Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Volume 2 Number 3
March 1998
Please join us Thursday, March 26th, from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in the A Building classroom for the next CfA Education and Outreach Alliance Meeting. The main topic of the meeting will be the Project ASTRO program that we anticipate undertaking in collaboration with the Boston Museum of Science. We would like to discuss your experience of what works in the classroom and what doesn't, and what you would like to do or see done in this program. Many of you asked for an 'in the classroom' project and now we've got it! More information about Project ASTRO is available on the ASP website (www.aspsky.org).
Project ASTRO Cited For Excellence
The National Research Council's Project Resources for Involving Scientists in Education (RISE) has launched a new website (www.nas.edu/rise/examp.htm) which profiles national programs in which scientists, engineers, and other community members are playing effective roles. One of the featured programs is the ASP's Project ASTRO. The website gives an extensive description and analysis of the Project ASTRO experience.
Speakers Needed for Summer Seminar Series
Every year the SAO Summer Intern Program sponsors a Summer Seminar Series that is open to the entire CfA community. These introductory astronomy talks take place from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays. If you are interested in presenting a talk this summer, please get in touch with Jonathan McDowell or Kim Dow.
Looking for a Summer Student?
The SAO Summer Intern Program has received many outstanding applications from undergraduates this spring. As we are unable to offer positions to all the qualified applicants, the applications that are turned down will be made available to anyone in the CfA community who is planning on hiring a summer student. Many of these students live in the area or attend local institutions and have summer housing. If you are interested in examining these applications, please contact Kim Dow. All summer students are encouraged to attend the Thursday Summer Seminar Series! We regret, however, that that the intern program is unable to arrange housing or office space.
March Science Education Department Seminars
During the March 5th SED Seminar, Sam Palmer will give a tour of the radio telescope. On March 12th, we will have Maryellen Harmon as our guest (a session to analyze the results of the TIMS-Third International Math and Science study), and on March 19th Irwin Shapiro and Alex Griswold will lead a session on developing an IMAX film. Each session will be held in Phillips Auditorium from 11:00 - 12:15 p.m. Participants are welcome to stay for the SED's weekly pizza luncheon. Please call the department (495-9798) if you plan to stay for lunch (so we can order the correct amount of pizza.)
Upcoming Conference
A Symposium on "Teaching Astronomy to Non-Science Majors" will be held June 29 - June 30, 1998 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This meeting is part of the 110th Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. This symposium is designed for everyone who teaches introductory astronomy - and for those who develop materials or activities for introductory courses.
Through panel discussions, poster papers, hands-on workshops, and extensive handouts, we will share the triumphs and tribulations of teaching astronomy in various settings to students of diverse backgrounds and levels of commitment. Discussion topics will include: getting out of lecture mode, demonstrations that work, textbooks, audio-visual and laboratory materials, using computers and the WWW, interdisciplinary approaches, testing for real comprehension, dealing with today's students, debunking pseudo-science, and regional and national networking for astronomy instructors.
To volunteer to present a workshop, participate in a panel on any of the above topics, or to make suggestions for the program, contact the Chair of the Organizing Committee, Andrew Fraknoi (fraknoi@admin.fhda.edu). To receive registration information for the meeting, contact Laurie Keechler (lkeechler@aspsky.org) or ASP, 390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112 (Tel: 415-337-1100).
Upcoming Boston ATMs Meeting
Join the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston on March 12, 1998 at 8:00 p.m. in Phillips Auditorium when member Sean Walker will speak about "Astronomical Imaging with Adobe Photoshop." In addition to learning how to glean the most from your astronomical images, Sean will discuss how to scan images into a high quality digital format.
Spotlight on MicroObservatory
There is no better way to appreciate the wonders of the night sky than to explore them first-hand with a powerful telescope. For the past
few years, the MicroObservatory project, at the CfA's Science Education Department, has been bringing the excitement of hands-on astronomy to several thousand high-school students in classrooms across the U.S.
MicroObservatory is a network of five automated, educational telescopes that can be accessed and controlled over the Internet. From the convenience of their classrooms, teachers and their students can explore the Moon, comets, asteroids, planetary satellites, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and bright quasars. Standing barely four feet tall and weighing just 130 pounds, the telescopes can image 15th-magnitude stars in about 10 seconds, with a limiting magnitude of better than 18. They are located on the roof of the CfA, at the Haystack Observatory in Westford, MA; and at the Visitor Center of the Whipple Observatory in Tucson, AZ. Work is underway for installing a MicroObservatory telescope at the Visitor Center at Mauna Kea. Students control the telescopes themselves: including determining when their target will be visible, selecting a telescope location, checking the weather, pointing the telescope, and selecting the appropriate filters, exposure times, and other parameters. Students can instruct the telescope to take an image at a specific time at night, such as the image seen here of the Orion Nebula. They also can use the telescope during the day for observing the Sun, Moon, and bright planets. The telescope interface has been designed to be learner-friendly - i.e., to maximize learning - rather than just user-friendly (i.e., use without thinking). The educational value lies not just in the image returned, but also in the satisfaction and understanding that comes from mastering a powerful scientific instrument.
The MicroObservatory on-line telescopes offer enormous advantages: One is equity of access - anyone with an Internet connection can access the telescopes. Another is ease of access - students need not return to school at night or brave the chill New England winter nights. Still another is cost-efficiency - the telescopes are continually in use.
We invite you to visit the MicroObservatory site at: mo-www.harvard.edu/MicroObservatory/. If you would like to learn more about the capabilities of the telescopes, contact Steve Leiker at sleiker@cfa.harvard.edu. If you have suggestions for projects with the telescopes, or would like to work with teachers who use MicroObservatory - contact bhoffman@cfa.harvard.edu. The sky's the limit!
Upcoming Observatory Night
The next Observatory Night is Thursday, March 19th. The speaker will be Mike Garcia who will give a talk entitled "Black Holes and Event Horizons." Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the lecture begins at 8:00 p.m. The Observatory Nights are free, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Education Bulletin is published on the first Monday of the month.
The deadline for submission of announcements for the April issue is
March 23rd at 5 PM. Please email notices to Natanya Ness: nness@cfa.harvard.edu
· 617-495-7400. Previous issues are archived at hea-www.harvard.edu/scied/HEADED/.