http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org An astronomy podcast every day, all year Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 An astronomy podcast every day, all year 365 Days of Astronomy no An astronomy podcast every day, all year http://365daysofastronomy.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://365daysofastronomy.org http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6974 Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitter.com/mrwebbpv Description: This podcast discusses the constellations seen in the night sky during the month of February and tracks the Moon throughout the month to see how It moves throughout the constellations as it changes phases and has some close encounters with the planets. Bio: Rob Webb is a physics, astronomy, and sustainability teacher at Pequea Valley High School in Pennsylvania. His passions include teaching, astronomy, astrophotography, planetariums, running, reading, and golf. A proud graduate of Dickinson College in 2005, he also obtained a Master¹s Degree in Science Education from Penn State University after conducting research in regards to the current state of planetariums in Pennsylvania. Feel free to contact him at rob_webb@pequeavalley.org Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Not much going on this month, although it’s a beautiful month for lunar encounters and constellations, since the winter ones are out (they have more bright stars in total and more spread out than their summer counterparts) and it’s getting warmer! At least in Pennsylvania – Tomorrow it’s supposed to reach 60 degrees – in FEBRUARY! That certainly makes for some good winter observing! EVENTS... Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night – East around sunset, West around Sunrise) – Hopefully it snows so you can really see wonderfully by the light of the Moon – Good for night hikes. 9th – Close Encounter – Moon & Mars – Go out after 8:30pm and find the gibbous Moon in the East-. Mars is about 10˚ to the left of the Moon. Look for the reddish object below Leo. Watch them rise throughout the night and be in the West by dawn. 12th, 13th – Close Encounter – Moon & Saturn – Look to the ESE before midnight and find the gibbous Moon rising. Saturn will be the bright object about 11˚ down and to the left of the Moon on the 12th, and 9˚ above the Moon on the 13th. These are really interesting in binoculars, given Saturn’s rings and the Moon’s craters, and travel to the SSW by dawn. Last Quarter Moon – 14th (Visible from midnight into the morning) New Moon – 21st (darkest skies) 22nd – Close Encounter – Moon & Mercury – If you can find the VERY thin, one-day old crescent Moon in the WSW, then only 5˚ to the left will be Mercury. Binoculars are recommended, if not needed. 25th – Close Encounter – Moon & Venus – Look WSW after sunset. The thin crescent Moon will be only 3˚ to the right of Venus. Brilliant for pictures with zoom lenses. 26th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – Look to the SW after sunset and you’ll see Jupiter about 4˚ to the left of the almost crescent Moon. First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight) PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (WSW), Jupiter (SW) Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (SW), Mars (ESW), Saturn (ES) Planets you can see in the Morning – Mars (W), Saturn (S) Mercury – Not worth looking for, unless it’s the end of the month when it’s 10˚ above the horizon. Bring binoculars and looks west after sunset. VENUS – Look WSW after sunset. From now until May, Venus will be very prominent, then quickly get lower and disappear by the end of May. If you’re looking with your naked eye, it is the brightest object about 30˚ or more (three fist-widths) above the southwestern horizon. Below the horizon after 8:30pm. Close to the Moon on the 25th right after sunset in the SW. If you’re looking through a telescope at dusk, you may see it in its gibbous phase right now, half-lit in March, then crescent in May. Mars – Rising after 8pm in the East, and rises up and toward the SW by morning. Look for the constellation of Leo and look for the reddish hued point of light under Leo’s hindquarters – use a star chart to help. Close to the Moon on the 9th. JUPITER – Already in high in the southwest right at sunset and making its way down and to the West throughout the night, setting around 11pm. Close to the Moon on the 26th. Extra Challenge! Point some binoculars toward Jupiter. You should be able to see the four moons of Jupiter right next to it – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in different configurations each night. To see these bright points even better, use a telescope. You may even be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. Saturn – Look SE before midnight and Saturn will make an appearance up to 35˚ above the southern horizon. Beautifully near the Moon on the morning of the 12th and 13th. CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see... After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars. Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month - Extra Challenge! Find M44 in the Middle of Cancer – an open cluster of stars also known as the Beehive Cluster. You may be able to see it as a small fuzzy patch with your naked eye if you have very dark skies. However with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on low power, it will look like a hive of bees in the distance, hence its nickname. Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”) GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS: Winter constellations:  Orion is easy to spot as he is risen in the south around 6pm.  You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations. Using Orion:  Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the South after 6pm.  If you draw a line from the left (lowest) star to the right (highest) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V).  Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades. If you start at his belt again, but instead go the opposite way and draw a line from the right (highest) star in Orion’s belt to the left (lowest) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major. Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga.  The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky.  Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga).  It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky. Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. A lot of credit for this information goes to: SkyMaps.com – Download the monthly sky map here in many formats including Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Equatorial Sky & Telescope Magazine ...and various sky programs such as Starry Night. Some other great sites to find more information and multimedia: Cherry Springs State Park – the darkest skies in PA, camping, friendly astronomers that will let you look through their telescopes How-To videos on observing ISS flybys for your area Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster County – Local club with more a detailed list of things to find in the night sky Clear Dark Skies Clock Grundy Observatory (Lancaster, PA) Clear Dark Skies Clock Any Location http://clearskyalarmclock.com/v2/ - sign up to get an email whenever skies are clear http://skytips.mcdonaldobservatory.org/2007/11/ http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/ http://www.look-to-the-skies.com/sky_this_month.htm Astronomy Picture of the Day Space Weather – Updates on meteor showers, comets, auroras, and other ephemeris http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/index.html If you would not like to receive this “newsletter” please reply to this email and say so.  Also, if anyone would like to be put on this list, have them email me and say so. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/03/february-3rd-observing-with-webb-in-february-2012/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 3, 2012 - Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 - Podcasters: Rob Webb - Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School - Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google. Date: February 3, 2012 Title: Observing With Webb in February 2012 Podcasters: Rob Webb Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School Links: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ; https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ; http://twitt... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6968 Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, that we find the first claimed detection of another solar system! The claim received a boost in 1896 when American astronomer Thomas See reported that he had seen the same wobble in his own observations at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, not only did subsequent observations by other astronomers fail to turn up any evidence of a wobble, but another astronomer, Forest Moulton wrote an article in the Astrophysical Journal pointing out that the claimed planet's orbit would be highly unstable. In other words, Moulton argued that there was no way a planet *could* survive in the claimed orbit for very long. See's letter to the Journal taking Moulton to task for his report was so scathing and abusive, that See was banned from publishing any future articles in that esteemed publication. All remained quiet on the extrasolar planet front until 1943 when another claim for a planet around 70 Ophicuhi surfaced along with a possible detection around the star 61 Cygni - another binary star system which has the distinction of being the first star which had its distance from Earth measured - about 11 light-years. Dutch astronomer Piet van de Kamp in 1963 published data which suggested a planet 1.5 times more massive than Jupiter in orbit around Barnard's Star; he even went on to postulate that the system had not one but two planets a few years later. Sadly, time has not been kind to the exoplanet discoveries of the mid 20th century. More observations with refined instruments and capabilities failed to turn up evidence for any of the claimed planets. By 1980, the number of known planets beyond our solar system had return to zero. The trouble with finding planets in this way is that the wobble that astronomers are looking for is ridiculously small. If an astronomer on a hypothetical planet orbiting the closest star to our Sun, about 4 light years away, were to attempt to measure the wobble of our Sun resulting from the tug of the Earth, it would be like trying to measure the thickness of a dime located 175,000 miles away - roughly 3/4 the distance to the Moon!! And that's just from a star next door. The further away our alien investigators get, the smaller the wobble appears in their sky. In fact, there has not yet been a single successful detection of a planet using this method. Rather, astronomers rely on something called the doppler shift - the same phenomenon that causes a train horn to change pitch as it races by you - to measure the speed of a star moving back and forth in space. As the star approaches the Earth, the color of the starlight is shifted slightly to become bluer than it would normally be; as it turns around and starts racing away, the star become slightly redder. The effect is extremely small - you can't see it with your eyes. But it turns out that it's easier to build instruments that can measure these slight color changes than it is to actually see the star moving. And after nearly two decades of refining their instruments and their techniques, hope for finding new worlds was renewed. In 1988, a team of Canadian astronomers tentatively announced that they believed a planet about twice the mass of Jupiter was in orbit around the binary star system gamma Cephei - a star that one day will claim the title of the North Star as the Earth wobbles about its axis. Sadly, the status of that planet sat in limbo for fifteen years as other teams struggled to reproduce their findings. The discovery would not be vindicated until 2003 when better observations could be made and the claim confirmed. While gamma Cephei b therefore holds the title for the first planet discovered beyond our Solar System, a decade and a half would pass before its existance could be settled. The first system of planets to be confirmed came from a most unexpected source. Astronomers using the Arecibo radio telescope were monitoring radio pulses coming from a pulsar - the rapidly spinning core of a supermassive star left behind after a fiery supernova explosion. Pulsars are generally remarkably steady clocks. They are the lighthouses of the cosmos: sweeping out a beam of intense radio energy as they spin at sometimes thousands of revolutions each second. Oddly, this pulsar showed very subtle variations in its timing; some pulses would come a bit early, others a bit late. This meant that there was something orbiting around the pulsar throwing off the timing. In 1992 they announced that two planets, one much smaller than our Earth, were in orbit around this long dead star. The announcement was met under an umbrella of intense skepticism as a similar claim for a different pulsar had been retracted just a week before their announcement. Continued monitoring not only brought the confirmation of the first exoplanetary system, but also turned up a third planet orbiting further out. These planets, and the handful of others like them, have long been enigmas. To be in orbit around a pulsar, they either would have had to survive the destrucive shockwave of their sun going supernova or they had to have formed out of the dying stars remnants. Either way, they occupy a unique place in exoplanet history. As fascinating as planets calling a pulsar home was, the real hope was to find planets orbiting suns not too much different than our own. A century and a half of perservance finally paid off in 1995 when astronomers Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler made their now historic announcement: a planet with half the mass of Jupiter orbiting around the Sun-like star 51 Pegasus. This was quickly followed by the discovery of two more Jupiter-like planets orbiting very close to their stars the following year. And ever since, the pace of exoplanet detections has been relentless. 2012 marks 20th anniversary of the pulsar planet discovery. In just two decades we've gone from merely pondering on the existance of other solar systems to the realization that our corner of the Galaxy is littered with planets. And the exoplanet zoo never fails to surprise or disappoint. In the nearly 700 planets that have been confirmed, we've found planets much heavier than Jupiter flying around their host stars in mere days, hugely inflated by the intense heat of their suns. We've found planets going the wrong away around their stars, orbiting in the opposite direction that their suns rotate. We've found planets around old stars, young stars, and dead stars. We've found them nestled in disks of rocky debris left from over their epoch formation. We've even found planets with two suns in their sky. And very recently, the Kepler Space Telescope finally turned up evidence of a planet the size of the Earth orbiting a star not much different than our own. Though it's much too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface and conditions there are likely too harsh for life, it's a first step. One of many. One that started over 150 years ago with the dance of the star Sirius. And one that may very well ultimately lead to the finding of a sister Earth. That planets are common may be one of the great discoveries of the past century. How many more are there? How many of them would we recognize and find hospitable? How many of them already harbor life on their own? And how many have their own telescopes pointing in our direction, seeing the dance of our own Sun, and have creatures wondering: is anyone else out there? End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. ]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/02/february-2nd-150-years-of-exoplanet/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 2, 2012 - Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet - Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett - Organization: United States Naval Observatory - Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, Date: February 2, 2012 Title: 150 Years of Exoplanet Podcaster: Dr. Christopher Crockett Organization: United States Naval Observatory Description: While the discovery of planets around other stars has been ongoing for two decades, not many people realize the hunt really began nearly 150 years ago. Join us in this podcast as we take a tour of nearly a century and a half of false leads and dead ends that started with one wobbling star and has lead to the current cornucopia of known planetary systems. Bio:Dr. Christopher Crockett is an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research involves searching for planets around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. Sponsor: "This episode of 365 days of Astronomy is sponsored by John Cary. Thank you to all involved with these wonderful podcasts. Transcript: In 1584, the Dominican monk Giordano Bruno speculated that '[t]]here are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns...we do not discern the earths because, being much smaller, they are invisible to us". Bruno, who was burned at the stake for such heretical musings, was a man well ahead of his time. Over four centuries would pass before Bruno's remarkable insight could be vindicated. Since then, astronomers have discovered roughly 700 planets orbiting distant suns. What is often forgotten in the telling of this quest is that while the active discovery of extrasolar planets is very recent endeavor, the search began nearly 150 years ago. Planets are very difficult to find. They are relatively tiny and orbit quite close around stars which are roughly one billion times brighter than they are. Trying to see a planet around a star just 10 light years from Earth is like trying to see a candle 20 feet from a searchlight in Washington, D.C. while standing in Los Angeles. Astronomers therefore resort to indirect methods of finding planets. Rather than look for the planet directly, we look for the effect that a planet has on its host star and infer the presence of another world. The Earth does not simply orbit around the Sun. Rather, they both orbit around a common center. The combined gravitational tugs from all the planets in our Solar System causes the Sun to exhibit a fairly complex wobble as it gets pushed and pulled around by its family of planets. So one way to detect extrasolar planets is to look for stars that are wobbling in space. A wobbling star means something much fainter is orbiting around it. It was the year 1844 when German astronomer Freidrich Bessel noticed the first wobbling star - the star Sirius, a brilliant blue-white star visible to the left of the constellation Orion and the brightest star in the sky after the Sun. He deduced, correctly, that the wobbling must be imposed by what he called a "dark companion" - an unseen object orbiting around Sirius. Nearly two decades would pass before American astronomer Alvin Clark would be the first to directly observe this faint companion and over fifty years would go by before the companion was identified not as a planet but as a "white dwarf" - the superhot remants of a long dead star where the mass of a Sun is squeezed into a volume no larger than the Earth. Eleven years after Bessel's discovery, Captain Jacob at Madras Observatory in India identified a wobble in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi - two stars locked in an 80 year orbit sitting about 16 light-years away. Jacob claimed that perturbations in the orbits of the two stars were highly suggestive of a "planetary body in connection with the system". It is here, in 1855, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:22 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6839 Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, Orion is visible high in the sky and we have our team ready to go. Donnie: What will it take to win this year? David: Well, we are all on the west side of Tucson. Each team member has a smart phone ready to enter their data. We plan on starting on the west side and each person will drive down a major east-west street taking a data point once per mile. We will observe Orion, compare it to the charts on the GLOBE at Night website, enter our data, and move on as quick as we can until we hit the mountains on the east side. DSC: Tell us a little about your team, David. David: Well, we have team members ranging from seven year old student to an 85 year old retiree. The great thing about GLOBE at Night is that anyone can participate! DSC: Thanks, David. Now let’s check in with the Captain of the Denver Stars, Christine Chapman. Christine: Thanks, DSC. We decided to use iPads this year to enter our data. We like the bigger screens and they work great with the GLOBE at Night website. We have our team all gathered in downtown. We are all going to fan out radially from our starting point in downtown. In addition, we have a lot of people who are making observations from their homes. Every observation counts! Donnie: Wow, two very different strategies here, but we have seen cities have success with both methods in the past. DSC: We sure have, Donnie. Astronomical twilight has just ended so the competition can begin! And there they go! Donnie: The first data points are coming from both cities right now. Tucson is finding darker skies on the west side of the city but I expect their readings will indicate brighter skies as they move toward the city center. DSC: We are seeing the opposite in Denver as they chose to star downtown. Wait, we have a glitch in Tucson. Something happened on the north side. Let’s go back to David. David: Well, DSC, the cell phone network had a glitch up here. Fortunately, we were prepared. We printed out the data collection sheets from the GLOBE at Night website so we can write down our data and enter it when we are back in range. Donnie: Sounds like you were prepared there. Way to go David! Let’s check in with Denver. Christine: Thanks, Donnie. We have seen very few stars in the early going here, but that is starting to change. Our fastest teams have just found their first magnitude four skies in a small park north of downtown! We hope to find even darker skies as we hit the outskirts of the city. DSC: Thanks, Christine. As we know, excess nighttime lighting has a variety of negative consequences. For more on that, we are joined by Dr. Lillian Thurman. Dr. Thurman: Thanks, DSC. Today I would like to highlight research being done in Tucson using GLOBE at Night data. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish, in cooperation with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is using GLOBE at Night data to study the foraging patterns of the lesser long nose bat. Donnie: And what are they finding? Dr. Thurman: The bats appear to be avoiding the most light polluted areas of Tucson as they travel from their roost to their foraging areas. Maybe bats aren’t so blind after all! This is just one of many examples of how light pollution effects wildlife and the types of research that we can do if we have enough light pollution data. However, we need cities to collect hundreds of data points in order for us to get a clear picture of lighting levels around the cities! That’s why programs such as GLOBE at Night are so important. DSC: Thank you, Dr. Thurman. The competition is nearing its final phase so let’s check in again with David in Tucson. David: Thanks, DSC, we encountered some heavy traffic and bright lights going through downtown Tucson. Turns out there was a production of “Starlight Express” at the Tucson Music Hall that was just getting out. But we fought through that traffic and are now making a beeline toward Saguaro National Park East. We expect to find some REALLY dark skies out there! Donnie: Thanks, David. And we will send it to Christine in Denver for one last comment. Christine: Our strategy of staring downtown will really pay off. We got away from the brightest lights very quickly and our team of citizen scientists is finding some great sites. The Rocky Mountain Arsenel National Wildlife Refuge on the northeast side is a surprisingly good site for being so close to Denver. It’s really rewarding to enter our data into the GLOBE at Night database and then be able to go there just a few minutes later and see it plotted on the map! Donnie: Thanks, Christine. DSC, on the Tucson map, I notice a bright area over on Tanque Verde road near Sabino Canyon Road. Any idea what that might be? DSC: Why that must be the sports fields at Udall Park. They turn off the lights when the fields are not in use so it’s not always that bright there. You can see someone took a measurement in Reid Park and it is darker there than the surrounding area. That is why we need to take lots of measurements around the city, to find these types of variations. Donnie: All right, we are nearing the end of the observing window for the evening here and the last measurements are coming in. And it looks like tonight’s winner is Connie: Connie: Our second GLOBE at Night campaign for 2012 runs from February 12th – 21st. During this time, every clear, moonless evening starting from at least an hour after sunset, you can make GLOBE at Night Observations and submit them to our database. All the information you need, finding charts for Orion, the magnitude charts and tools to find your GPS coordinates, and more, are available on the GLOBE at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. If you wish to submit data with smart mobile phones or tablets, go directly to http://www.globeatnight.org/webapp. You can submit as many data points as you take from different locations around your city. Multiple observations are encouraged! Help us surpass our goal of 15,000 observations and your city can be a winner! Be the city to get the most measurements and win a feature article on our website and Facebook page. This is Connie Walker, director of the GLOBE at Night program and the cast of characters from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory thanking you for listening to this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/02/01/february-1st-dark-skies-crusader-challenges-cities-during-februarys-globe-at-night-campaign/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: February 1, 2012 - Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign - Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin - Date: February 1, 2012 Title: Dark Skies Crusader Challenges Cities during February's GLOBE at Night Campaign Podcasters: Connie Walker, Rob Sparks, Monica Mayne, Chuck Dugan, Johnathan Siquerios and Carmen Austin Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Links: http://www.noao.edu http://www.darksky.org http://www.globeatnight.org http://www.facebook.com/GLOBEatNight http://twitter.com/GLOBEatNight http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/earthobservatory/CITIES_AT_NIGHT_THE_VIEW_FROM_SPACE.HTM Description: With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems people can address on local levels. To provide opportunities for public involvement in dark skies preservation and energy conservation, we invite the public to participate in the GLOBE at Night campaign (www.globeatnight.org). Bio: Podcast co-author, Connie Walker is an associate scientist and senior science education specialist in the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) group at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona. She directs the worldwide citizen science campaign on monitoring sky brightness called GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org). She also chaired the global cornerstone project on Dark Skies Awareness for the International Year of Astronomy (www.darkskiesawareness.org). Podcast co-author, Rob Sparks is a science education specialist in the EPO group at NOAO and works on the Galileoscope project (www.galileoscope.org), providing design, dissemination and professional development. He also pens a great blog at halfastro.wordpress.com. Monica Mayne is an Administrative Assistant at NOAO. Chuck Dugan is a public program specialist for the NOAO Kitt Peak Visitor Center. Johnathan Siquerios is a biology major at the University of Arizona. Carmen Austin is an astronomy major at the University of Arizona. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Intro theme music Donnie (in the style of a television sports show) : And welcome to the Dark Skies Center! I am Donnie Darko and joining me today is the legendary Dark Skies Crusader! DSC: Greetings, friend! Dark Skies to you! Donnie: And Dark Skies to you! I am just thrilled you could join us today for our coverage of GLOBE at Night 2012. Thousands of measurements have already been submitted in January and now we are ready for the February quarterfinals. It’s shaping up to be an exciting campaign. Could you tell us about this week’s matchup? DSC: Sure Donnie, this week we have two great cities in the southwestern region going at it. Tucson, our defending champion, is fresh off defeating Phoenix in January, takes on Denver who narrowly squeaked by Albuquerque in the first round. Donnie: Tucson is a traditional powerhouse when it comes to dark skies due to all the astronomy, but what about Denver? DSC: Well, Denver has become more environmentally conscious over the years. Air pollution can get bad due to the local geography so Denver is working on saving energy. One part of energy conservation can be improved lighting design. Donnie: We are just about ready to begin the competition, but let’s check in with the Captain of the Tucson Nighthawks, David Donaldson. David: Thanks, Donnie. We have great clear skies tonight, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:51 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6837 Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, where there is an outburst from the Sun. Dr. Dreschoff: The charged particles coming from the sun, we figured, should produce ionization of the atmosphere. And so especially what I was interested in was individual solar proton events. General solar activity had been suggested from auroral activity once before, but I wanted to see if it was possible to see individual solar proton events, because then that would mean, if we could see those, it would mean the signal was real, that you know, it could only have come from the sun. Narrator: Charged particles from solar activity follow the Earth’s magnetic field lines and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions. The particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen, generating oxides of nitrogen called nitrates as the end product. Dr. Dreschoff: We figured that any particles, energetic particles, charged particles, coming into the polar atmosphere should generate ionization, ionization of nitrogen and oxygen. When that is ionized, it easily forms chemical bonds, oxides of nitrogen, and the ultimate oxidation product is NO3. Narrator: Dr. Dreschhoff explains why the polar regions are the best place on Earth to look for this type of signature from space. Dr. Dreschoff: Polar stratosphere, it gets so cold during the winter, it freezes out, and when it freezes out, it comes down to the surface as gravitational sedimentation, so it comes out quite fast, fast compared to any diffusive processes. So that means if there are gigantic, and there are, gigantic eruptions on the sun called solar proton events, when these protons enter the polar atmosphere they come spiraling down the open magnetic field lines in the polar regions, so they easily make it into the deeper atmosphere. Narrator: However, Dr. Dreschhoff began to wonder if signals from even farther away in space could be detected in the ice cores. She started to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Dr. Dreschoff: Looking at the two Antarctic cores, and looking at the signal, and comparing these two cores, we found that there are particular impulsive events, nitrate events, which within our dating error, (which means for South Pole about ten years of dating error and for Vostok thirty years of dating error), within these error bars, these peaks corresponded. We compared 1200 years, because South Pole is only 1200 years, so 1200 years at the South Pole with 1200 years at Vostok Station, and there we found a peak near 1006, 1054 (Crab Nebula), 1320 and 1572 and 1604, which would be Kepler and before that Tycho and so on. Narrator: It is very important for astronomers to know precisely when these supernovas exploded. While there are some historic accounts by people who may have witnessed these stars exploding hundreds of years ago, having another line of evidence would be very exciting. Still, Dr. Dreschhoff cautions that her data are not conclusive, and like most scientists, she needs more data. Dr. Dreschoff: I certainly cannot say 100%. Nobody can. Okay? First of all, as I said, here we are with a number of impulsive nitrate events, and embedded in that, let’s say, are supernova signals. Now, if I have just one core, well, it can be pretty good if my data are very good. If I have two cores, or three, then it becomes pretty good, you know it’s getting better and better, but you can never be absolutely certain. Never. Narrator: So here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. In our next episode, we’ll learn more about Dr. Dreschoff’s research and the controversy surrounding perhaps the most famous supernova explosion of all time: Cassiopeia A. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/31/january-31st-ice-core-records-from-volcanoes-to-supernovas/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 31, 2012 - Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas - Podcaster: April Jubett - Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html Date: January 31, 2012 Title: Ice Core Records: From Volcanoes to Supernovas Podcaster: April Jubett Links: www.chandra.si.edu http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/ http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/icecore/sci_evidence.html http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/ Description: Dr. Gisela Dreschoff from the University of Kansas has been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. After several years studying the radiation background of Antarctica, she started to use ice cores to look for traces of historic supernova explosions, including those tied to famous supernova remnants observed by Chandra and other telescopes today. Here we have two seemingly separate fields of science – geology and astrophysics – coming together to try to solve some very intriguing questions. Bio: About Chandra: Since its launch on July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, taking its place in the fleet of "Great Observatories." NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 mi) in space. The Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis. The Center maintains an extensive public web site about the science results and an education program. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Narrator: To study space, scientists usually use telescopes in high and dry places atop mountains. Or they gather their data remotely from observatories far away in space. There are other ways, however, to learn about the cosmos. 
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet – Antarctica and Greenland – to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth. Dr. Gisela Dreschoff is one of those scientists. Since the 1970s, Dr. Dreschoff, a professor at University of Kansas, has been traveling to these harsh and remote locations to conduct her science. Dr. Dreschoff: I’ve been going to Antarctica (South Pole). I probably spent a total of two years at the South Pole, but each season only a little bit, so 13 times in Antarctica. I’ve been at Vostok Station and several seasons in the Arctic. Narrator: Dr. Dreschoff originally went to Antarctica to study gamma ray radiation coming from space. Dr. Dreschoff: I was actually doing, with my colleague Zeller, a remote sensing project, and determining the radiation background of Antarctica using a gamma ray spectrometer and helicopters and C130s and so on. And so we did that for several years, and so as background, as we were flying over ice, there’s nothing coming from below in terms of radiation, and so all we were measuring was radiation coming from space. Narrator: Soon, Dr. Dreschoff began looking at ice cores, cut from hundreds or even thousands of feet below the frozen surface, for other clues about the cosmos. Scientists study ice cores to track phenomena that happened in the Earth’s past including climate variability, forest fires, and volcanic activity. Dr. Dreschoff, however, was interested in effects from the Sun. She began looking for so-called solar proton events, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:13 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6835 Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, be the source of inspiration for the next generations of scientific and engineers. …And what happened to the girl of our story? Even though the girl wanted to be an astronomer when she grow up, could not realize that dream. Instead she became a computer engineer and decided to use her skills and abilities to bring science to as many people as possible, and maybe help to ignite the spark of passion for science in someone else... During her adult life she has collaborated with many organizations and projects, also developing her own materials to bring astronomy closer to people, specially kids. Almost without being aware, she began outreaching She wrote tales and astronomy materials for kids, among them a tale about a city girl that has never seen the stars. Organized a video-conference at a pre-school, where 5 year old kids could lear about Mars and talk and make questions to an astronomer that was on another city. She is a volunteer translator for many astronomy and science outreaching websites like astroseti.org, seti.org, ted.com (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which has a wide variety of talks and topics that, as it motto says "are ideas worth sharing", and khanacademy.org (this one is an on-line educational project with video tutorials about science topics designed to help students around the world). She also is working in several outreach projects like "latierrahabla.org" a project of the SETI Institute in which people can answer the question "If we discover intelligent life beyond Earth, should we reply, and if so, what should we say?", and most recently she is part of the first team in Mexico City to organize Science Cafes, called "Café de la Ciencia" that are informal and relaxed gatherings that take place in coffee shops and bars, in which the public cant learn, talk and discuss about a scientific topic with researchers and specialist in the area. During all these years she has known several people from whom she has learned and grew up as an outreacher and, most important as a person. Although she had also been disappointed by people trying to take advantage of her work. Outreach does not only gives a great satisfaction to the people involved. It also has some "side effects" Knowing people to share points of view, having contact with scientists and researchers. Learning amazing things, find friendships to last beyond time and geographical frontiers. Despite that girl could not become an astronomer, she realized that her love for astronomy was a story worth sharing, because when one is in love, one can not help to not shout it out to the world. And maybe from all those "science seeds" dispersed by her (and many other people around the world -including you listening to this podcast) arise the scientists that would change the course of human history and help us reach the stars. Thank you! End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/30/january-30th-science-outreach-a-love-story/feed/ 2 podcast iya 365 Date: January 30, 2012 - Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story - Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich - Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q - Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed... Date: January 30, 2012 Title: Science Outreach: A Love Story Podcasters: Lourdes Cahuich Links: http://musingsfromthecosmicshore.net , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxBjRjwf4Q Description: The tale of a Mexican girl whose life was changed because science outreach. Bio: Computer engineer with a master degree in telecom. management, in love with astronomy since 13 and commited with astronomy and science outreach. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Greetings! My name is Lourdes Cahuich, and I want to talk to you about Science Outreach, but let me first begin by telling you a story. Our story began … A long time ago, in the 80's a new show arrived to the Mexican TV that would change the life of thousands of people around the world. Among them a 13 year old Mexican girl, while changing channels on the TV (in a time before remote control) found an image that changed her life... "A man with a brown jacket and blue shirt was in front of a prism, at the back there was a gray circle representing the planet Venus" "He explained how the light reflected by Venus -when analyzed- could show precisely which chemical elements were present in the atmosphere of that planet" The girl, in ecstasies, engraved those images deep in her mind. While watching that show -during the next few months and years- her mind was opened to knowledge and understanding to the Universe, but above all, to the main tool for that: Science. By watching the TV show "COSMOS" the girl found her passion: astronomy Like her, thousands of people around the world felt inspired and found their true vocation to pursue science and engineering. "Science outreach is a love story that, when shared, could change lifes in unexpected ways" But, What is science outreach? Science outreach is a way to bring science for the understanding of people, it has three main ingredients: Science, our "main ingredient" Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Science is the best way to know the Cosmos. It allow us to have technology, which provide us with several important things like: Energy, Quality of life and Long time survival. But most of all, it give us a way of understanding the world around us! Popularizers translate sciences for the understanding of people by doing science outreach (our delicious recipe!). It can be done using different media, as a way of sharing knowledge with the responsibility of doing a very good translation of science, showing the science's beauty, and provoking reflection. But most important: making science accessible. By the way, the "COSMOS" TV show achieved this goal in a tremendous and world wide way! It's important to have ethics while doing a science outreach activity, it's not cool to mis-informing instead of informing Outreachers should design their activities appealing to people, but we have all different kinds of people: kids, youngsters, adults. We have people self taught, with elementary education and with college education. We have people with different social backgrounds, but most important: with different life experiences. When planning an outreach activity we have to design it thinking about the people we're going to have as a public. A good outreach activity should: raise awareness among the public, promote critical thinking, provide tools to improve the future, and last but not least, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6833 Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation, the brightest star is Rigle. FRED Rigel is the left knee ROWLING Correct and the left shoulder is the third brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix FRED Wait! What do you mean, Bellatrix? She was a death eater, not a star ROWLING: Bellatrix Lestrage was a Death Eater, but I was talking about the star Bellatrix. Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 27th brightest in the night sky FRED Why did you give Bellatrix Lestrage the name Bellatrix? ROWLING Well, Orion is the great hunger, which most people think of as male, in Latin Bellatrix means female warrior GEORGE Wait I got it, you chose the name Bellatrix because Bellatrix Lestrage was one of the few female warriors for Voldemort ROWLING That is correct George. Bellatrix Lestrage is the only female death eater so I named her Bellatrix, after the star that represents a female in the male constellation Orion. Another think I would like to talk about is the constellation Canis Major GEORGE What is Canis Major suppose to be? FRED Is it a dog? ROWLING Yes it is Fred. It is hard to see in the night sky. In Latin Canis means dog and major means big. There is also a Canis Minor, which is a small dog. FRED Aren’t there also an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor constellation? ROWLING Yes there is an Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, but we are sadly not going to be able to talk about them tonight. I would like to talk about one star in particular in Canis Major. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Actually it is not one star but a binary star system. The Sirius system is a variable binary start system with Sirius A and Sirius B orbiting each other. FRED That is all interesting but why did you name Sirius Black after the star Sirius? ROWLING The main reason is that Canis Major is a dog and Sirius is often called the Dog Star so… GEORGE That makes since because Sirius Black’s Anamagus was a dog so you named him after the Dog Star ROWLING That is correct. Since Sirius black was able to change into a dog, I named him after the Dog Star. If you look north from Canis Major you can see some other interesting constellations. FRED I know Ursa Major is up there GEORGE And so is the little dipper ROWLING And Draco is too. GEORGE Draco Malfoy is not up there ROWLING I know that, I was talking about the constellation Draco. I am going to tell you some interesting things about Draco GEORGE Well what I know about him is that he is a rich snob, FRED A spoiled git GEORGE A wimp FRED a… ROWLING Boys we are not talking about the person Draco Malfoy but the constellation Draco. The constellation is near the two dippers. It takes the shape of a dragon. FRED I think I learned that the cat’s eye nebula was in the constellation Draco ROWLING Wow, Fred you mush has actually paid attention in astronomy occasionally because that is correct. The cat’s eye nebula is located by the dragon’s neck. You boys are probably wondering why I named Draco Malfoy after the constellation. About five thousand years ago the star Thuba, one of the stars in Draco, was the North Star. FRED I though that Polaris was the North Star ROWLING Polaris is the current North Star but five thousand years ago thuban was the North Star. The star that points north has changed over the last twenty five thousand years. This is because the earth has axial precession GEROGE What does that mean? ROWLING The earth has axial precession which means that the earth rotates around its axis like a gyroscope or top. The axle spins in a circle. It takes a very long time for the axel to make it all the way around the circle. Five thousand years ago the North Star was not Polaris but thuban. The Egyptians that that everything revolved around Draco because when you look into the night sky everything revolved around the north start. FRED So like the Egyptians thought about the constellation of Draco, Draco Malfoy’s parents thought everything revolved around him. ROWLING Right Fred. The next character I am going to talk about is Regulus Arcturus Black. Do you remember him? GEORGE Not really ROWLING Do you recognize RAB? FRED I over heard Hermione, Ron and harry trying to figure out who RAB was. ROWLING The summer after their sixth year I had them trying to figure out who RAB was. FRED Did they ever figure it out? ROWLING Harry, Ron and Hermione figured out who RAB was during their hunt for horcruxes. RAB was Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother. GEORGE So what did you name Regulus Black after? ROWLING I named him after the stars Regulus and Arcturus. FRED What constellation are those stars in? ROWLING. Well Regulus is in the constellation Leo. In Latin Regulus means little king. Regulus’s parents treated him like the king of the family. GEORGE Ok that makes since but what about Arcturus ROWLING Hang on to that question for a second. A really cool thing about the star Regulus is that it is a multi star system consisting for four stars, two binary star systems. Now onto Arcturus. Arcturus is a star in the constellation Bootes. Bootes is the herdsman. [Arcturus is known as the watcher. Regulus Black watched over the house elf Kreacher. When the Dark Lord was going to hurt Kreacher Regulus Black watched over Kreacher and made sure that Kreacher was safe and he was willing to risk his own life for Kreacher’s even though Kreacher was a house elf and the average witch or wizard did not care about house elves. FRED Are there any more characters that are names after stars and constellations? ROWLING There are a couple but time is sadly running short so I would like to thank you for listening and to Bev for letting me talk to you guys. Transition music BEV I hope you all enjoyed that. I am not Fred Weasley, George Weasley or J.K. Rowling. None of this show is in any way related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. I am just a fan who enjoys talking about Harry Potter. Thought out this show what J.K. Rowling said is just what I think she would have said to these questions not anything that she has actually said. I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at bev.levene@gmail.com. I would like to thank Sally helping me and thanks for listening. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/29/january-29th-encore-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 29, 2012 - Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky - Podcaster: Bev Levene - Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ - Date: January 29, 2012 Title: Encore: Harry Potter and the Night Sky Podcaster: Bev Levene Link: This podcast originally aired on November 13, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/11/13/november-13th-harry-potter-and-the-night-sky/ Description: Some of the characters in the Harry Potter series have the same names of constellations and stars in the night sky. The show discuses possible reasons that the character named after the constellations and stars. This show is not related to Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, J.K. Rowling herself, or any other part of the Harry Potter franchise. Bio: My name is Bev Levene and I am a college student at Bates in Lewiston Maine. I am interested in astrophysics. One of my projects for one of my classes was to put on a planetary show, and I decided that I would like to turn that show into a podcast for 365 days of astronomy. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: HARRY POTTER AND THE NIGHT SKY BEV Welcome to the November 13th edition of 365 days of astronomy. I am Bev a college student interested in astronomy. In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 19th birthday by going to go see the seventh Harry Potter movie at its midnight’s release. I am very excited to see the movie; it is going to be amazing. I could spend hours discussing harry potter in depth. J.K Rowling is an amazing author who put so much detail into all of her books. Each character is very thought out. Even the characters’ names have to do with their personality. For example Colin Creevey’s first names means, youth, child, and victor, all of which describe him well. PERSON 1 You know this is an astronomy pod cast not a harry potter pod cast, right? BEV I know, I know, I am just about to get to that part. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted there, J.K. Rowling put a lot of thought into her character names. I noticed while reading the books that some of her characters were named after stars and constellations such as Draco and Regulus. I was wondering what J.K. Rowling’s reasoning was for naming some of her characters after constellations and stars. I decided the best way to find out was to give her a call. I called her up and talked to her about it. I also asked if by chance she would be willing to talk to you guys about it. She was more than willing to and sent me this recording. This is her and two of her friends talking about the reasons that she named some of her characters after constellations and stars. Let me first say that there are a couple of spoilers about the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows but nothing major. Also some of the things they are going to talk about are very specific details about the book that unless you are a very detailed reader you might have missed. Hope you enjoy. Transition music FRED Welcome, I am Fred Weasley and this is my twin brother George GEORGE Yep, that’s me. Fred and I are here to entertain you during the boring talk that Jo is going to give you. ROWLING It is Professor Rowling to you two. You probably know me as J.K Rowling. I would like to correct the statement that Gorge said about this being boring. I am not the ghost, professor Bins. This pod cast is going to be about the stars FRED Such as my twin brother and myself ROWLING Well actually, I am also going to talk about some of the “stars”, to use the word loosely, that show up in my book series Harry Potter and stars in the night sky. Now let’s get on with the show. There are many great things to see in the night sky. I am going to start out by talking about Orion. GEORGE He is a great hunter ROWLING Yes he is. The star on his right shoulder, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:14 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6831 Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/12/28/december-28th-life-in-technicolor/ Description: What will plants on other worlds look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Or could there be planets with purple trees? Black grassy plains? Orange marshes? These questions might seem purely speculative, something out of a technicolor daydream, but, in reality, their answers are bringing us closer to finding the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, they are not particularly easy questions to answer. In fact… Why are plants on Earth green? Bio: Maria Pereira is a postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory in Tucson, Az. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2009, with a thesis on the dynamics of galaxies in clusters. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the final installment for 2009 of Columbia Mondays! My name is Maria Pereira and I obtained my PhD this year from Columbia University in New York. The title of the podcast today is Life in Technicolor: Astrobiology through Newton’s prism. Life In Technicolor In the science fiction masterpiece “War of the Worlds,” H. G. Wells imagined the surface of Mars covered by “red creepers”, an invasive plant that is accidentally brought back to Earth and takes over our own plant life. While the existence of plants on Mars is now all but ruled out, astrobiologists are nevertheless pondering the existence of plants on other planets outside our solar system. What will alien plants look like? Will they be green and leafy as on Earth? Red and leathery as in Wells’ Red Planet? Blood Sucking Monsters like in the Little Shop of Horrors? These are questions that have until now been quite firmly in the realm of science fiction, but with the rapid advances in telescope and detector technology, it is conceivable that they may be answered scientifically by astronomers within our lifetimes. Once astronomers started trying to predict what plants might look like on other planets,though, it became apparent that no-one had quite understood why plants on earth look the way they do. More specifically, why are plants on Earth (mostly) green? If you ask a biologist, she might give the following answer: “Plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, responsible for photosynthesis.” But, why is chlorophyll green? To which a physicist might reply: “Why is anything green? What does it mean to be green, or red, or blue?” In 1666, the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, sat in his study at Woolsthorpe Manor pondering just such questions. Forced out of Cambridge University by the threat of an advancing plague that would sweep the nation and kill over 75,000 people, he retreated to his childhood home and there spent a fantastic- ally productive year, his annus mirabilis, during which he would tackle (and solve) many problems of optics, mechanics, gravitation and calculus. It was at Woolsthorpe that Newton reportedly observed (or, according to some accounts, was hit on the head by) an apple falling from its tree, and was struck by the idea of Universal Gravitation. When Newton was not contemplating his orchard and the fruit within it, he spent a lot of time wondering about light, colors, and their composition. With a simple prism, he proved that white light was in fact composed of many different colors, a so-called spectrum, and furthermore, that once a color had been “extracted” from white light by a prism, it could not be split further by another prism, but remained “pure”. The prism is said to refract the light and decompose it into individual colors, or more accurately, wavelengths of light. Monochromatic light is “pure” light, light that has only one wavelength, one color. In his spectrum, Newton thought he could identify 7 pure colors, and he devised a color circle where he related these to notes on a diatonic scale. In fact, we know now that a prism1 disperses white light into an infinity of wavelengths, a continuous spectrum, in which there are no separate colors but just a continuous gradation from Red to Violet. Newton aimed this decomposed light at different objects and concluded that, the reason an apple is green is that, when it is illuminated with white light, it absorbs light at all wavelengths of the spectrum except green. The green light is not absorbed, but is reflected back in the direction of the observer, who therefore sees – a green apple! . If you shine monochromatic red light on an green apple, it will be pretty nearly invisible, because it will absorb all the incident red light and reflect none. Newton added these observaions to his new theory of colors, and concluded that color is a property of light and not of the object itself. When Newton examined the dispersed spectrum closely, however, he noticed that some naturally occurring colors were absent, such as brown or pink. This led him to the conclusion that color must not be an intrinsic property of light after all but is instead a quality that is manipulated and maybe even defined by the observer. He therefore abandoned his prisms and slits and turned his experiments on himself, determined to understand the human role in the theory of colors. According to his journals, he probed his sense of vision by sticking needles in his eye socket, between eyeball and bone, and in his own words “…pressed my eye [with the] end of it (soe as to make [the] curvature [..] in my eye) there appeared several white darke & coloured cir- cles…”. He concluded that colors were a function of how much pressure he applied to the back of his eye. (and please, kids don’t try this at home…) On another occasion, he looked at the sun for as long as he could bear and spent the next few days in a dark room until his eyesight recovered. Two hundred years later, Thomas Young, in an amazingly prescient work, proposed that the entire range of human color perception could be achieved by combining three monochromatic colors in varying degrees of intensity. “As it is almost impossible to conceive each sensitive point of the retina to contain an infinite number of particles, each capable of vibrating in perfect unison with every possible undulation, it becomes necessary to suppose the number limited; for instance to the three principal colours red, yellow and blue, and that each of the particles is capable of being put in motion more or less forcibly by undulations differing less or more from perfect unison. Each sensitive filament of the nerve may consist of three portions, one for each principal colour.” Shortly thereafter, the first microscopic dissections of retinas were performed, confirming the existence of three distinct types of photoreceptor cells, called cones, in the eyes that were sensitive to long (red), medium (yellow/green) and short (blue) wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Each cone acts as a collecting bucket, counting photons it receives in a specific wavelength range. After a short time interval (less than a tenth of a second) the cells total the counts received and communicate this value to the brain, which then computes a unique color for each RGB combination. Normal human color vision is therefore simply a mental construct based on the outputs of these cells. For color blind peo- ple, one, two or all three types of cone do not function, normally due to some genetic anomaly, and they are therefore unable to distinguish between certain hues. Ok, but why these colors? We now know that light comes in a vast range of wavelengths, from the most energetic Gamma rays down to radio waves. Why are our eyes limited to such a narrow range? Why can’t we see microwaves in our oven, or the radio waves that permeate air space? That question is mostly answered by the theory of evolution – given enough time, organisms will go through enough mutations that natural selection will eventually create species that are optimally adapted to their environment. Our eyes are most efficient when they are sensitive to the most commonly occuring wavelengths of light. The solar spectrum spans a wide range of wavelengths, from radio to X-ray, but it peaks right in the middle of the visible range, around green, and therefore our eyes are tuned to this wavelength range. Color vision and trichromacy probably followed due to the evolutionary advantage in picking out mature fruit from trees and prey and predators from shrubs with enhanced contrast. Not all animals have the same type of vision. Most nocturnal animals are monochromats, sacrificing color vision for more sensitive eyes that can detect very small quantities of light. Vipers are known to have infrared (i.e. heat) detectors, withwhich they can see warm prey on cold nights with added contrast. Honeybees are trichromats, but instead of a red cone they have a cone sensitive to ultraviolet photons. The reason for this was unclear until UV images were taken of certain types of flowers, revealing colorful UV patters, circular targets, beckoning bees to land and pollinate. Fruits change to more contrasting colors when they mature to attract birds and animal gatherers that will spread their seeds. In this harmonious picture of life on Earth, every color in nature appears to have a purpose, a reason. So, why is grass green? In a physical sense, grass is green because the clorophyll it contains absorbs more light with wavelengths in the red and blue ranges of the visible spec- trum, and reflects mainly green light. This reflected light is then detected by the cones in our eyes, mostly by the medium wavelength (yellow-green) cone, but also in varyingly small amounts by the long and short wavelength cones, variations that our brain then processes as wonderful gradations in hue, with mint green competing with asparagus, olive, moss and jade to complete the full range of colors our eyes can distinguish. But why green? Why does chlorophyll reflect green and absorb red instead of reflecting red and absorbing green? It is this question that baffled scientists. Chlorophyll’s function is to absorb light from the sun, [..] but it seems to be performing this function suboptimally, since it is not absorbing the wavelengths at which the sun emits most of its light, i.e. green. Scientists spent years analyzing data collected on photosynthesis from around the globe, and they think they have understood the reason behind this discrepancy. The chemical reaction which forms the basis of photosynthesis requires photons to have a minimum energy or wavelength, around the red part of the spectrum. More energetic photons (i.e. greener) can be used, but do not speed up the reaction, or make it more effi- cient, since the rate of the reaction only depends on the number of photons. In addition, oxygen (a product of photosynthesis) and water vapour in our atmosphere tend to absorb and reflect preferentially in the green parts of the spectrum, and let red and blue wavelengths through more easily. With this understanding, astronomers are now able to identify, a posteriori, what color Earth plants should be, based solely on the spectrum of light emitted by the sun, our parent star and the composition of our atmosphere, and they can confidently generalize this model to predict the colors of plants around stars that are very different from our own. As of December 2009, 415 planets have been found orbiting distant stars, and this number is likely to increase exponen-tially with new space facilities such as Corot and Kepler going online in the next few years. The main question astrobiologists are asking these days is, now that weÕve found these planets, how can we tell if they harbor life? Ideally, the biologist would take a field trip, but space travel is still limited to much smaller distances. The Voyager probe, which was launched in 1977 and passed Jupiter and Neptune 2 years later, is only now, in 2007, exiting the solar system. It is the farthest human-made object from Earth, at a staggering distance of 9.6 billion miles, but it is still 6000 times closer to us than the nearest extrasolar planet. If we are to discover life on these planets, we must do it from afar, by looking for signatures of life in the light they emit. It is tricky to look for evidence of lifeforms that we have never seen. The diversity of organisms that evolved on Earth is astonishing, and it is a challenge to entertain the myriad other types of life a Universe as vast as ours could harbor. Limited, as we are, to our own experience of life on Earth, it is diffi- cult to speculate about aliens without some a priori expectation as to what they should look like. While martians in science fic- tion tend to be green and slimey, they are also anthropomorphic, with legs, arms, eyes and mouths, and sometimes even a sense of humor. Nevertheless, some reasonable inductions about life at large can be made by studying life on our own planet, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Even though Earth’s life is entirely based on carbon, research shows that certain alterna- tive biochemistries might be viable, such as ones based on ni- trogen or silicon. On the other hand, scientists are convinced that most forms of life in the Universe will depend on photosyn- thesis, given that stellar light is the most ubiquitous source of energy available, and photosynthesis appears to be the most efficient way of transforming luminous energy into a storable, chemical form. When we observe our planet from space, far enough away so that even the Great Wall of China dissolves into the great Eura- sian mass, the most obvious indicator of life is the green light reflected from the plants that carpet the sur- face. If we are able to predict what color plants might have on other planets, we will be able to design more efficient instruments to look for them, and bring the aliens a little closer to reach. This has been a podcast of Columbia University here in the City of New York. For more information about our public events at Columbia Astronomy visit outreach.astro.columbia.edu. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/28/january-28th-encore-life-in-technicolor/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 28, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor - Podcaster: Maria Pereira - Organization: Columbia University Astronomy - Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu - This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: Date: January 28, 2012 Title: Encore: Life in Technicolor Podcaster: Maria Pereira Organization: Columbia University Astronomy Links: http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu This podcast originally aired on December 28, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:48 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6829 Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/27/january-27th-encore-common-questions-and-answers/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 27, 2012 - Title: Common Questions and Answers - Podcasters: RapidEye - Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html - Date: January 27, 2012 Title: Common Questions and Answers Podcasters: RapidEye Organization: RapidEye Observatory – a private observatory in rural Lee County, NC http://www.rapideye.us/astro/RapidEye-ClearSky.html This podcast originally aired on May 21, 2010: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/05/21/may-21st-common-questions-and-answers/ Description: Common Questions and Answers about Telescopes Bio: I’ve been captivated by astronomy ever since I was a kid, living in NW Colorado where the Milky Way was bright enough to read by. I can be found most clear nights in my pasture with either my 4.5″ Dob, 10″ Dob, or my binoculars. Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: ***Transcript coming soon.*** End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye. 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6827 Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, or you can connect via the Internet, via their website. You can submit electronic questions. It will pop up on my screen in front of me. I can get confused by them, and misread them. Mat: I have to practice my heckler voice. Wait, I’ll do that when we’re offline, cause I’m definitely going to tune in. Now, now, regular folks like me, we can’t take it for credit, but you’re doing this for some young people, right? Bruce: I am! People at the university can take it, but also this is part of a special program there called Young Scholars, and it offers college courses to California—you have to be in California, unfortunately—but, California high school juniors and seniors are eligible to take this class remotely and do it for credit. And they actually show it in Southern California, they show it on many of the cable—cable companies carry the class as well as it’s going out over the Internet. Mat: I remember watching a little bit of this the last time you did it. It’s a lot of fun! It’s a really great---I mean, how would you describe the course? It’s a general survey? Bruce: It’s a general survey course. It’s really—because of my background—not surprisingly I will focus on the solar system. So most of the lectures will cover our solar system. We’ll take a tour, we’ll visit each of the planetary systems, out into the Kuiper Belt and the Trans-Neptunian Objects, but we’ll also start the course after doing a tour we’ll talk about, a little bit about telescopes, how they work, talk as I do here about easy things to look for in the night sky. We’ll also go a little bit into broader things: stars and how they work and galaxies and big bang and all that good stuff. It’s an introduction to astronomy with a heavy emphasis on the introduction of planetary science and the solar system. It’s appropriate for certainly high school, undergraduate college people who just have general interest. Mat: You want me to come in and do a lecture about string theory, the multiverse, um, dark energy… Bruce: That would be great! Thank you, thank you! Talk about things we truly don’t understand because I get perplexed about those. Mat: I’ll bring Stephen Hawking. Bruce: No, but you can come on and talk in the show! Mat: It would be fun to do that, wouldn’t it? Bruce: Maybe we can record a Planetary Radio episode. Mat: That would be fun! Do it right there! Throw a trivia question out. Bruce: Got an hour and a half to fill in these lectures. Mat: Ha-ha! Bruce: I probably will steal some…not probably, I WILL steal some of your Planetary Radio guests and use them for portions of the lectures. I’m going to try to call in experts over the Skype line, as you like to say. Mat: Excellent! Bruce: So it will be broad. We’ll also have course materials available online. It will be good! And by the way, if you are just watching for fun, you don’t actually have to take the tests or do the homework. Although I found, interestingly, when I did this before, people actually wanted them online. So we posted those on the Planetary Society website. Mat: That’s just sick! Bruce: Ha-ha! So we’ll try to do that this time, as well. We’ll have it on the Plantary Society site, and they’ll be mentioned on the site. Should I mention some websites where people can find these? Mat: Very quickly, yeah. Bruce: And then also we’ll put real links on the Planetary Radio page. The basic sites for the course are dhtv.csudh.edu. That’s Dominguez Hills TV. And it will be on there under distance learning. Or you can search for Young Scholars Programs or go to youngscholars.tv. I know they’re still filling out the sites so you may not have all the information. February 8th, 3pm, is the first class. 3pm Pacific. Mat: Very cool! I will be there. Thank you. MAT: My guest has been my friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Betts, planetary scientist and Director of Projects for the Planetary Society. I hope you'll join me in his free, online Astronomy course beginning February 8. I'm Mat Kaplan, and I'll be back with another 365 Days of Astronomy podcast on February 23rd. In the meantime, you'll hear from me on Planetary Radio at planetary.org/radio. Clear skies. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/26/january-26th-there-won%e2%80%99t-be-a-quiz-free-online-intro-to-astronomy-course-from-csudh/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 26, 2012 - Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH - Podcaster: Mat Kaplan - Organization: Planetary Society - Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org - Date: January 26, 2012 Title: There Won’t Be a Quiz! Free Online Intro To Astronomy Course From CSUDH Podcaster: Mat Kaplan Organization: Planetary Society Links: http://dhtv.csudh.edu/ http://planetary.org Description: Astronomer and planetary scientist Dr. Bruce Betts is also the Planetary Society’s Director of Projects.  On February 8 he will return to California State University, Dominguez Hills to begin teaching an online Intro to Astronomy course that is open to all at no cost. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about our solar system and beyond. Bruce shares the details with his colleague, Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan, in this podcast.    Bio: Mat Kaplan is the Planetary Society’s Media Producer.  He has also hosted and produced Planetary Radio, the Society’s award-winning weekly podcast and public radio series about space exploration and development, for nine years.  The show presents the men and women who are leading our push into the final frontier, along with regular contributions from Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Catch it on a local radio station, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, in the iTunes Store, or at http://planetary.org/radio .  With this return to 365 Days, Mat and the Society kickoff a monthly contribution on the last Thursday of each month in 2012. (With the exception of August, when it will be heard on Thursday the 23rd.) Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by Greg and Heather Thorwald on behalf of our favorite astronomy lecture "60 Minutes in Space" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (dmns.org). Transcript: MAT: Hi, folks . I'm Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society with today's podcast contribution. I produce and host Planetary Radio for the Society. It's our public radio and podcast series that chronicles humankind's progress toward its destiny in the solar system and beyond. We do this by presenting the scientists, engineers, space travelers and writers who are leading the quest. We also talk each week with Planetary Society blogger and space imaging manipulator extraordinaire Emily Lakdawalla. Bill Nye the Science and Planetary Guy shares his observations. Bill is CEO of the Planetary Society. And we close each episode with our What's Up segment. My colleague Bruce Betts joins me for a look at the current night sky, a look back at this week in space history, and a random space fact. We also offer a weekly space trivia contest. Bruce is the Society's Director of Projects, but he's much more than that. Dr. Betts is an astronomer and planetary scientist who earned his PhD at CalTech. I recently sat down for a quick conversation with Bruce about something he'll be doing again very soon that will allow him to share his love of all things astronomical. Mat: And that’s the fact that you’re going to be back in the virtual classroom. Bruce: I am. I’m going back in the virtual classroom after several years absence, teaching Introduction to Astronomy and the Solar System at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Mat: Thank you for getting it right for my former employer’s sake, up the road there in Long Beach. And we wouldn’t be talking about this--I mean we’d mention it because it’s pretty cool--but what’s really cool is that our listeners and others, anybody can participate. Bruce: You can, indeed. It is going to be going out live over the Internet, and also the classes will be archived on the Internet. So you can participate live, but, yeah, it’ll be open to anyone out there, not for credit to anyone, but in terms of if you want to tune in. And you tune into the live showings, which will be on Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific Time, between February 8th—that’s the first class—and May 9th—that’s the last class. You can even call in with questions. They’ve got an 800 number, 365 Days of Astronomy no http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/25/january-25th-encore-life-and-death-in-orion/ http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/25/january-25th-encore-life-and-death-in-orion/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:32 +0000 kortney.hogan http://365daysofastronomy.org/?p=6825 Date: January 25, 2012 Title: Encore: Life and Death in Orion Podcaster: Christopher Crockett Organization: Lowell Observatory Links: http://www.lowell.edu/users/crockett/ This podcast originally aired on February 9, 2009: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/02/09/february-9-life-and-death-in-orion/ Description: The constellation Orion is a highlight of winter evenings, never failing to impress with its brilliance and distinctive pattern. The Egyptians saw these stars as the celestial home of Osiris, the God of the Underworld. Just as Osiris traversed death and was reborn, the stars of Orion present a tapestry of the stellar life cycle from the nursery of the Orion nebula to the aging giant Betelgeuse. In this installment, we will explore what the stars of Orion can tell us about the birth, life, and death of stars. Bio: Christopher Crockett is a UCLA graduate student currently working as a predoctoral fellow at Lowell Observatory. His research involves searching for planets and brown dwarfs around very young stars (“only” a few million years old). It is hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form. Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. For more info see: http://www.lowell.edu/users/crockett/ Sponsor: This episode of the "365 Days of Astronomy" podcast is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org. Transcript: Hello. This is Christopher Crockett from Lowell Observatory. Winter is a great time to go out and star gaze. The winter sky is home to some of the most brilliant stars and well-known constellations. The most striking and most famous of these is the great hunter, Orion. Its seven bright stars create a distinct hourglass shape in the sky that is easily visible from even the most light polluted of skies. In February, from the Northern Hemisphere, Orion sits high in the southern sky during the early evening hours placing it perfectly for some after-dinner viewing. The three nearly aligned stars of the hunter’s belt mark the center of the constellation and are an easy target for even a first-time stargazer. Orion is one of the oldest constellations with a history dating back to the ancient Sumerians who saw in this collection of stars their epic hero Gilgamesh battling the Bull of Heaven. The Greeks saw Orion, the great hunter. Orion is seen, like in the Sumerian legend, battling the bull Taurus with his two faithful hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, at his side. While various Greek mythologists provide differing accounts for Orion’s death, they all have one element in common: the lethal sting of a scorpion. It is for this reason, the Greeks tell us, that Orion and the constellation Scorpius are placed on opposite sides of the sky. As the scorpion rises in the east, Orion escapes below the horizon in the west, doomed to spend eternity fleeing from his nemesis. As an astronomer, the most interesting description to me comes from the Egyptians who marked this as the celestial home of Osiris, the God of Death and the Underworld. Osiris was brutally murdered by his brother, Set. Set carved Osiris into a number of pieces and scattered them along the banks of the Nile. Osiris’s wife, Isis, collected the pieces and made her husband whole again. Osiris was then given watch over the land of the Underworld and receives every Pharoah who passes into death. It is remarkable that the Egyptians chose this constellation as a celebration of death and resurrection for within its boundaries, astronomers find the celestial cycle of life playing out through the birth and death of its constituent stars. Our tour of Orion starts at a fuzzy patch of light just below the three belt stars (or just above if you’re listening to this in the Southern Hemisphere). To the Greeks, this was Orion’s sword. To modern astronomers, this cloud-like apparition is one of the most photographed and intensely studied areas of the sky: the Orion Nebula. The word nebula comes from the Latin word for cloud; in modern parlance, the word is reserved for the clouds of molecular gas and dust that roam the space between the stars. The Orion Nebula is a place of birth and renewal, an active stellar nursery! At nearly 1500 light years away, it is one of the closet such nebulae to the Earth. The part of the nebula we can see with unaided eyes is just a small part of the much grander Orion Molecular Complex – a massive cloud of predominately hydrogen and dust grains spanning hundreds of light years in diameter. It is within these molecular cocoons that stars are born. The path to becoming a full-fledged star begins with the collapse of pockets of gas within the nebula. This collapse is triggered by some external event: perhaps by passage through one of the spiral arms of the Galaxy or the shockwave from a nearby supernova. Regardless, once the cloud has been perturbed its self-gravity quickly takes over forcing it to begin collapsing on itself. As the cloud contracts, it fragments into a hierarchy of ever smaller clumps. Eventually the smallest of these clumps begin to glow as heat from the collapse radiates into space. The collapse does not continue unabated, however; something interferes! The rising temperatures and densities deep in the cores of these clumps of gas pass a threshold that allows hydrogen nuclei to overcome their mutual repulsion and fuse together to form helium. The onset of nuclear fusion releases a massive amount of energy that builds up the outward gas pressure and halts the gravitational contraction. A new star has been born! At the core of the Orion nebula, the most massive of these infant stars have already begun to shine. It is these stars, known collectively as the Trapezium, which are responsible for lighting up the nebula. Through a modest backyard telescope, one can see this as a blue haze enveloping the collection of stars. One can also make out the four brightest stars of the Trapezium nestled tightly together. At temperatures exceeding 50,000 °F, these stars emit predominately ultraviolet light that ionizes the surrounding gas, shearing electrons off of their parent atoms only to have them crash back down again. As the now separated electrons and atoms recombine, photons of light are released thus giving the nebula its ethereal glow. Within the confines of this nebula, astronomers have also discovered creation of another kind. Around stars dimmer and less massive than the behemoths of the Trapezium, swirling disks of gas and dust have been found. The material within these disks is spiraling down onto their hosts, marking the final stages of star formation. But within these disks, the seeds of future planetary systems are being planted. Out of the countless collisions of dust and debris, new planets – possibly new Earths – are being built piece by piece! Elsewhere in Orion, a very different phase of the stellar lifecycle is ongoing. Marking the upper right shoulder of Orion is a red star: the massive supergiant, Betelgeuse. The red color comes from its relatively cool temperature – a mild 6000 °F. Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars known. Were a group of mischievous aliens, as part of some interstellar fraternity prank, to replace our Sun with Betelgeuse, its outer most layers would extend to roughly the orbit of Jupiter. The star is probably less than 10 million years old, but weighing in at over 20 times the mass of the Sun has forced Betelgeuse to burn through its nuclear fuel at a prodigious rate releasing the energy equivalent of 135,000 Suns! As a result, despite its relatively young age, Betelgeuse is a star nearing the end of its life. Stars as massive as Betelgeuse don’t fade away quietly (like our Sun); when they die, they release their energy in one of the most cataclysmic events in the Universe: a supernova! As massive stars age, they fuse progressively heavier elements in their cores: Hydrogen fuses to form Helium, Helium forms Carbon, Oxygen and Neon, and so on. The total mass of a star determines how hot and dense its core can become which in turn sets a limit on which elements it can create. The cores of the most massive stars can fuse elements as heavy as iron. And this is when things get really interesting. Unlike every lighter element, iron nuclei don’t release energy when they fuse together; they instead absorb energy. This is a problem for the star. The energy released by thermonuclear fusion is needed to support the star’s massive bulk against collapse. Once one of these stellar heavyweights starts to fuse iron, it’s robbed of this counteracting pressure. Without this energy supply, gravity starts to win in the precarious balance of forces that defines a star’s life. The star begins to implode! REDO: As the outer layers hurdle down at speeds approaching 1/5 the speed of light, they eventually crash into the now hyperdense core and effectively “bounce” sending a supersonic shock wave back up through the star that literally blows the star apart. The core is left behind to become either an exotic neutron star or, if the star is massive enough, a black hole! One supernova can release as much energy in a few seconds as the Sun will radiate in its entire 10 billion year lifetime! Seen from across the Universe, a single supernova can temporarily outshine its host galaxy! The conditions present during the explosion are such that all of the heavier, more rare, elements on the periodic table can be created. The gold in your wedding band was forged in the fires of a nearby supernova billions of years before you were born! Astronomers estimate that Betelgeuse could become a supernova within the next thousand years. Of course, given the 640 light year distance between us and the star, one is lead to the tantalizing possibility that Betelgeuse exploded long ago and that the supernova shockwave is already en route to Earth. When the light from this supernova reaches us, we’ll have front row seats to one of the most spectacular shows the Universe has to offer. For a time, the shoulder of Orion could glow as brilliantly as a full moon, bathing the nighttime landscape in its cool glow. After a few months, she will fade away and leave Orion with one less star. But long after the light from the supernova has ebbed and the shape of Orion is forever altered, the effects of the explosion will continue to be felt. The shockwave will ripple through the gas and dust between the stars and trigger new waves of star formation possibly forming a second Orion Nebula. The new elements forged deep in the interior of Betelgeuse, now sent hurdling through the cosmos, will become incorporated in these new nurseries and seed the next generation of stars, planets, and perhaps intelligent creatures. Spend a few moments some time this week and gaze at Orion. As you do, consider the dozens of cultures throughout human history that have celebrated these very same stars. Consider the hundreds of light years the light has traveled to reach your eyes. Consider the stars that are being born and the stars that are about to die. And consider that out of the fires of countless supernovae and one special swirling nebula you, and everything you know, came to be. End of podcast: 365 Days of Astronomy ===================== The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow...goodbye.]]> http://365daysofastronomy.org/2012/01/25/january-25th-encore-life-and-death-in-orion/feed/ 0 podcast iya 365 Date: January 25, 2012 - Title: Encore: Life and Death in Orion - Podcaster: Christopher Crockett - Organization: Lowell Observatory - Links: http://www.lowell.edu/users/crockett/ This podcast originally aired on February 9, 2009: Date: January 25, 2012 Title: Encore: Life and Death in Orion Podcaster: Christopher Crockett Organization: Lowell Observatory Links: http://www.lowell.edu/users/crockett/ This podcast originally aired on February 9, 2009: http://365dayso... 365 Days of Astronomy no