Welcome to the New School Year!

Hello all!

Welcome back to a GREAT school year! What have you all done over the summer? This summer, I worked at a summer camp, went to my cousin's wedding in New York, and went to the Outer Banks, North Carolina! Well, now that we all had a great summer, we have to start looking towards the new school year. For those of you who are new (both to the school, or to my classes), I use this blog to alert you to different things that are going on, dealing with the realm of science. Remember, I have the "Science in the News" board in my classroom where you can bring in different science news articles that you find in the newspaper or on the internet! Just remember to put the summary on an index card for us to hang up with it. Also, please remember that you are free to comment on these blogs (they are not posted, however, until I approve them), but I want you to remember that since this is a public blog, I do not want you to use your name. If you would like to sing your comment, please just use your initials.

OK, NOW to the science...

Well, as I am sure you all know by now...space is my FAVORITE branch of science! I love it all! So, I think it is probably best to start with that. Over the summer, in July (July 8, 2011) the Space Shuttle Program came to an end. The three shuttles (Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor) have been officially retired. The Shuttle Program has had many significant achievements over it's 30+ year history. Some important events have been the launch/deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope and of course the building of the International Space Station. There have also been some tragedies as well. In 1986, Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into the flight. There was a problem with the solid rocket booster, and unfortunately all 7 crew members died. In 2003, Columbia burned up during re-entry. This was due to damage of the thermal protection system (heat shield) during lift off. Sadly, all of these crew members died.

Below is a video of the final lift off of Space Shuttle Atlantis, which brings the shuttle program to an end. The video was taken from youtube.com, which was taken from Nasa.gov.

International Space Station Flyby
On Monday, September 5, 2011, the International Space Station will be flying over our area. If you want to go see it, here is what you need to know!
Look to the SSW at 7:42:06pm on Monday night. You should see something that looks like a star that is moving across the sky. You might think that it is an airplane. but it does NOT have any green or red lights, or it does NOT have blinking lights. It will reach a max elevation of 35 degrees.
So, if you get a chance, go outside, look up, and wave at the astronauts!

I found this picture via stumbleupon.com. It is such a great picture! The Milky Way over the Himalayas. Photo was found via Stumbleupon.com from Anton Jankovoy. Great Picture!!

Jankovoy (jankovoy)) on 500px.com" border="0" style="margin: 0 0 5px 0;"> Milky Way above the Himalayas by Anton Jankovoy

Well, that's all for now. We will look at some other things through out the year.

Keep and eye to the sky,

Ms. T

STS-134

This morning is the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. The launch is slated to be at 8:56am. We'll keep an eye on it. More to come later!

Science Anyone???

Hello all!
First of all, I would like to say that I think I have a very FUN way to start off Astronomy Club this year! Begin looking for details in school this upcoming week!

Ok, let's take a look at what's going on in the world of science...

ISS FLYBYS

I looked up to see if the ISS is flying by this week, and it does not look like it is. However, it appears as though there is a number of other satellites that will be making a pass over the area these next few days. For more information on these flybys, go to Spaceweather.com's satellite tracking tool at www.spaceweather.com/flybys

SUNgazer!

I was searching the internet for some new, cool science/astronomy sites, and I came across Sungazer. This website provides some pretty cool pictures of the sun taken in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as provides resources and information about observing the sun! Check it out at http://www.sungazer.net/

Shuttle Launch

The next Shuttle launch is scheduled for Monday, November 1 at 4:40pm. The STS-133, Space Shuttle Discovery will make its way to the International Space Station. We will be keeping an eye on this, and looking more into it as the launch date (and Space ShuttleDiscovery's final flight) gets closer. Hopefully, you all can view the launch! Watching a launch (if only from the TV) is awesome! One day, I hope to go down to Cape Canaveral, FL and watch a launch in person! How cool would that be!!!???!!!! Anyway, check out this picture (taken from NASA) of Space Shuttle Discovery as it is moved on the launch pad (39A) and getting its payload (cargo) to prepare for the mission. *picture and info are credited to NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/)

METEOR SHOWER!!

The next major meteor shower is the Orionids, which peak on Oct. 21. The best viewing time is 2 or 3 am, when the constellation Orion, is high in the sky. However, you should still be able to see some as early as 10 or 11pm This year, on Oct. 21, there will be a full moon, making it difficult to see the 70+ meteors per hour, but you should still be able to see the really bright ones! Going to miss the Orionids? No worries, check out the Leonids peaking on Nov. 17! Another spectacular show!

NEW SPECIES!

Scientists in Papua New Guinea discovered several new species! Do you know where Papua New Guinea is? It is near Indonesia! They discovered some new bugs and a new species of frog! Check out some of what they found! The info on the new species and the below photos were taken from Yahoo! News (http://www.news.yahoo.com/)

OK, well, that's all for now! Keep an eye out on the news for any interesting stories! Fell free to bring them in to school to share with the class!

Keep an eye to the sky!

Ms. T

Welcome Back!

Hello all!

Welcome back to school for the new school year! I am so excited to see you all again, and meet those of you who I have never taught before. We are going to have a GREAT year!

Good News! We are still going to have the Astronomy Club! We are going to try to get that star party in...hopefully the weather will be on our side this year!

Ok, let's see what is going on in science news!

Tonight, the moon and Venus will be in conjunction! They will be less than 10 degrees apart from each other! Go outside right after the sun goes down and check out this beautiful sight! It is not just Venus that you will be able to see either, Mars will also be visible with the unaided eye. You can use optical aids to see Saturn, too!

*the above info and photos were taken from SpaceWeather (www.spaceweather.com)

ISS Flybys
The International Space Station (ISS) will be making a series of flybys in our area! If you can, go out and wave to the astronauts! Here are the times/locations for our area:
Saturday, September 11, 2010: 9:19:32pm-9:21:49pm WNW max. elevation--> 30 degrees magnitude --> -2.2
Sunday, September 12, 2010: 8:11:01pm-8:13:28pm WNW max. elevation --> 63 degrees magnitude --> -3.7
Monday, September 13, 2010: 8:38:05pm-8:40:16pm WNW max. elevation --> 31 degrees magnitude --> -2.3
Tuesday, September 14, 2010: 7:29:24pm- 7:31:52pm WNW max. elevation --> 75 degrees magnitude --> -3.9
Wednesday, September 15, 2010: 7:56:29pm-7:58:33pm WNW max. elevation -->26 degrees magnitude --> -2.0

*remember the lower the magnitude, the brighter the object! So, the ISS will appear the brightest on Tuesday, with a magnitude of -3.9!
One item to take into consideration, is that the sun will be setting around 7:15/7:20pm. This might make it difficult to see on Tuesday. You should still go out and look! The ISS will look like a star that is moving across the sky (it kind of looks like an airplane, except it has no flashing lights).
If you are not in the school area, go online to check the times for your local area (www.spaceweather.com/flybys)
*the above info about the ISS flybys has been taken from SpaceWeather's flyby section (www.spaceweather.com/flybys)

Shuttle Launch
The next Space Shuttle launch is scheduled for November 1 at 4:40pm. STS-133, Space Shuttle Discovery will launch from Cape Canaveral, FL (Launch Pad 39A) on a mission to the ISS. We will keep an eye on this, as the launch date gets a little closer.
*for more info on NASA's launches, visit www.NASA.gov

We will check back on some of these items next week!
For now, keep an eye to the sky!
Ms. T

Summer

Hello all.
Well, it was a chaotic end of the school year. Sorry I was not able to post on here. I hope you all have been enjoying your summer. We have had quite the weather this summer...aside from the heat, we have had MAJOR thunderstorms and even an earthquake (did anyone feel the earthquake...I did!). Pretty soon, we all will be back in the swing of things at school. For the middle school, we welcome the new sixth graders as we bid farewell to the class of 2010-you will be missed! This year, we have some exciting things in science! sixth grade, we will be examining things such as the environment and the different biomes of the world! Seventh grade, we will be learning about natural disasters and SPACE (my favorite topic...ever!). Eighth grade, we will be examining physical science such as electricity and magnetism! I am really looking forward to working with you all this year! Once school resumes, I will be updating the blog more regularly. Enjoy the rest of your summer. Oh! One more thing...how can I forget..this week is SHARK WEEK!!!
Remember, keep an eye to the sky!
Ms. T

Lots to Update!

Hi all-

There is a lot that need updating since I last posted.
First of all, thanks to the Astronomy members that came to Goddard! We had a great time! If anyone gets a chance, you should definitely go to there. They have a lot of interactive things to do! For more information on NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, please visit their website at www.nasa.gov/goddard

OK, let's start with some updates...

First of all, I am sure that by now you have heard of the major (almost 9.0)earthquake in Chile. The main earthquake lasted about 3 minutes, and aftershocks continued for several days. This earthquake was listed as the 7th strongest earthquake ever recorded. Although this earthquake was nearly five hundred times stronger than the recent earthquake in Haiti, there were far less casualties. Even still, we really need to keep the people of Chile in our prayers as they continue to recover from this natural disaster.

VENUS
Right after sunset, if you look up, you will see Venus. Below is a picture of Venus taken from Italy. The photo was taken from Spaceweather.com (www.spaceweather.com)


SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION
The next Space Shuttle mission (STS-131 Space Shuttle Discovery) is slated for April 5, 2010 at 6:21am. We will keep an eye on this mission and flight details as they become available. We will be on break, but I will try to post a video of the launch (or a link to the launch video) on here...better yet...you should try to watch it yourself!

Ok, no ISS flybys this week. Check back to www.spaceweather.com to keep an eye on any flybys in your area.

Remember to bring in any newspaper clippings/articles of any science related news! We will talk about it in class!

Have a good week! Good luck to all your sports games this week/weekend. Be sure to root for WVU in the Big East Tournament!

Astronomy Club: we will try to reschedule our star watching party for sometime in March/early April. Our chance of snow is slim...now we have to be aware of rain. More details to come. Astronomy Club next week.

Keep an eye to the sky!
Ms. T

Quick Space Shuttle Update

Just a quick space shuttle update...

STS-130 (Space Shuttle Endeavour) is scheduled from Sunday. This will be the last scheduled launch in darkness. Endeavour is slated to lift off on Sunday morning at 4:39am. I will post some info as it comes in.

Good luck during the snow storm...stay warm! Have fun.

I will post some more on the launch later...

Keep an eye to the sky,
Ms. T