THE SUN-EARTH CONNECTION

An Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Newsletter

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

June 12, 2006 Volume VII, Issue 3

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See End for Sponsor Information, How to Contribute (please

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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=> 1. STEREO Satellites Slated for a July 30 Launch Window

--- Cool Links

=> 2. Ancient Astronomers, Part 1: Mayan Art Exhibit

Opens in the Yucatan

=> 3. Ancient Astronomers, Part 2: Mayan Aracheoastronomy

Book for 5th-8th Graders “Traditions of the Sun:

The Yucatan” (In Three Languages)

=> 4. GSFC-Connected Folks Publish New Photo Book – “The Sun”

=> 5. New on the Space Place web site: What is a Laser?

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1. STEREO SLATED FOR A JULY 30 LAUNCH WINDOW – COOL LINKS

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As we approach launch, we have lots of exciting new STEREO

graphics and movies available online for teachers, students,

reporters, etc. Check out the website:

http://www.nasa.gov/stereo for two complete narrated videos

about the mission, animations explaining coronal mass ejections,

photos and movies of STEREO in the clean room, and even some

3-D movies of the spacecraft.

For more information, contact Rachel.Weintraub@nasa.gov

If you’re looking for classroom activities and space music,

the STEREO Education and Public Outreach site is here:

http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/impact/

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2. ANCIENT ASTRONOMERS, PART 1: MAYAN EXHIBIT UPDATE

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The twin traveling photo exhibits of Mayan cultural heritage

and astronomy juxtaposed with breath-taking NASA solar images

have been reaching and inspiring many people on their simul-

taneous travels through California and the Yucatan peninsula

of Mexico. The photo exhibit -- an outgrowth of connections

between UC Berkeley and the Yucatecan government made at the

Chichen Itza webcast of Sun-Earth Day’s “Ancient Observatories”

theme two years ago –- opened in November at the Mexican

Consulate of San Francisco. (50,000 Yucatecan Mayans live in

the Bay Area.) In California, the exhibit has traveled to five

venues since then, and moves to Southern California soon.

Last month, the identical show also opened in Merida, Mexico,

the capital of the state of Yucatan in the heart of Mayan

civilization. Several SECEF team members were invited by the

Yucatecan government and INAH (National Institute of Anthropology

and History) to participate in the celebrations and workshops

for that week, along with a representative from NASA headquarters,

Dr. Adriana Ocampo — an expert on the Chicxulub impact crater in

the Yucatan believed to be responsible for the extinction of the

dinosaurs 65 million years ago. While in Merida, SECEF and Dr.

Ocampo together conducted Sun-Earth Connection workshops for 300

students and 100 teachers, and gave science talks to the public

at and around the opening, ultimately reaching over 1000.

For more information on where you can see this fascinating and

beautiful archeoastronomical photo exhibit, please contact

Isabel Hawkins at isabelh@ssl.berkeley.edu

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3. ANCIENT ASTRONOMERS, PART 2: NEW BOOK FOR 5th – 8TH GRADERS:

‘TRADITIONS OF THE SUN: THE YUCATAN’ — IN THREE LANGUAGES:

MAYAN, SPANISH AND ENGLISH

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Once again, a SECEF collaboration with Ideum has produced a

visually stunning book on archeoastronomy. “Traditions of the

Sun: A Photographic Journey to the Yucatan,” compares the keen

Sun-observing traditions of the ancient Mayans to those of modern

NASA satellites and technology, while celebrating the Mayan people.

This beautiful coffee-table style book contains photos and text

on Mayan culture – both ancient and modern – and NASA imagery

taken from space, and highlights the solar alignments built into

the Mayan architecture. The ancient Mayans were keen observers of

the Sun and skies. This book is written in three languages on each

page – Spanish, Mayan, and English. It is oriented toward 5th-8th

graders.

This book follows and complements last year’s “Traditions of the

Sun: Chaco Canyon.” For more info and the accompanying websites

for both books, see www.traditionsofthesun.org, and in Spanish

www.tradicionesdelsol.org

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4. GSFC-CONNECTED FOLKS PUBLISH NEW PHOTO BOOK – “THE SUN”

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Steele Hill and Mike Carlowicz have published a new book.

From Amazon: Dramatic images from photographers, observatories,

and satellites are organized as viewed first from the ground,

then from earth's atmosphere and the edge of space, and finally

from the surface of the Sun itself. Through these images and a

clear, precise text, the authors explore the intricate dance

between the Sun and Earth, examining this relationship in both

mythical and scientific terms.

Photo researcher and sun-watcher Steele Hill has been a media

specialist for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)

mission since 1996. He is probably more familiar with the images

from SOHO and other recent solar missions than anyone else on the

planet. A science writer and editor, as well as the author of

“Storms from the Sun,” Michael Carlowicz has written dozens of

articles on space and earth sciences, most recently for Oceanus

magazine and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

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5. NEW ON THE SPACE PLACE WEBSITE – WHAT IS A LASER?

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Many highly useful devices are based on lasers, including

spectroscopes. Lasers can be used examine light, to play music

or movies, read inventory codes on objects, cut through everything

from fabric to solid steel, and perform exquisitely delicate

surgery. Laser energy is a form of light, but what makes it

different from ordinary light? The latest “Amazing Fact” on The

Space Place describes step by step the basic properties of natural

light and the special properties of laser light. Interactive

animations demonstrate the concepts in a simple and fun way.

Visit http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/laser to get a laser-

sharp understanding of this form of energy and find out how lasers

can help find life on other planets.

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Newsletter Sponsor Info: Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum

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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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