THE SUN-EARTH CONNECTION

An Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Newsletter

for the Sun-Earth Connection Science Community - and beyond!

September 21, 2005                     Volume VI, Issue 5

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See End for Sponsor Information, How to Contribute (please

do!), Contact Us, Unsubscribe, or Find Back Issues

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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=>  1. SOLAR WEEK WEBSITE - FALL RUN – SEPT. 26-30.

       STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT THE SUN AND INTERACT WITH

       SOLAR PHYSICISTS ONLINE

 

=>  2. S.M.A.R.T. PRODUCING SUN-EARTH CONNECTION VIDEOS

 

****** HEY! CHECK OUT THE ALL-NEW UPDATED SUN-EARTH DAY WEBSITE AT

       http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/ *******

 

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1. SOLAR WEEK -  SEPT. 26-30TH

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The fall occurrence of Solar Week is happening September 26-30th.

Solar Week is a collection of lessons, games, and activities

focusing on the Sun-Earth Connection and aimed at middle and

high school students.  Students interact online with solar

physicists acting as role models and mentors, and a key topic

is careers in science, with particular encouragement for girls. Participating students learn about the Sun-Earth interaction via a series of daily topics and through an

online Q&A session with the scientists. Solar Week occurs

bi-annually, in the fall and again in the spring around the

equinox.

 

www.solarweek.org

 

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2.  S.M.A.R.T. PRODUCING SUN-EARTH CONNECTION VIDEOS

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Science, Mathematics, Aerospace, Research, and Technology

(S.M.A.R.T.), Inc. has been involved in a variety of Sun-Earth

Connection and other NASA-related education and public outreach

activities for students, teachers, parents, and the general

public. Activities for students and parents include family

night programs, which preceded special astronomical events

(1st solar eclipse of the millennium, Venus Transit, and Mars’

closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years), hosted by Howard

University’s Department of Physics & Astronomy and/or the Howard

B. Owens Science Center.  Public viewings through the telescope

at Howard University’s on-campus observatory and/or webcasts for

these events were provided for the general public. The NASA GSFC

Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF), S.M.A.R.T., the

National Society of Black Physicists, and other NASA scientists

participated as presenters for these activities.

 

S.M.A.R.T. also received a grant from the South East Regional

Clearing House (SERCH), a NASA EPO broker/facilitator, by way of

the DC Space Grant Consortium, to develop videos and other

educational materials regarding the four research themes of NASA’s

Office of Space Science:

 

–The Sun-Earth Connection

–Solar System Exploration

–The Astronomical Search for Origins

–The Structure and Evolution of the Universe

 

As a first step, we have produced a set of four PowerPoint files,

provided to pre-college science teachers on CD-ROMs, describing the

scientific objectives, recent mission results, and future research

plans in each of these themes. 

 

The second step, currently in progress, is to produce one or more

videos relevant to each of the NASA themes, starting with The Sun- Earth Connection, in which middle school, high school, and college

students (and teachers of the first two) participated. Teachers and

students were featured in the videos, but students also participated

in construction and use of instrumentation, including telescopes and

spectrographs used for solar observations, as well as laboratory

spectroscopy. We have obtained the necessary video footage to produce

the Sun-Earth Connection video, and are now in the process of editing

the videotapes on hand to produce the final product.

 

-- George R. Carruthers, [gcarruthers@ssd5.nrl.navy.mil]

 

 

 

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Newsletter Sponsor Info: Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum

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©UC Regents 2005

 

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How to Contact Us

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The Sun-Earth CONNECTION Education and Public Outreach

newsletter is issued approximately every 6-8 weeks. Back issues

can be found at

 

http://sunearth.ssl.berkeley.edu/SECNews/

 

The Newsletter is sponsored by the Sun-Earth Connection

Education Forum (Goddard Space Flight Center and UC Berkeley;

Isabel Hawkins and Jim Thieman, Co-Directors) Sun-Earth

Connection Education Forum Web Site:

 

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov   and

http://sunearth.ssl.berkeley.edu

 

Please direct all submissions to the newsletter to:

 

Karin Hauck (Editor) - E-mail: editor@sunearth.ssl.berkeley.edu 

 

             Phone: (510) 642-2343   Fax: (510) 643-5660

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