Category Archives: Astronomy outreach

astronomy, Astronomy outreach, astronomy-related products

Cloud-Be-Gone

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What to Do on those Inevitable Cloudy Nights

It’s raining here again. Last night it was kind of clear, but not for long. Clouds moved in and now those of us who like to see our stars without benefit of clouds are without our favorite pastime until the weather patterns clear out again. These things happen, but there are nights when I’d love a giant can of “Cloud-Be-Gone” — the observer’s friend.

So, what’s a stargazer to do when confronted with highly opaque sky? You could always snuggle up with a good book. I have a lot of them listed in my online store, so you could browse over there for suggestions. For example, there’s always Phil Plait (my friend, the Bad Astronomer) and his Bad Astronomy book. It’s good fodder for figuring out the nonsense that sometimes gets associated with science, and I like his style. Or, you could try the last book I wrote, called Visions of the Cosmos. It was a project that my good friend Jack Brandt and I worked on for several years, trying to bring the best-looking bits of the cosmos to lay readers AND explain some of the science along the way.

Or, you could surf the web looking for astronomy. My favorite web sites (and there are many, so I’ll mention just a few in this entry), are Phil’s site (above), and of course the links to the left in my blogroll. But, where else do I go? Let’s go exploring. First, check out Digital Blasphemy for some very fine space art (like the sample shown here). While you’re at it, buy a membership. It’s cheap and you won’t regret it! Almost all of my desktop wallpapers come from this site and I’ve been a member for several years now. I think Ryan does some of the nicest work around.

Next on my hit parade of almost-daily links is the Mars Exploration page at NASA. It has the latest from all the various Mars missions NASA is involved with and there’s always something fascinating to explore on the pages.

I also like to wander past Tony Darnell’s AstronomyBuff page to see what’s on his mind. We knew Tony way back in the days when he was a high school student and we were working with one of his teachers. He’s always got a different way of looking at things. For more “geeky” details of astronomy, there’s always the appropriately named AstroGeek page. I first found that one in a link from Tony’s page, proving that the world is, indeed, one big link.

Because one of my current projects has to do with space weather, there are a few solar storm sites I visit. Check out Spaceweather.com for all things related to what our nearest star does to us from time to time. If you’re a teacher or parent looking for ways to teach your kids about the Sun, the Space Weather Center is a sort of one-stop hop for information, games and other activities. It’s put together by our friends at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. I like to play some of the games they have on the site, especially the ones that teach about how magnetic fields work. I’m getting pretty good at the magneto bowling game they have there. It takes a little patience, but eventually you can knock those pins over every time.

If you’re a fan of all things Hubble Space Telescope, check out the Hubble Heritage page. It’s a great way to explore the universe as seen by this workhorse of orbital astronomy, as well as some “audience participation” pages featuring things like student poetry inspired by HST results.

Some of the other orbiting observatories have great image galleries, too. You can “learn” while you surf at the Chandra X-Ray Center, where the latest results from the Chandra X-Ray observatory are posted. On the infrared side of things, check out the Spitzer Space Telescope site, especially their Cool Cosmos pages.

Finally, if the search for life elsewhere is your bag, visit NASA’s Astrobiology Magazine online. Lots of good stuff on there, and proof that studying life “out there” requires that we know more about life and its origins right here on Earth.

astronomy education, Astronomy outreach, NASA

Disengage!

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Or Engage?

Generation Y Internet-savvy

But Expects Different Things from NASA

I read an article yesterday about a discussion at a symposium held by NASA, the National Space Society, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics that explored the attitudes toward space held by Generation Y. These 8- to 31-year-olds are where the next generation of taxpaying space enthusiasts are coming from, but it seems that they’re not so connected to space in the same their parents and grandparents have been. This information is not a terribly big surprise, coming as it does at a time when budgets for space exploration, science education, and research are heading downhill at the same time we have a huge rise in the technology of global interconnectivity.

It’s also not too surprising that this generation, when pressed for information on their interests in space, seems to be saying that NASA needs to give them more real-time insight and connectivity to the topics being explored by the agency. Gen Y is the first to be so totally connected for most of their lives by the Internet and instant communications for much of their lives. They’re comfortable with globalization and want to be involved in science and exploration, but aren’t too interested in hearing about the past glories of space exploration.

This is interesting food for thought for educators and science center folk who are reaching out to this age group. I’ve been in many a conversation with such colleagues, and some are still wondering what these audiences want. Or, they’re trying to tailor currently accessible programming to this generation’s tastes. It’s a challenge, but not too different from the ones outreach people have always faced when trying to get the word out about science and exploration to vastly different generations.