The (Revised) Calendar of Science Holidays

(Note from Julie: Well, Blogger and I had a falling out over my previous Calendar of Science Holidays. So, I thought I'd recreate the post here. My apologies to those kind folks who commented on the previous version and sent me new holidays. Please add your comments or any link corrections here. Thanks!)


Each year holds a wealth of weird, wacky, and interesting -- yet under-celebrated -- days for science, like World Meteorological Day and World Water Day. I decided to put together a calendar of annual science holidays and special events that celebrate science so that we could enjoy them together.

National events listed here refer to the United States, unless otherwise noted. Of course, if you live outside of the US, you are more than welcome to celebrate with us! (And I'll admit, some of these holidays are a little less "official" than others.) I expect to update this post in the future, so feel free to send me your special day and I'll add it to the list. Thanks!

* * * *

January
5 - National Bird Day
17 - Kid Inventors' Day
Last Saturday of the month - National Seed Swap Day

February
2 - World Wetlands Day
11 - National Inventors' Day
11 - International Day of Women and Girls in Science
12 - Darwin Day
mid-month - Great Backyard Bird Count (four days)
third week - National Engineers Week (includes Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day)

March
12 - National Agriculture Day
12 - Plant a Flower Day
14 - Pi Day
22 - World Water Day
23 - World Meteorological Day
on or near Spring Equinox - Sun-Earth Day
National Wildlife Week

April
12 - Yuri's Night (The World Space Party)
13 - International Plant Appreciation Day
14 - Citizen Science Day
22 - Earth Day
25 - National DNA Day

second full week - National Robotics Week
last week - National Environmental Education Week
the week of the new moon - International Dark Sky Week 
Earth Month

May
4 - Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!)
8 - National Rain Day (Australia)
12 - National Lab Day
22 - International Day of Biodiversity
23 - World Turtle Day
third Friday - Endangered Species Day
first full week - National Wildflower Week

June
5 - World Environment Day
6 - National Butterfly Awareness Day
8 - World Oceans Day
15 - Global Wind Day
first Saturday - National Trails Day
National Pollinator Week

July
20 - Moon Day
22 - Pi Approximation Day

August
fourth Sunday - World Kitchen Garden Day
National Water Quality Month

September
12 or 13 - Day of the Programmer
14 - Protect Your Groundwater Day
18 - International Observe the Moon Night
18 - World Water Monitoring Day
25 - Nature Rocks Day
26 - World Rivers Day (Canada)
third Saturday - World Tree Day
last Saturday of the month - National Public Lands Day
24-30 Take a Child Outside Week

October
10 - Powers of Ten Day
14 - No Child Left Inside Day (date varies, part of Earth Science Week)
15 - National Fossil Day (date varies, part of Earth Science Week)
17 - Geologic Map Day (date varies, part of Earth Science Week)
20 - World Statistics Day
23 - National Mole Day (celebrating Avogadro's number)
4 - 10 World Space Week
week containing the 10th day - National Metric Week
second full week - Earth Science Week
third full week - National Chemistry Week
Waste Reduction Week (Canada)

November
10 - World Science Day (for Peace and Development)

15 - America Recycles Day
30 - Computer Security Day

December
(No listings yet.)

[Last updated - 3/17/18: Updated World Weather Day into World Meteorological Day, added Global Wind Day, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, World Science Day, International Dark Sky Week, Pi Approximation Day, Day of the Programmer; 3/16/18: Added Citizen Science Day and National DNA Day; 3/28/14: Added Star Wars Day and No Child Left Inside Day, corrected dates. 10/20/12 - Added Geologic Map Day.  1/29/11 - Added National Seed Swap Day; edited link for Sun-Earth Day. 10/4/10 - Added World Space Week. 9/17/10 - Added International Observe the Moon Night, National Metric Week. ]


Photo credit: SantaRosa OLD SKOOL via flickr // CC BY 2.0

Craters of the Moon

My daughter came home from preschool with this art project. To make the moon, the kids used paper towels cut into circles and hand-painted them gray.

Macaroni pieces were placed underneath the paper towels to create craters and give the moon a rough textured surface. How clever!

Freefalling

"I know the whole world is watching right now and I wish the world could see what I can see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are." -- Felix Baumgartner

By now, I'm sure you've heard about Felix Baumgartner, the new world record holder for the highest and fastest (but not longest) free fall in history.  On October 14, 2012, he traveled up into the stratosphere by balloon to jump in flight suit from a height of 128,100 feet above Earth.  During his free fall, Baumgartner reached speeds of over 830 miles per hour to break the sound barrier.  In other words, he exceeded the speed of sound!  Amazing!  He didn't deploy his parachute until over four minutes into the jump.  I found it nerve-wracking to watch, even after I knew he had successfully completed his mission.

Over on Twitter, a few users were taken to task for minimizing this accomplishment, saying that if you are looking at a globe model of Earth this was roughly equivalent to jumping from 1 millimeter above the globe's surface.  But I don't think that comparison diminishes his accomplishment one bit!  Think of how little is visible on a globe.  You can't even see dots for people.  So, think of it this way: one teeny tiny dot decided to go far outside of its comfort zone and fall back down.  You can imagine it, can't you?  One millimeter above a globe is measureable.  It's significant.  And it is truly, truly awesome.

Way to go, Felix!    

A New Website for Rocket Lovers

During World Space Week, it seems only fitting to talk about NASA's newly launched Rocketry page. I received this blurb in an Email this week:

"NASA Education is launching a new website to get students and educators off the launch pad and on their way to becoming rocket scientists."

NASA - Rocketry has sets of articles designed for kids in grades K-4 and 5-8 on topics like What is a Rocket? (this is the K-4 version) and What is the Space Shuttle? (this is the 5-8 version). You can compare the designs of model rockets and their full-size counterparts. (I've got to admit, the interactive flash version of this article is more fun!) You can even build your own rocket, but, alas, it's only online. Through NASA Kids' Club, you can build an entire fleet of online rockets with Rocket Builder.

Thinking of a career in rocketry? Read the bios of these engineers and scientists. Learn about educational opportunities like Rocketry Workshops for grades K-12 and the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

The NASA-Rocketry website has also compiled a wonderful collection of podcasts, videos, images, and simulations at their Robotics-Multimedia page. That's where I found this:

Apollo 11 Launch from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969
Photo credit: NASA

It's World Space Week!

World Space Week is celebrated each year from October 4-10. According to NASA, World Space Week was designated by the United Nations in 1999. The week was chosen, in part, to commemorate the October 4, 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the first human-made satellite to be launched into outer space.

Search for a special event near you on the World Space Week 2010 Calendar. This year, over 20 countries, from Afghanistan to the United States, are joining in.

Help the European Space Agency and play The Space Game to find a trajectory to Jupiter.

Or, if you are under the age of 15, create art about the moon and send a photo of your artwork to ESA's Space Gallery Competition by October 31, 2010. You could win prizes!


Take some time this week to browse the photos and video on Discovery Space. Visit the space site of the Science Channel to learn which planet matches your personality. (Oh dear. I'm Pluto, the tiny cold planet recently demoted to "dwarf planet.")


Photo credit: Anindo Ghosh, via flickr //CC BY 2.0

Space is goop!

Last week, Kerm was working on a project for school about the Native American Cheyenne Indians. As a family, we learned all sorts of nifty things about the Cheyenne, like how their famous leader Dull Knife designed their flag. While working on this presentation, I took Kerm to Michael's to buy posterboard.

Once in the store - not to be outdone - Little Brother decided that he needed to complete a project. I told him that he had to pick a theme, like space or animals. After he chose his theme, we picked out stickers and stiff cardboard for his poster presentation.

When we got home, I needed to take care of the baby. So Kerm and Little Brother got out their supplies and set to work. Little Brother designed this piece all by himself. Now, remember, he's only four, so numbers and letters sometimes get reversed. I'm not quite sure why a website is mentioned, but the boys told me that "ww" refers to the World Wide Web. The take-home message - the theme of his collage - is that space is "good."



Photo credit: Mama Joules. Collage artist: Little Brother.

Kids' Science Challenge

Ashwin Vasavada, planetary scientist at JPL, throws a Frisbee in the Mars yard (Photo credit: Kids' Science Challenge)

Would you like to see a scientist work to solve a problem or experiment that you designed? If you live in the U.S. and are in grades 3-6, you've got six days left to enter the three science contests presented by Kids' Science Challenge.

Let's say that you like astronomy. You can enter the Sports of Mars contest. In the future, astronaut explorers might colonize Mars. What kind of games could people play there? How would the Martian climate (dusty, with less atmosphere than Earth) affect the ways sports and games are played?

If Mars isn't your thing, check out the Detective Science Challenge ("Can you think of an everyday mystery that you can solve with the scientific tools of detection?") or the Bio-Inspired Designs Challenge ("Birds inspired airplanes. Seed burrs inspired Velcro. What part of nature will inspire your new invention?")

Visit the media arcade for inspiration. You can enter one idea for each contest! If you have a winning submission, you will get to work with a scientist to put your idea in action. And, your entry could win one of these awesome prizes, including a week at Space Camp, a bionic eye, or night vision goggles.

The entry deadline for all three contests in the Kids' Science Challenge is February 28, 2010. You can enter individually or as a team. You will have to describe your idea and tell how you came up with it; a sketch of your concept is optional. Complete rules are listed here; you'll need to register first. The official entry form (this is a .pdf file) can be mailed, faxed, or submitted online.

Good luck!

Carnival of Space #139

Welcome to the 139th edition of the Carnival of Space, your portal to the blogosphere's most interesting astronomy posts of the week. I'm delighted to be in your company.

Since I'm new here, let me introduce myself. I blog about family-friendly science here at Mama Joules and astronomy is a favorite topic in our family. I recently interviewed Tracy, of Tiny Mantras, about her experiences raising a four-year-old astronomer. You can read her wonderful responses in Meet Jupiter's Mother and Meet Jupiter's Mother (Part 2). As you can see, my own four-year-old, Little Brother, has been working on his book of Space Words.

Speaking of terminology used in astronomy, Stephen of Steve's Astro Corner has defined basic terms used when describing how planets orbit the sun. Kim at Chandra Blog gets more technical by sharing five differences between white dwarfs and neutron stars.

And white dwarfs are getting some press this week! Mike, of Simostronomy, shares the heartening story of how amateur astronomers alerted the world to a rare stellar eruption known as U Scorpii. He writes, "Observers around the planet will now be observing this remarkable system intensely for the next few months trying to unlock the mysteries of white dwarfs, interacting binaries, accretion and the progenitors of Type IA supernovae."

Interacting with the public can take researchers to some interesting places. What do you get when you combine ancient legends and Google Earth? Steve of Cheap Astronomy interviews an astronomer who used this unusual method to find a new meteor impact crater. You can listen to the interview as a podcast or read the transcript (this is a .pdf file). (I didn't know you could get a degree in Aboriginal astronomy - fascinating!)

Careful examination of photographic images can yield some interesting results. In 2000, the unmanned Galileo spacecraft conducted a flyby of Jupiter's moon Io. Jason of The Gish Bar Times explores Io's Chaac Patera, a green-hued volcanic depression, using data collected by this space probe.

As for spacecraft, this week was a sad one for fans of the Mars Exploration Rovers. Efforts to free Spirit, still stuck in the Martian sand with two of six wheels broken, have been called off. However, as Stu at Cumbrian Sky points out, we should not count Spirit out, because Spirit is not dead. We wish her well as she hunkers down to survive the harsh Martian winter, and we hope that she is able to endure as a now-stationary science station.

In honor of Spirit, why not enter Alice's competition for artists at Alice's Astro Info. Draw, photoshop, or paint your rendition of Spirit stuck at Troy, send it over to Alice, and your artwork will grace the Space Place Bulletin Board at Pacific Science Center. What a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of Spirit’s new life as a station!

As you are visualizing Spirit on Mars, let your mind wander beyond the edge of our solar system, where Ian at Astroblog gives us a wonderful rendition of the sun as seen from other planets. (I feel very small now, Ian!)

After drifting among the stars, take in James Cameron's blockbuster new movie Avatar, which is poised to break the all-time U.S box office record later this week. But before you go, drop by Next Big Future, where Brian examines the Valkyrie Antimatter Propulsion Rocket used in the movie and explores the science propelling this spaceship.

How long will it be before we go back into space ourselves? Is President Obama going to axe Ares and Constellation? Has funding for this new rocket system dried up? How will this affect future space travel? Phil tackles this rumor and its possible implications at Bad Astronomy.

And what does the rest of this year have in store for us? Have we begun a new Global Space Age? Bruce at 21st Century Waves shares ten space trends for 2010. (2015 looks like a good year!)

What if we open up cislunar space (the space between the Earth and the moon) to entrepreneurs? Check out these unique business ideas from Ken at Out of the Cradle. Is a 3-D gravitometric map of the inner Solar system in our future?

How are we going to keep up with the energy consumption needs of future civilizations? Brian at Next Big Future examines what it would take to power a yottawatt civilization. (A yottawatt is 10²⁴ watts - a blindingly large number. In 2006, total human power consumption worldwide was about 16 terawatts; a terawatt is 10¹² watts.) It's hard for me to fathom, but as Brian concludes, "As noted by the definitions, capturing and using 0.3% of the energy from the sun enables a yottawatt civilization." Personally, though, I was most intrigued by Brian's off-handed comment about "using Jupiter for nuclear fusion fuel." Now that's thinking big!

One thing we know for certain, this is the year of launches at Kentucky Space, with three confirmed launch dates set for 2010. As Wayne shares, "Our suborbital 'ADAMASat' mission is slated for February 24 from Wallops. Discovery (STS-131) will lift off with the first of three 'Nanoracks' bound for the ISS in March. Our free orbiting craft, KySat-1, was just publicly confirmed as a secondary on NASA's 'Glory' mission in November." Safe travels, Kentucky Space!

On a sober note, C.C. at TheSpacewriter's Ramblings remembers pioneers of space exploration, noting that three terrible disasters are recalled this week: the Apollo 1 fire, the Challenger disaster, and the loss of the space shuttle Columbia. As she so eloquently says, let's "salute the Apollo, Challenger, and Columbia crews who gave their all so we could explore. Let’s do them the honor of pushing forward and continuing our push to space regardless of the challenges we face at the moment."


That brings us to the close of issue #139. Thanks for stopping by! If you'd like to check out previous issues of the Carnival of Space or if you would like to host or submit to this blog carnival in the future, please visit Universe Today.


Photo credits: top two photos by Mama Joules, images by Little Brother; bottom photo by Jurvetson (flickr)

Space Words

Two weeks ago, Little Brother created an illustrated book of weather words. He was so proud of his creation that he recently told me, "I want to make another book -- an award-winning alphabet book!"

As a writer myself, I was excited to hear this. The original weather book was my idea, but now he was taking things further. I told him that his new book needed a theme. "Like animals, outer space, or places."

Little Brother loved the idea of a book of "space words." I wasn't sure. How do you draw "dark matter" or "black holes"? How could I explain these concepts to a four-year-old? Could I even think of words for each letter of the alphabet? You can see that we are missing several letters in our original list of space words.

Mommy, what color is gravity?

Fortunately, Twitter is populated with some kind people, including Debra L. Davis, otherwise known as Woman Astronomer. She made some helpful suggestions for Little Brother's book, including "flyby" for f, "Kuiper belt" for k, and "ice moons" for i.


And so, "Space Words" was born.






Little Brother referenced his older brother's illustrated Earth & Space book, which influenced his drawings for "black hole" and "dark matter".












I told him to think of a "comet" like a shooting star (since it looks like one), but I now realize that's the wrong way to think about it so we'll have to have a chat about that soon.






Our conversation about dark matter went something like this:

Me: "Well, you know how there's all that stuff up there in outer space that we can see?"

Little Brother: "Yeah."

Me: "Well, there's a lot of stuff out there that we know about, but we can't see. That's dark matter."









I taught Little Brother how satellites would sometimes have a "flyby" near a planet to gather data. And I suggested that maybe someday, manned spaceships would fly by planets, too. He loved this idea, which is why the rocket is much larger than the planet -- in this case, Jupiter (note the large red eye!).





"Gravity" was another fun topic.

Little Brother: "What color is gravity?"

Me: "Uh, gravity doesn't have a color. It's the force that sticks us to the Earth. How about you draw some people walking on the Earth with an arrow pointing down?"

So far, it's my favorite of his drawings. I promised him that if he finishes the whole alphabet, I'll find a way to get his pictures bound in a real book.


Photo credits: Mama Joules. Images courtesy of Little Brother.

Meet Jupiter's Mother (Part 2)

Today, we welcome back Tracy Zollinger Turner, of Tiny Mantras. Tracy is the mother of a four-year-old astronomer (above) and has been sharing her tips for encouraging a child's love of science. You can read the first part of our interview here.

***

Welcome back to Mama Joules, Tracy! I've gathered from reading your blog that astronomy was not one of your primary interests prior to your son falling in love with Jupiter (and the rest of the universe). How do you foster your son's love of astronomy?

For someone like me, I think remembering the connection between art and science (or science and everything!) has been helpful. I bring the science he likes into projects I enjoy more. We make planets and galaxies and nebulas out of clay. Or we do things like make egg tempera paint and encourage color mixing so there's a scientific process that's part of painting.

Tracy and her son made these planets and stellar objects
out of Play-Doh and FIMO clay.

I've promoted his interest in letters and reading by spelling and helping him write space-related words (we have used so many space metaphors in this house). When you actively notice what your child responds to, it gets easier to realize that shimmery fabrics can be used for imaginative play when he feels like being a comet or a black hole, crystals that hang in the window make rainbows around the house, and that it's okay for an apple to be sacrificed in the name of understanding gravity now and then.

What suggestions (for websites, books, etc.) do you have for parents of other would-be astronomers?

Websites

There are plenty of great astronomy sites out there, but few of them have stuff for younger kids. I like KidsAstronomy.com. There are science songs and reasonably simple games there.

Television, Music & Books

[My son] loves watching Powers of Ten, which may be one of the best videos ever made when it comes to illustrating the vastness of the universe, as well as the microverse! The TV show Zula Patrol is actually pretty great [too].

They Might Be Giants CD, "Here Comes Science" is our new soundtrack around here. It's actually taught or reminded me of a number of basic [scientific] concepts.

I wrote a post a while back about some of the astronomy books for kids that I like. [Note from Mama Joules to Tracy: Kerm reviewed George's Secret Key to the Universe; he thought it was great!]

Places to Visit

We've used Google Earth a lot to find our house, and [my son's] favorite places nearby from space. Incidentally, his favorite places are...

COSI - our local science center

Perkins Observatory - where the telescope was formerly the most high-powered in Ohio and used for astronomical research. It's now an educational center with lots of old-school astronomy displays, and lots of volunteer amateur astronomers who love to help people of any age develop a love of space and telescopes.

We have had the chance to go to a couple of NASA sites - one was a rare open house. [NASA scientists] are really good at figuring out how to talk to and educate kids!

Of course, we want to take him to Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Hayden Planetarium in NYC, the Air and Space Museum in DC and any [other] NASA site that we can, but we haven't had the chance just yet.

Tracy, those are some wonderful suggestions. I know that I will be visiting those websites soon. Thank you so much for stopping by!

***

If you'd like to contact Tracy, or read further about her adventures with her astronomy-loving preschooler, please visit her at her blog, Tiny Mantras. She is also the occasional host for the Carnival of Space, a must-read if you want to keep up with astronomy in the blogosphere.


Photo credits: Tracy Zollinger Turner (used with permission)

Meet Jupiter's Mother

Happy New Year! I'm pleased to welcome Tracy Zollinger Turner, of Tiny Mantras, to Mama Joules. In a recent issue of the Carnival of Space, she described her relationship with astronomy like this:

"[My son's] interest in space has been unyielding for as long as he's been able to talk. Therefore, I spend a lot of time reading astronomy blogs to try and become more scientifically literate, as well as riding imaginary space elevators out to Proxima Centauri and other stars in search of exoplanets. And smoothing flour and cocoa powder in a large bin so my son can throw rocks in it and make craters. Or making special trips to Big Lots to buy a bright yellow bucket for a $1 so he can keep his pretend meteor collection safe. You get the idea."

I was fascinated by her description. Reading further into her blog, I discovered that Tracy's son has a special affinity for Jupiter, and has even dressed up as the planet for Halloween.

Jupiter goes trick-or-treating
Photo credit: Tracy Zollinger Turner (used with permission)
When thinking of blog topics for Mama Joules, I often focus on how to engage a child's love of science. But Tracy's blog got me thinking: How do parents and educators sustain a child's interest in a scientific topic, especially when his or her fascination goes beyond our own? So, I invited Tracy to Mama Joules for a visit.

***

Today, we welcome Tracy Zollinger Turner, of the blog Tiny Mantras, for a chat about raising scientifically literate children. Tell us about yourself, Tracy.

I'm a longtime freelance writer and editor, technology lover, journalist, blogger, art and music appreciator, wife, mother, home-based career woman, learner.

You write in Tiny Mantras that you are "mother to a fanantical four-year-old astronomer." When did you realize that your son's interest in outer space was unusual for his age?

It's been a consistent interest for as long as he has been able to speak. When he was about a year-and-a-half old, he learned words in groups - colors, shapes, animals. Since he just seemed drawn to spheres and pictures of planets, he learned the solar system next.

I think I kind of always realized it was unusual. I do remember it really hit home for me when we went to the bookstore on his second birthday and he pointed at a big coffee table book up high on a shelf and said, "Get the 'bero galaxy book, Mommy." I pulled the thing down, looked at the inside flap, and found out that the picture on the cover was of the Sombrero Galaxy, which I wouldn't have known.

Sombrero Galaxy as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Image courtesy of NASA
He either picked it up through the space documentaries we were watching ("The Universe" on the History Channel was in its first season) or one of the space books we had begun to accumulate. At the time, he was far more interested in books full of space telescope images than space books that were created for kids.

I have always been prepared for him to lose this interest or move on to something else. Other parents told me that sometimes two-year-olds get really into something then forget all of the details they once knew as they move on to other things. At times, he's gone pretty deeply into learning about other (usually science-y) things, like anatomy and weather, but now, at four and a half, space still prevails.

Do you have any tips for how to encourage children to love science, especially when their interest in a specific topic exceeds your own?

I let his questions lead me. I learn a lot of this stuff with him. Like a lot of people - and women, especially - I grew up thinking that I didn't have much of an aptitude or love for science, and one of my son's real gifts to me has been teaching me that I actually do!

With a couple of exceptions, I don't think that most of my elementary or high school teachers knew how to make science relevant to students' lives. Yet it is so relevant and so common, and can be so much less intimidating than we make it. I see a lot of parents tripped up thinking that they have to know something to teach it, when learning it together - giving them some of the power to realize that grown-ups don't have all the answers - can make it so much more memorable for the child.

When I want to set [him] up with something I don't have to help a lot with, there are so many great resources and ideas out there when it comes to creating projects and experiments. Like putting flour and cocoa powder at the bottom of a big plastic bin, smoothing it, then letting him throw rocks in there to see what happens when meteors hit the moon, or Mercury.

Thanks, Tracy, for giving us such wonderful suggestions for making science fun!

***

You can learn more about Tracy's adventures raising her mini-astronomer at her blog, Tiny Mantras. Join us next week as Tracy shares some of her family's favorite astronomy websites and places to visit!

Little Brother's Mars Rover

Not to be outdone by big brother Kerm's Mars Rover, my four-year-old just shared his new LEGO® sculpture with me. Here is Little Brother's Mars Rover:



Personally, I think it looks a lot like the robotic bug he got for Christmas. ;)

Butterflies on the International Space Station!

There are butterflies in space! Painted Lady larvae and three Monarch caterpillars are currently orbiting above us, after recently traveling to outer space aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The "butterflynauts" boarded the International Space Station yesterday.

You can track the progress of the Painted Lady butterflies via Twitter (@ButterflySpace). Teachers can download a free teacher's guide and register for email updates about the mission. There's also a specific thread for teachers on the BioEd Online web board devoted to this experiment.

From the Butterflies in Space website at BioEd Online:

"On November 16, 2009, Painted Lady butterflies [flew] aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station (ISS). The butterflies will spend several months in space as part of an exciting experiment to observe their life cycles and behaviors in microgravity. We invite your class to participate! The butterflies will live in a special habitat, which provides a safe environment, food and water. Photos and video will be transmitted back to Earth and made available here ..."

But Painted Lady butterflies aren't the only insect space travelers this time. Monarchs are up there, too! Through Monarchs in Space, Monarch Watch is documenting the progress of the monarch larvae. You can download some wonderful instructional data from this site along with links to other fun stuff like these recent pictures of the monarch caterpillars in space.

This current set of butterfly experiments builds upon previous work by BioServe Space Technologies, which has designed experiments in space since the early 1990s (including space flights for spiders, ants, and silkworms).

This video describes some of the challenges that the butterflies may face in their new habitat:



Enjoy!

Happy Buzz Aldrin Day!

Thanks to Twitter, I learned that today is Buzz Aldrin Day in Los Angeles in honor of the retired astronaut, who was the second man to walk on the moon. Aldrin will speak about his experiences and sign his new autobiography, Magnificent Desolation, on the front lawn of L.A.'s Griffith Observatory from 6:00-9:45 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and there will be telescopes available to view the moon during this time.

Congrats, Buzz! (I wonder if he'll get a key to the city?)


Photo of Lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin credit: NASA

Fortieth anniversary of landing on the moon

We're very busy right now with guests, but we just couldn't let this day go by without comment. Forty years ago today (July 20, 1969), two human beings (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) landed a spaceship on the moon, and eventually got out and walked around a bit. A third astronaut, Michael Collins, stayed in orbit around the moon.

It's always seemed strange to me that we don't celebrate this day (July 20) as a holiday, along with April 12 (when Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth). I like to think that centuries from now, when only serious historians know who John Kennedy or Barack Obama were, or for that matter who George Washington was, school children will still know who Neil Armstrong was, and what he did.

Putting people on the moon with 1960s technology was right on the edge of what was even possible. The Soviet Union never managed it, despite having a space program that was in close competition with ours. Nobody else has even come close.

NASA has a photo album of the Apollo 11 mission, and a nice history of Apollo 11. And there are many more resources, no further away than your favorite search engine.

There are some great documentaries about the US space program out there. An excellent place to start is by watching the movie Apollo 13, about a later mission to the moon that didn't go quite so smoothly. Or you might just look up at the moon, and remember that once, people walked there. I wonder when people will walk around up there again.


Image Credit: NASA

Professor Stephen Hawking and his friend George

Recently, Kerm and I went to the library and checked out George’s Secret Key to the Universe, written by Lucy & Stephen Hawking (with Christophe Galfard). Stephen Hawking, the famous theoretical physicist, is known for expanding our knowledge of astronomy despite suffering from ALS (a neurologic disease).

Hawking is one of my favorite scientists. I am in awe of the fact that his mind soars among the heavens despite having extremely severe physical limitations. Hawking writes on his website that at one point, he communicated by "spell[ing] out words letter by letter, by raising [his] eyebrows when someone pointed to the right letter on a spelling card." Fortunately, personal computing came to his rescue and we are all richer for the experience.

Hawking has written several books for adults, including A Brief History of Time, which, according to the BBC, sold more than nine million copies. Lucy Hawking is Stephen's daughter so I was curious about the book. Since Kerm likes astronomy, I thought he would like it.

A few days later, after seeing George’s Secret Key to the Universe open on Kerm's bed, I asked him what the book was about.

“It’s about the universe and the world’s most amazing computer called Cosmos,” said Kerm. “Cosmos can make ‘portal doorways’ so his owner Eric can go through these doorways and go anywhere in outer space.” Portal doorways aren’t real, Kerm told me. “They aren’t the same as black holes. [Portal doorways] actually bring you from your house into outer space.”

What is a black hole? As defined by Lucy and Stephen Hawking in their book, “To make a black hole you need to squash a very large amount of matter into a very small space.” The resulting gravitational pull is so strong that nothing can escape, not even light. And the more matter and light that enter a black hole, the larger it gets.

Here’s what Kerm learned about black holes. “A black hole is a giant place in space where everything gets sucked inside. It [occurs when] an exploding star ... got too big and exploded into a big area in space [while the center of the star got pushed in]. Anything can be sucked [into a black hole], even light. And light [travels at] the fastest speed in the universe that we know.” Kerm also learned that scientists now believe “that it’s possible to get out of a black hole.”

It’s hard for me to imagine this, but the Hawkings wrote that, “Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, has at its center a black hole several million times the mass of our Sun.” Can you imagine that? It’s like there's an invisible gigantic vacuum cleaner slurping stuff up at the center of our universe.

Kids that are interested in science and science fiction would like this book, according to Kerm. “It is a very cool book ... My favorite character was George because he was the main character and he was a hero."

You can visit George's website to take a quiz about astronomy, check out these facts and photos about outer space, and enter this competition to win a hardback copy of the sequel, George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt!

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al.;
Submillimeter: MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al.; Optical: ESO/WFI

Kerm's Mars Rover

I just had to post this. Kerm made a Mars Rover out of LEGO®s. I think it looks like the original, don't you?

Get ready for Astronomy Week!

Astronomy Week starts next Monday, April 27th, with Astronomy Day occurring on Saturday, May 2, 2009.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

** Stop by Sky & Telescope® to find an astronomy club, planetarium, or observatory near you. Be sure to read their Observing Blog to learn about current night sky conditions.

** Skymaps.com has free night sky maps to download.

** Visit the Astronomical Society of the Pacific to download monthly discovery guides to the night sky. Galaxies and the Distance Universe is this month's theme.

** If you can't get outside, you can always have some Solar System Fun with NASA and the NASA Kids' Club.

** Donna Guthrie, of MEET ME AT THE CORNER, invites you to enjoy a virtual field trip to the Palomar Observatory including an interview with astronomer Dennis Mammana.



**And check out these past posts on astronomy from Mama Joules:

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
Night Sky
ESA Kids
USGS Astro Kids

Science Poem: Intrasolar interloper

I'm participating in the Poem-A-Day Challenge over at Poetic Asides. Yesterday's prompt was "outsider" and I decided to write about the planet Pluto.

***

Intrasolar interloper
(dedicated to former planet Pluto)


On a rocky outcrop of your ice-laden heart,
we sacrificed your stature.

Despite seven-six years of service,
retirement was no guarantee.

Nix and Hydra still shadow you
holding up your Kuiper belt.

Your union with Charon, however,
remains an unconsummated affair.

Highly eccentric and inclined to dramatic
circles of ovoid oblivion,

You rotate off-kilter, adrift,
your volatile nature frozen in time.

***

Artist's rendition of Pluto and Charon
Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI)

Name NASA's next Mars Rover!

My friend CricketB shared this great news with me that she found online:

Disney/Pixar is currently running a contest for children in grades K-12 in the U.S. (ages 5 -18) to Name NASA's Next Mars Rover! This new rover is scheduled to launch in 2011 and (hopefully!) will land the following year. You can visit NASA to Learn About the Rover, including its robotic arm, legs, laser, and wheels. Be sure to read the Quick Facts (this is a .pdf file) to discover tidbits like these:

* The rover's laser can turn rocks into a cloud of vapor.
* The rover may be the size of a small SUV, but it weighs nearly 2000 pounds!
* The rover looks just a little bit like WALL-E.

Image credit: NASA
If you win the grand prize, you not only win a trip to both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory AND Disneyland, you also get a bunch of WALL-E stuff including a robot! Nine finalists and thirty semi-finalists will also win some cool WALL-E gear, so if you are a fan of the movie, you should definitely enter. (My older son was excited that we found Disney/Pixar's WALL-E online games).

The contest has three grade level categories (K-3, 4-7, 8-12) and you have to write a short essay along with your suggested name. There are certain restrictions on the names you can suggest (no copyrighted names, no names of anyone living, no names used on other space missions), so read the rules carefully. You also have to get your parent or guardian's permission to enter. The contest deadline is January 25, 2009, so start writing! (Gee, I wish I could enter!!)