Bulletin 6 18 November Introducing . . . John Dunlop This week’s audioconference guest speaker is John Dunlop - Education Officer for the Auckland Observatory. John has an extensive background in education and astronomy. In his current position as Education Officer he talks to around 25,000 young people a year about the stars and planets and makes sure they all have a good experience at the Observatory. Before joining the Observatory, John was a science and maths teacher. He has been interested in astronomy for many years and has helped write science books including a level five text book called "Stars, Soils and Tectonic Plates" and "Practical Astronomy for Schools". John has been a member of Auckland’s Astronomical Society and was President in 1986. He has written various articles for newspapers and magazines. John has a passion for introducing people to the night sky and says you don’t have to have lots of fancy gear to have fun. John suggests the following two activities for people starting to get interested in astronomy: drawing the shape of the moon each day for a couple of months. following Mars and Venus across the night sky for a couple of months. If you’re interested in finding out more, John suggests getting in touch with a local astronomer or astronomy club. Frequently asked questions about space Two more questions people often ask about space: Question: How much does a space shuttle cost? Answer: The space shuttle Endeavor (American spelling), the orbiter built to replace the space shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $1.7 billion. Question: How are modern space suits different from the first ones? Answer: Early portable life-support systems were cumbersome and often very tiring to use. In the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programmes, each space suit was tailored to fit an individual astronaut. Today’s space shuttle space suits come in two major pieces, each of which comes in several different sizes. They have more flexible joints than early space suits, and better environmental controls. They also can be repaired and used many times. Space activity - Lost in Space! What would you need to live in the hostile environment of the moon? Your dilemma . . . . You’ve crash-landed on the moon with no possibility of being rescued for three weeks. Select five items from the space ship that will help you survive until help arrives. Divide the class into groups of five or six. You have 10 to 20 minutes to decide which five pieces of equipment you’d select. Write down the items in order of importance. On the whiteboard/blackboard, list each group’s selected items in their order of importance. Have one member of each group explain why his/her group has chosen those items and why your group listed them in that order. Discuss how and why the group decisions are different - can you all agree on a final list? Planet profile All about . . .Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet in order of distance from the sun, and the second largest in the solar system. Saturn’s most distinctive feature is its ring system, which was first seen in 1610 by Galileo, using one of the first telescopes. He did not understand that the rings were separate from the body of the planet, so he described them as handles. Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens was the first to describe the rings correctly. In 1655, desiring further time to verify his explanation without losing his claim to priority, Huygens wrote a series of letters in code, which when properly arranged formed a Latin sentence that translated to "It is girdled by a thin flat ring, nowhere touching, inclined to the ecliptic". The rings are named in order of their discovery, and from the planet outward they are known as the D, C, B, A, F, G, and E rings. These rings are now known to be made up of more than 100,000 individual ringlets, each of which circles the planet. From Earth, Saturn appears as a yellowish object - one of the brightest in the night sky. Observed through a telescope, the A and B rings are easily visible but the D and E rings can only be seen in certain conditions. Three U.S. spacecraft have greatly increased knowledge of the Saturnian system. The Pioneer 11 probe flew by in September 1979, followed by Voyager 1 in November 1980 and Voyager 2 in August 1981. These spacecraft carried cameras and instruments for investigation of the planet. Saturn’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen (88 per cent) and helium (11 per cent) and the remainder comprises traces of methane, ammonia, ammonia crystals, and other gases like ethane, acetylene, and phosphine. Thousands attend astronaut presentations More than 6,000 students listened to NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid talk about her space experiences at her school presentations and hundreds more listened to her audioconferences. Thanks to everyone who attended a presentation and for the excellent questions you brought with you. Shannon really enjoyed meeting you all during her two week tour of New Zealand. Also, a special thanks to the schools that hosted a presentation. Explorers mystery quiz - Bulletin 6 Answer the Explorers Mystery Quiz questions below correctly and be in to win a Panasonic cassette recorder for your class. You will find the answer to this week’s first question on your Explorers and Adventurers Mystery Trail poster. You might need to do a bit more research to answer question two. Fax your answers to the Telecom Adventure Line: 0800 253-020. Entries close at 5pm on Friday 21 November. The classes whose students correctly answer the most Explorers Mystery Quizzes during the Explorers and Adventurers programme will go into the draw for a grand prize in December. So good luck everyone. This week’s questions Question one: What is the fastest speed humans have travelled in space? Question two: Which United States President called on NASA to put an astronaut on the moon between 1960 and 1970? Last week’s winner The winner of last week’s Explorers Mystery Quiz was Room 7, Highlands Intermediate School, New Plymouth. Last week’s answers Answer one: The dog which travelled in space in 1957 was Laika. Answer two: Astronomer Galileo Galilei was the first person to use a telescope to observe the skies. Keep in touch If you’ve got an inquiry or want more information about the Space Explorers programme, the best way to get in touch with Danielle is through the Adventure Line fax (0800 253-020) or email her on: [email protected]