Spooky Astronomy, part 5
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 31, 2014
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Welcome back for Spooky Astronomy! Over the years, we’ve shared our favorite Halloween-ish images to get into the spirit [no pun intended] of the season! Past Spooky Astronomy posts: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. Here are a few fresh images for this year: Jack-o’-lantern! It was nice of the sun to … Continue Reading →
Our 3rd Annual Halloween Costume Contest
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 27, 2014
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That’s right, it’s back! A little late, but better than never! We weren’t able to hold this last year due to the timing of the shutdown, but we’ve gotten the go ahead to have our costume contest this year. I know we didn’t give you all much time to plan, … Continue Reading →
Silver and Gold
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 17, 2014
- 2 Comments
The other big news for the James Webb Space Telescope is the tests they are doing, mounting mirrors onto the test version of the structure that will secure them to the telescope. This structure is called the backplane, and it’s like the spine of the spacecraft. The test version of … Continue Reading →
A “Seamless” Unfolding
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 13, 2014
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Recently, there was a Google Plus hangout with NASA and Northrop Grumman to talk about the James Webb Space Telescope’s giant sunshield. This sunshield is, as someone on Twitter pointed out, big enough to host a very awkward game of tennis. (Yep, it’s for real the size of a tennis … Continue Reading →
“Transforming” STEM Education
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 8, 2014
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We’ve posted in the past about the Real World/In World Engineering Design Challenge. The James Webb Space Telescope has been a foundational partner since the challenge’s start in 2010. This year, RWIW merges with the NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge to add an InWorld component to this video challenge. If … Continue Reading →
Search for Life
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 16, 2014
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Recently NASA had a panel discussion of leading science and engineering experts to describe the scientific and technological roadmap that will lead to the discovery of potentially habitable worlds among the stars. This is such an exciting topic, especially with so many new worlds being discovered. The ultimate goal of … Continue Reading →
Neil deGrasse Tyson Pays a Visit
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 8, 2014
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While in DC for a Cosmos screening, a simple email from the James Webb Space Telescope team was all it took to get Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (astronomer, Hayden Planetarium director, and general advocate for science) to come by NASA Goddard for a visit. It was truly exciting to meet … Continue Reading →
A Ride on SOFIA
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 5, 2014
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This is a guest blog by astronomer Brian Williams, who last blogged for us about the building blocks of life. A joint project between NASA and the German space agency (DLR), the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is a bit of a departure from NASA’s traditional telescope fleet. … Continue Reading →
Coma Niddy Brings Us New Sci Tunes
- By Maggie Masetti
- August 27, 2014
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Our friend, science rapper Coma Niddy, recently released a rap about dark energy, and we thought we would share it with you. Dark energy is one of the big mysteries in current astrophysics. We know it affects the universe’s expansion and we know that 68% of the universe is made … Continue Reading →
The Nexus of Art and Science, Part 2
- By Maggie Masetti
- August 25, 2014
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We recently blogged about students from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) making animations inspired by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Another student, Turner Gillespie, also from MICA, spent the summer working on an animation of the “sound” of a gamma-ray burst (GRB). A scientist was working on turning … Continue Reading →
