NASA's Space Programs

Wednesday, May 18
Main Library
145 Washington Ave.
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Explore current and future NASA missions with Dr. Leonard Duda. Geared for children ages 8 and up, Dr. Duda will present a program on current NASA missions, in particular "Cassini" at Saturn, "Messenger" at Mercury and recent comet flybys. The presentation will include slides about these missions.

Dr. Duda has worked at Sandia Laboratory for over 30 years in several scientific areas, including geothermal energy and microwave calibration standards.

This free program is geared for children and their families and is funded by a grant from the Los Alamos National Laboratories Foundation.

For more information call 955-6783.

Image is an "artist's concept of Cassini at Saturn".

Astronomical, and other, Events

Are you an armchair physicist or a back-porch astronomer? You might enjoy the videos from Sixty Symbols from the University of Nottingham: short, informal films that cover everything from neutrinos to Isaac Newton to Neptune. All the videos are under ten minutes in length, and are easy enough to understand for anyone from middle school on.

Check out their video about Solar Eclipses. You get to see a total eclipse in China, with tips on making your own light-filtering lenses and some interesting historical background:




Have trouble seeing the video? Click here.

Better than Television

While many of you are out skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and just going on with your daily lives, some of us are more of the hibernating variety. So while we load up on recipes to make, books to read, movies to watch, and firewood to warm our hands with, winter is also a good time to explore other hobbies and interests that we don't have time for in the warmer months.

Perhaps it's the crystal clear night skies, or the unwholesome angle of the sun, but wintertime inspires my amateur astronomer side. However, with the often frigid temperatures dissuading me from long evenings outside with a telescope, I've learned to rely on the experts for my star-and-sun fixes. Thankfully, NASA has an amazing Astronomy Picture of the Day archive. With offerings ranging from a video of solar flares to a still of Stardust in Aries (what a great title for something!), the images are fantastic educational entertainment. Each image is accompanied by an explanation by an astronomer that even a lapsed skygazer like myself can understand.

But that's enough talk from me. Warm your hands in front of the following photo of Spicules: Jets on the Sun: