Monday, July 8, 2013

Night Sky Network Newsletter - July 2013



Amateur Astronomers: You are the reason the Night Sky Network is such a powerful tool. Thank you for all of your efforts to educate and amaze the public and yourselves with the wonders of the night sky. Keep up your wonderful work!

Image of Pluto and its five Moons, Courtesy NASA/Hubble
  1. Telecon: Kepler's Latest
  2. Submit your event logs by Sunday, July 7th for qualify for the quarterly prize
  3. NASA's "Space Place"
  4. New featured articles and activity for July
  5. Updates to toolkits coming soon



Congratulations to Pluto and its two newly nam ed moons, Styx and Kerberos!
Source Image Courtesy NASA/ESA/Hubble


1. Telecon: Kepler's Latest, July 29th  
    We at the Night Sky Network are excited to present a telecon with Dr. Nick Gautier, Kepler staff scientist, at the end of this month. He will discuss the latest information on the Kepler mission, including new data returns and updates on the status of the satellite, which should be quite exciting to say the least. The fun begins Monday, July 29th at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 pm PTMore information on the slides and call in information will be available shortly at the following location:

https://nightsky.jpl.nas a.gov/download-view.cfm?Doc_ID=524

2. Submit your event logs by Sunday, July 7th for qualify for the quarterly prize and Toolkits
  Just a reminder to Club Coordinators to log your events by Sunday to maximize your chances of winning one of our prizes-a Kepler Orrery!

  Toolkits are earned by logging events for your club. Log just two events in the Night Sky Network to earn the next Toolkit for your club.



                                                        Picture of the Keple
 r Orrery Model


3. NASA's "Space Place"
    NASA's Space Place is a free program offered by NASA for amateur astronomy clubs. This program's mission is to engage kids' interest in both Space and Earth science as well as the exciting technologies that scientists use.  Space Place offers many interactive games and demonstrations, hands-on projects, fun facts and short videos.  It is a U.S. government-sponsored website so there are no advertisements or pop-up windows, and NASA's Space Place does not link to any commercial websites. It is a safe place for kids of all ages to visit.
Astronomy clubs are offered a free artic le each month for inclusion in your club's newsletter or website as well as regular mailings of printed materials for sharing with the club's membership.  In return, NASA asks for a copy of the newsletter using the Space Place article and a link to the NASA Space Place website  added to your club's webpage.
For more information please visit the Space Place website for astronomy clubs here:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/astronomy-clubs/


4. New Featured Article and Activity for May
    Summer is here, and as such there is no better time to take a Trip Around the Summer Triangle:
    https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/download-view.cfm?Doc_ID=390

   You can help scientists find rare gravitational lenses with the latest Zooniverse project: Space Warps!
   https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=584

5. Updates to toolkits coming soon
     New updates are coming soon to the PlanetQuest and Shadows and Silhouettes ToolKits. Please make sure your club's shipping address is correct to make sure your new ToolKits and updates arrive safely.


You can reach both of us any time at nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org
Wishing you clear skies!
Vivian White & David Prosper
The Night Sky Network Team

Night Sky Network Members:
You are the backbone of eyes-to-the-skies astronomy outreach.  NASA, ASP, and our partners are proud to support your amazing outreach events with a variety of free materials: Quarterly prizes for logging your events, outreach ToolKits, handouts from NASA partners, and publicity for events you post on the Night Sky Network Calendar.
Find useful NSN Videos on YouTube
NOTE: The NASA Night Sky Network is a nationwide community of over 425 amateur astronomy clubs.  You are signed up for email notifications from the Night Sky Network as a member of your local astronomy club.  To change your preferences for receiving Newsletters and other notifications, log into the Network and select "My Profile."
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The NASA Night Sky Network is managed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
The ASP is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that advances science literacy through astronomy. Your contribution is tax-deductible as provided by law.