From rrosen at exploratorium.edu Wed Mar 3 15:20:37 2010 From: rrosen at exploratorium.edu (Raphael Rosen) Date: Wed Mar 3 15:45:22 2010 Subject: [AANC Contacts] =?windows-1252?q?Never_Lost_=96_New_Exploratoriu?= =?windows-1252?q?m_Website_About_Polynesian_Navigation?= In-Reply-To: <4eeea1ee1003031519r14af278hc07b60c84b1d23ae@mail.gmail.com> References: <4eeea1ee1003031518u19054e69qd8f41bf3bd18716@mail.gmail.com> <4eeea1ee1003031519r14af278hc07b60c84b1d23ae@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4eeea1ee1003031520x40cc714fva22ae7b11c758e90@mail.gmail.com> March 3, 2010 Hi, Lynn. I thought you might be interested in the following information for April 2010. 1) Never Lost ? New Exploratorium Website About Polynesian Navigation 2) Reading Sea and Sky ? Polynesian Navigation Installation 3) Open Make ? A Program to Inspire Young Makers Never Lost New Exploratorium Website About Polynesian Navigation English Version Launches April 1st; Hawaiian Version Launches May 1st www.exploratorium.edu/neverlost Never Lost explores ancient navigation techniques that nearly disappeared, but are now experiencing a revival across Polynesia, especially in Hawaii. Thousands of years ago Polynesians navigated by direct observation, relying on clues from the sun, moon, and stars, as well as ocean swells, winds, and wildlife, as they voyaged over open ocean settling islands across the Pacific. Never Lost shares the story of this living tradition and charts wayfinding practices that are still in use today. Full Press Release: http://press.exploratorium.edu/never-lost-april-2010/ Reading Sea and Sky Polynesian Navigation Installation Webcast Studio Tuesday, April 6 Through Sunday, May 9, 2010 In Conjunction with Never Lost ? A New Exploratorium Website www.exploratorium.edu/neverlost Visitors to Reading Sea and Sky may find themselves stepping in and out of time and place. A giant star compass representing those used in teaching traditional Polynesian navigation techniques will extend across the Studio floor, frequently submerged under video footage of waves or other footage to be projected from above. A surround-sound system of speakers will play sounds and stories recorded during a trip to Hawaii by the Exploratorium team that created the companion Never Lost website. In the meantime, video recordings will fill the Webcast Studio screens with visual poems of the islands. This installation is included in the price of admission to the Exploratorium. Full Press Release: http://press.exploratorium.edu/reading-sea-and-sky-april-2010/ Open MAKE: A Program to Inspire Young Makers Saturday Series at Exploratorium April 24, 2010 Meet the Makers (McBean Theatre) 11am-noon In the Studio 12:30pm-3pm Get ready to rev up your inner inventor. The Exploratorium hosts a series of informal talks and activities designed to inspire young inventors and introduce visitors to a long-standing Exploratorium tradition of tinkering. Featuring different themes and guest speakers each month, Open MAKE: A Program to Inspire Young Makers, will introduce visitors to a variety of tinkering possibilities while encouraging middle and high school students to realize their own inventions in time for this year?s Maker Faire, held at the San Mateo County Event Center on May 22 and 23. Open MAKE, a project of the Exploratorium?s Learning Studio, is included in the price of admission. Full Press Release: http://press.exploratorium.edu/open-make-april-2010/ -- Raphael Rosen Public Information Dept. The Exploratorium 3601 Lyon St. San Francisco, CA 94123 press.exploratorium.edu Phone Contact: Leslie Patterson / (415) 561-0377 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/pipermail/contacts/attachments/20100303/3971a67f/attachment.html From jane.h.jones at jpl.nasa.gov Tue Mar 9 16:40:11 2010 From: jane.h.jones at jpl.nasa.gov (Jones, Jane H (1862)) Date: Tue Mar 9 16:40:32 2010 Subject: [AANC Contacts] It's Saturn Time! Message-ID: Hello AANC friends! My favorite planet is daring you to step outside and look at it this month! It's easy to see from the city from now through July, the later the better. In a dark sky, and through a telescope you'll see subtle cloud bands of custard, butterscotch and hazelnut cr?me, and the wafer-thin ring bisects the planet, allowing you to see its oblateness this month. What a tasty treat for your eyes! So it should come as no surprise that the topic of my What's Up podcast for March 2010 is Saturn. But I also share the podcastspace with a challenging object, the 12th magnitude (nearly as faint as Pluto) asteroid 21 Lutetia, which is halfway between Saturn on the horizon and Mars (nearly overheard and the color of a blood orange). I had a look at it last month, and by month end it will be well placed right next to some pretty galaxies in Leo! Next to M105 on March 31st, to be specific. :-) Here are several podcast viewing options: JPL's new Video Banner points to all the awesome JPL video products :-) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm SSE: Additional formats of my podcast, with several educational activities about Saturn and asteroids to compliment the podcast, plus archives of all 33 podcasts back to April 2007 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=324 YouTube (the format favored by my mom and dad in San Rafael) http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#p/u/1/1dIe5_SvToE NASA podcast page, RSS feed, Itunes http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html Here's looking at you, Saturn! Jane Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones@jpl.nasa.gov What's Up For March - Saturn Opposition, asteroid 21 Lutetia! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm From fraknoiandrew at fhda.edu Thu Mar 11 07:09:29 2010 From: fraknoiandrew at fhda.edu (Andrew Fraknoi) Date: Thu Mar 11 07:09:52 2010 Subject: [AANC Contacts] Please Pass This On To a Teacher: An Astronomy Workshop for Teachers in Grades 3-12 (Free Telescope Included) Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20100311070437.056a8b68@fhda.edu> Announcing: In the Footsteps of Galileo: A Hands-on Workshop on Astronomy for Teachers in Grades 3 ? 12 Saturday, April 24, 2010, 9:00am ? 4:30pm An Educational Celebration of Astronomy Day at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA Presented by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) We are asking AANC club members to help us let local teachers who do astronomy in their classroom know about this special one-day program. Workshop participants will explore: * The realms of astronomy, and our changing perception of the universe * Recent NASA moon missions (with information and activities about the Moon from the NASA Lunar Science Institute) * An introduction to Galileo, his life, work and legacy * Ideas about student reasoning about science and how to help students think like scientists * Recreating Galileo?s observations of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of the Moon * The Galileoscope: a simple telescope with many uses * Classroom-ready astronomy resources for teachers & students * Where to find the best astronomy activities in print and on the web. Presenters include: * Andrew Fraknoi (Chair of Astronomy Department, Foothill College and the 2007 California Professor of the Year) * Brad Bailey (Staff Scientist, NASA Lunar Science Institute) * Brian Day (Education and Public Outreach, NASA Lunar Science Institute) * Brian Kruse (Astronomical Society of the Pacific) Registration: $15 for ASP members and Project ASTRO partners; $25 for everyone else For more information, and to register, please go to: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/gttp/workshop04-24-10.html For their registration fees, workshop participants will receive: * A Galileoscope (a high-quality, small telescope developed for the International Year of Astronomy 2009; now retailing for $30) * A packet of hands-on activities, background information and resource guides ready for immediate use in the classroom * NASA lunar science resources * Lunch No background in astronomy is required; both new and veteran teachers will learn new ideas and techniques from the workshop. Registration is limited; reservations will be accepted in the order received. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, founded in 1889, is dedicated to sharing the excitement of our exploration of the universe with teachers, students, enthusiasts and the public. It is the largest and most active astronomy education organization in the world. From kennethfrank at planitarium.net Fri Mar 19 08:14:24 2010 From: kennethfrank at planitarium.net (KENNETH FRANK) Date: Fri Mar 19 08:14:48 2010 Subject: [AANC Contacts] Fwd: [AANC-Board] Stolen Telescope equipment References: <06ff01cac726$9c188de0$c500a8c0@whitedell> Message-ID: This, from Jim Head of MDAS. Let us hope that Robert's equipment is recovered posthaste. Ken Begin forwarded message: > From: "Jim Head" > Date: March 18, 2010 10:39:56 PM PDT > To: "AANC BOARD" , > > Cc: Robert & Pam Cowart > Subject: [AANC-Board] Stolen Telescope equipment > > Mt Diablo Astronomical Society member and generous outreacher Robert > Cowart had much of his telescope equipment stolen from his car at > his residence in Alameda last Tuesday morning and we are asking > everyone's help by keeping an eye open. > > Robert had just finished an event with scouts Monday night, and with > 3 more events scheduled this week he probably thought it okay to > leave it in his car. Here is what was stolen: > > CGE1400 system, but they didn't take the head. 3.5 years old. The > OTA (in a JMI case) and CGE HD tripod were taken, but not the head > (it was in a separate, heavy case). > > From Robert: "I have strategically placed velcro on the OTA and > tripod, but that's all easily removed. I added a Losmandy dovetail > bracket to the top of the OTA, with red and green index tabs along > its side, and am hoping the thieves will think it a standard part > and not remove it." > > Stellarvue 80mm Nighthawk NextGen ED (3 years old). > > EPs: > Celestron 50mm Axion > Celestron 40mm Plossl > Televue 26mm Nagler > Denkmeier 21mm EPs (X2) > Televue 14mm Radian > Denkmeier II binos + 3X multiplier > Meade 12mm Plossl w/illuminated reticule > > Filters: > Lumicon UHC > Lumicon H-Beta > Meade N9000 narrow band > Orion variable polarizer > > Robert has notified Scope City, and let's all help by spreading the > word and keeping an eye open -- ebay, astromart, craigslist... > > Please report any tips to Robert Cowart at Nakiag@aol.com > > Thanks, > Jim > _______________________________________________ > AANC-Board mailing list > AANC-Board@aanc-astronomy.org > http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/aanc-board -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/pipermail/contacts/attachments/20100319/c54e8482/attachment.html From fraknoiandrew at fhda.edu Thu Mar 25 08:47:34 2010 From: fraknoiandrew at fhda.edu (Andrew Fraknoi) Date: Thu Mar 25 08:49:35 2010 Subject: [AANC Contacts] Free Public Talk on "Doomsday 2012" at Foothill College April 21 Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20100325084726.0571e588@fhda.edu> Nontechnical Talk Open to the Public ----------------------------------------------------- On Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at 7 pm, Astronomer David Morrison of NASA's Ames Research Center will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Scientist Looks at "Doomsday 2012" and the Rise of Cosmophobia ------------------------------------------------------------------------ as part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures in the Smithwick Theater, Foothill College, El Monte Road and Freeway 280, in Los Altos Hills, California. Free and open to the public. Parking on campus costs $2. Call the series hot-line at 650-949-7888 for more information and driving directions. No background in science will be required for this talk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many people have heard the rumors (through the media, on the Internet, seeing the big-budget movie, or from friends) that the world will end in 2012 -- and that some astronomical event or alignment is to blame. According to some versions, this doomsday scenario was predicted by ancient civilizations and we are just waking up to the truth! Is there scientific basis to these rumors? Dr. David Morrison runs the web site through which the public can ask NASA questions about life in the universe, and for the past two years he has found himself overwhelmed by questions on this topic. He has now tracked down many of the stories that gave rise to a new fear of the heavens (what he calls "cosmophobia"). He will tell us about the scientific perspective on the chances that we won't be around after 2012. There are lessons here about the way a scientifically unsophisticated segment of the public can be manipulated by hoaxers out to make a buck by frightening people. David Morrison is the Director of NASA's Lunar Science Institute and the Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life at the SETI Institute. Dr. Morrison, a world-renowned planetary scientist and expert in the field of asteroid impacts, is the author of more than 155 technical papers and has published a dozen popular books and intro- ductory textbooks. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his scientific and educational work, including the Sagan Medal of the American Astronomical Society for public communication. Dr. Morrison was a founder of the multi-disciplinary field of astrobiology. Asteroid 2410 Morrison is named in his honor, but he assures us that it is not one of those that might hit the Earth. The lecture is co-sponsored by: * NASA Ames Research Center * The Foothill College Astronomy Program * The SETI Institute * The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available in MP3 format at: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html ================================ Andrew Fraknoi, Chair, Astronomy Program Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, USA Telephone: (650) 949-7288 E-mail: fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu ================================ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/pipermail/contacts/attachments/20100325/2394c1b6/attachment.html