Catching up

This has been a difficult time to do a lot of blogging. Last summer was much better. I wonder what accounts for the difference...


Anyway, I don't want this to be a place where I complain a lot, but I will. It has been BUSY.  A little bit has been taken off my plate lately, somewhat against my wishes. I will consider sharing more about that later.  At least it has diminished my responsibilities for the moment and that is alright with me.

Astronomy class continues to be great. Despite some hiccups (rare ones) my students have been up to the challenge and respond in thoughtful ways. Today we discussed a way to choose people for a fictional trip to another world. The premise is that the Earth is dying and we need to send a group to a new world (sounds like Interstellar).  There is no perfect way to choose people, but we made our own lists and then discussed how to make choices. I always like it when they come up with a new idea or new perspective.

Over time, I think I am getting less enthusiastic for teaching subjects in which there is one "correct" answer. Everyone accepts the answer and there is nothing to talk about (unless you can't figure out that answer and that can be frustrating). (I.e. Physics)

I noticed the beautiful alignment of planets earlier in October. I took this photo as I got in my car at home and was about to drive to school. So this is taken at about 6:45 am looking east. The moon is the easiest to see and a small dot to the lower left of the moon is Venus. As time went on in October, you could see Mars and Jupiter there as well. It was quite a sight to see!

So much blogging to do, so little time...

This year has been really hectic and busy. I am having a great time teaching astronomy for the first time, but,... the first time with any course means a lot of preparation.

Here are some new things in the news. I have been pleased to see so much news about not just New Horizons, but Mars, comets, exo-planets, black holes and other objects out there.

And while we're at it - take a look at the southern sky in the morning, looking east. You'll see a wonderful alignment of Venus, Jupiter and Mars, in order of brightness. You can't miss them. Here's a link.

Next up: New Horizons published first Pluto paper

Exoplanets! How do you spot an Exo-planet from Earth?

Your moment of Zen: Wonderful video from the ISS of water in space


I have to find some time to go see The Martian...

Hello astronomy

Well I had some time off at the end of the summer and now I am back at school. Alex and I had some good time to relax and do things that we wanted. It started off as a busy summer with me at NIST and Alex at camps, but ended very nicely with my friend Grzegorz's visit from Poland.

This year I am teaching astronomy for the first time and am having a great time. You never know when you start a new course or project, but this one is working out well. I have the background and the interest and everything is working out fine.

I have some links here to post from some brand new, and also ground breaking news regarding exo-planets (planets orbiting other stars).

Exo-planet "movie"

A comet on its way to hit the sun. This is kind of striking in its own way.


And finally, a group of people making a scale model of the solar system in the desert. Very nicely done.

Next week we will work on our equinox project, during which we will take measurements of the sun and the angle of the shadows that an object makes on the ground. We will share that data with some local teachers as well as a number of my friends from CERN!

Quickly- sign up now!!

A pair of researchers are developing a mobile phone app that will detect cosmic rays.

http://crayfis.io/beta/

(story from NPR) http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/395800694/want-to-do-a-little-astrophysics-this-app-detects-cosmic-rays

Well this is interesting

If this is accurate, the Air Force has a very interesting vehicle at this disposal. 

http://m.space.com/30245-x37b-military-space-plane-100-days.html?cmpid=514648_20150814_50787526&adbid=632159827867791360&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856

Philae lander data

Here is an announcement of the results from the Philae lander from last November.

A little particle physics today

Time for a little particle physics today. I have been concentrating on Pluto lately, for darned good reasons, but I actually do have some other interests (see older posts.)

In the summer of 2014, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to study particle physics at CERN, outside of Geneva, Switzerland. I took part in a High School Teacher program that invited 50 teachers from across the globe (32 countries I believe). It was a fantastic experience and one I will never forget.

(Come to think about it, I should have blogged about it at the time...)

Here are a few of the reasons it was so spectacular.  I made friends from different countries that I never would have otherwise met. One of those friends is coming to visit me soon. The other teachers were some of the most thoughtful, interesting people I have met. Also, as my first true international experience, I was thrilled to meet people with different ideas and different ways of doing things. I love those kinds of experiences and seek them out.

After three weeks, we had really become our own little community. We have our own Facebook group and have managed to stay in touch. A few of us even did an equinox activity and measured the length of shadows on the spring equinox. (With a small amount of math, you can determine the latitude of your location from the shadow. Pretty nice.)

Another aspect about the CERN scientists that impressed was not actually the incredible technology or the fact that they had found the Higgs boson two years prior (although it is pretty darned cool). What impressed me most was that they were so giving of their time. When they answered our questions (and there were many questions) no one was ever peeking at their watch, or saying "Oh, I'd love to stay and talk more, but..." A couple of them even came back for a second talk, or simply another question and answer session. They were giving of themselves and their time and showed how invested they are in their work.

Along those lines, I found some wonderful links from PHD comics, about the Higgs boson, dark matter and extra dimensions. Enjoy!


Okay, I can't help it, here is something cool about Pluto.