nasa.gov/education/hubble.

(16) AMAZING SPACE LAUNCHES HUBBLE SERVICING MISSION WEB SITE
The Amazing Space Web site uses the Hubble Space Telescope's discoveries to inspire and educate about the wonders of the universe. Find out more about the mission to repair the Hubble. The Web site offers the latest news, trivia, lesson plans and more.
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/sm4/.

(17) NASA E-CLIPS: A NEW APPROACH TO LEARNING
NASA eClips are short (5-10 minute) video segments available on-demand via the Internet. The video clips are designed to inspire students to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to understand the application of these subjects in the real world. The project is a NASA partnership with National Institute of Aerospace, Caption Max, Internet Archive, and YouTube.

Students, teachers, and the general public can look forward to new video and educational content highlighting current research and innovations each week throughout the school year. The video clips are available for streaming on NASA’s Web site at http://www.nasa.gov/education/nasaeclips and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/nasaeclips. The NASA Web site permits users to download and save the video clips as well as stream them. The NASA Web site also provides lesson plans and instructions for educators on how to use the videos in the classroom.

(18) Space Math Problems
This month, in order to better assist teachers in advanced planning of topics, SpaceMath@NASA is transitioning to a weekly posting of problems to a quarterly posting. The first batch of 12 problems for the October-December period is now available on the Space Math Web site. The problems cover topics probability, algebra, image scaling and calculus for grades 4-12; following are some of the most recent problems added at: http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

(19) NASA Earth Observatory Feature Article - Rapid Retreat: Ice Shelf Loss along Canada's Ellesmere Coast
Beginning in late July 2008, the remaining ice shelves along the northern coast of Canada's Ellesmere Island underwent rapid retreat, losing a total of 214 square kilometers (83 square miles).
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Ellesmere/.

(20) Great Planet Debate
Is Pluto a planet? What defines a planet? Are other planets yet to be discovered? Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, American Museum of Natural History, and Dr. Mark Sykes, Planetary Science Institute, debated these questions during this one-hour Webcast on Aug 14. For those who were not able to tune in for the live event, a link to the video-on-demand version of the Great Planet Debate has now been posted online.
http://gpd.jhuapl.edu/debate/debateStream.php

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SCIENCE NEWS

For the latest NASA Earth and space science news, visit the Science Mission Directorate Web site (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/), the NASA Earth Observatory (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov) or Science@NASA (http://science.nasa.gov). Science@NASA stories are also available as podcasts, as well as translated into Spanish at its 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/.

(21) Hubble Serving Mission Launch Delayed
Sept. 30 - Due to the significant Hubble Space Telescope malfunction that occurred over the weekend affecting the storage and transmittal of science data to Earth, NASA will evaluate the investigation results before fully determining the impact to launch of the STS-125 servicing mission. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
For the latest information on the Hubble servicing mission, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/servicing/SM4/main/index.html

(22) NASA MARS LANDER SEES FALLING SNOW, SOIL DATA SUGGEST LIQUID PAST
Sept. 29 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil tests experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth. A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars, detected snow from clouds about 2.5 miles above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow vaporizing before reaching the ground.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html.

(23) NASA ORBITER REVEALS ROCK FRACTURE PLUMBING ON MARS
Sept. 25 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed hundreds of small fractures exposed on the Martian surface that billions of years ago directed flows of water through underground Martian sandstone. Researchers used images from the spacecraft's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, camera. Images of layered rock deposits at equatorial Martian sites show the clusters of fractures to be a type called deformation bands, caused by stresses below the surface in granular or porous bedrock. Images of the deformation band clusters and additional information about the mission are on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro.

(24) Ulysses Reveals Global Solar Wind Plasma Output at 50-Year Low
Sept. 23 - Solar physicists have announced that the solar wind is losing pressure, hitting a 50-year record low for the Space Age. This development has repercussions across the solar system. Data from the Ulysses spacecraft, a joint NASA-European Space Agency mission, show the sun has reduced its output of solar wind to the lowest levels since accurate readings became available. The sun's current state could reduce the natural shielding that envelops our solar system. The sun's solar wind plasma is a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun's upper atmosphere. The solar wind interacts with every planet in our solar system. It also defines the border between our solar system and interstellar space. More information about the Ulysses mission is available on the Web at: http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov.

(25) NASA’s Mars Rover to Head Toward Bigger Crater
Sept. 22 - NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity is setting its sights on a crater more than 20 times larger than its home for the past two years. In order to reach the crater the rover team calls Endeavour, Opportunity would need to drive approximately 7 miles to the southeast, matching the total distance it has traveled since landing on Mars in early 2004. The rover team estimates the journey could take two years with Opportunity traveling 110 yards per day. However, getting there would yield a look inside a bowl 13.7 miles across, where scientists expect to see a much deeper stack of rock layers than those examined by Opportunity in Victoria Crater.

For images and information about Opportunity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/rovers.

(26) NASA's Swift Spots Farthest Gamma-Ray Burst
Sept. 19 - NASA's Swift satellite has found the most distant gamma-ray burst ever detected. The blast, designated GRB 080913, arose from an exploding star 12.8 billion light-years away. Because light moves at finite speed, looking farther into the universe means looking back in time. GRB 080913's "lookback time" reveals that the burst occurred less than 825 million years after the universe began. For the latest news and mission update from the Swift satellite, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/swift.

(27) Cool Movies of Polar Crown Prominences
Sept. 17 - Japan's Hinode spacecraft is beaming back must-see movies of a spectacular solar phenomenon known as 'polar crown prominences.' Studying polar crown prominences could be a key to forecasting space weather. The central sheets form between regions of opposite-polarity magnetic field, which is significant because opposite magnetic fields bumping together tend to explode—a process physicists call "reconnection." Polar crown prominences are thus poised to erupt and often do, forming the cores of billion-ton coronal mass ejections.

The new view is challenging long-held ideas: In the past, researchers thought of prominences as mainly static structures, held motionless above the surface of the sun by magnetic force fields. To learn more and watch a Quicktime movie recorded by Hinode, visit: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/17sep_polarcrown.htm?list1110881.

(28) Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Lowest Coverage for 2008
Sept. 16 - Arctic sea ice coverage appears to have reached its lowest extent for the year and the second-lowest amount recorded since the dawn of the satellite era, according to observations from the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center will issue an analysis of the possible causes behind this year's Arctic sea ice conditions during the first week of October. For updates, visit: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews.

For NASA animations and graphics on current Arctic sea ice conditions,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/sea_ice_nsidc.html.

(29) NASA Selects Mission to Study Mars Atmosphere
Sept. 15 - NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before. Called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, the $485 million mission is scheduled for launch in late 2013. For more information about NASA's exploration of Mars, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mars.

(30) Spooky Hurricane Science
Sept. 12 - To improve hurricane forecasting, NASA engineers are spending time in a spooky room where 'no one can hear you scream. Also known as the "Anechoic Chamber,” at Marshall Space Flight Center, researchers are using this facility to test a prototype hurricane sensor called HIRAD (Hurricane Imaging RADiometer.) HIRAD is designed to scan large areas of ocean for microwave signals that portend storm strength and dynamics. By collecting and transmitting these data to forecasters, HIRAD could reduce property damage and even save lives.

To learn more and see photos, visit: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/12sep_scream.htm?list1110881.

(31) Report Explores Use of Earth Data to Support National Priorities
Sept. 8 – NASA sponsored a report by the U.S. Climate Change Science program that determined the nation faces challenges in utilizing Earth science information to manage resources and protect public health. The report examines the computer-based decision support tools that many government agencies use to make predictions and forecasts in areas such as agricultural productivity, air quality, renewable energy resources, water management, and the prevention of vector-borne disease.

The report, titled "Uses and Limitations of Observations, Data, Forecasts, and Other Projections in Decision Support for Selected Sectors and Regions" found that while these tools have successfully incorporated Earth science information to address a number of issues, they are not yet widely used to investigate the implications of future climate change.

The report is available at: http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap5-1/final-report/default.htm.

(32) NASA to Explore a “Secret Layer” of the Sun
Sept. 5 - NASA researchers are preparing to launch an experimental telescope that can see a "secret layer" of the sun thought to be the birthplace of space weather. Read the full article at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/05sep_sumi.htm?list1110881.

(33) Amateur Astronomers See Perseids Hit the Moon
Sept. 2 - Amateur astronomers watching the Perseid meteor shower last month saw meteoroids hitting not only Earth but also the Moon. Using backyard telescopes and off-the-shelf video cameras, the astronomers recorded these impacts. The silent explosions were equivalent to ~100 lbs of TNT and produced flashes of light visible a quarter of a million miles away on Earth. To read more and see photographs, visit: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/02sep_lunarperseids.htm?list1110881.

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CALENDAR

Oct. 1
Opening Webcast for LIMA II Quest Challenge (student Antarctic research), http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lima.

Oct. 1
NASA Stardust capsule goes on display at Smithsonian, http://www.nasa.gov/stardust.

Oct. 4-10
World Space Week, http://www.worldspaceweek.org/index.html.

Oct. 8
Journey to Palomar Webcast, www.journeytopalomar.org

Oct. 12-18
Earth Science Week: No Child Left Inside, http://www.earthsciweek.org/.

Oct. 17
Proposals Due – Competitive Program for Science Museums and Planetariums (CP4SMP), http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId=%7bA0A2FB8B-E96B-7579-5530-2709EE450F3F%7d&path=open.

Oct. 19
NASA launches the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, http://ibex.swri.org.

Oct. 20-24
Solar Week, http://www.solarweek.org.

Oct. 27
Proposals Due – K-12 Competitive Education Grant Program, http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId=%7bC4EC7F3B-D629-1AFC-398C-C3DAA5A28413%7d&path=open.

Oct. 28-29
NASA’s 50th Anniversary Conference, http://history.nasa.gov/50thannnasaconf/.

Oct. 29
Observing the Moon Videoconference, http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/webcast/.

Oct. 30
Cassini Scientist for a Day - Essay Entries Due (by noon Pacific time), http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientist/6th_edition/index.cfm.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1
NSTA Regional Conference, Charlotte, NC. Charlotte, NC, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 - http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008CHA

Oct. 30-Nov. 2
California Science Educator Conference, http://www.cascience.org/csta/csta.asp

Oct. 30-Nov.2
Girl Scouts of the USA Conference, http://www.girlscouts.org/convention/ncs.asp

Oct. 31
CanSat Applications Due, http://www.cansatcompetition.com/.

Nov. 1
Deadline to send your name around the Earth, http://polls.nasa.gov/utilities/sendtospace/jsp/sendName.jsp.

Nov. 5
Preliminary Proposals Due for LIMA II Quest Challenge (student Antarctic research), http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lima.

Nov. 6
Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications Due, http://nexsci.caltech.edu/sagan/fellowship.shtml.

Nov. 11
Journey to Palomar Documentary Airs, http://www.journeytopalomar.org

Nov. 20-22
NSTA Regional Conference, Portland, OR, http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008POR

Dec. 4-6
NSTA Regional Conference, Cincinnati, OH, http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008CIN
NASA Symposium on Dec. 5 – Discover the Universe (ticketed event): http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/symposium.aspx

Dec. 15-19
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, http://www.agu.org.

Dec. 16
NASA launches GOES-O, http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/index.html.

Jan. 15
NASA Launches the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov.

Feb. 4
NASA launches NOAA-N, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/main/index.html.

Feb. 16
NASA launches Kepler, http://kepler.nasa.gov.

April 6
Thacher Scholar Entries Due – contest for grades 9-12, for student projects using geospatial technologies to study Earth. http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=scholars&sub3=scholars2009.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

NASA Science Mission Directorate: Larry Cooper 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: Lindsay Bartalone, Adler Planetarium; Karin Hauck, Space Sciences Laboratory; Jan Heiderer, GLOBE; Arlene Levine, NASA Langley Research Center; Bonnie McClain, NASA GSFC; Sten Odenwald, NASA GSFC; Denise Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute; Dan Stillman, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; and Flint Wild, NASA MSFC.