here is the night sky network news letter if you are a club member and would
like access to the log in portions please
e-mail me and I will add you to the site. You will get an e-mail from them to
create a login password and that is it.
Photo Credit: Julie Hoel / Iowa County Astronomers
The Iowa County Astronomer s have a strong outreach program, and as you can see
they are an all-weather group- necessary for outreach during chilly Wisconsin
winters! Here you can see member John Heasley working with students from
LaFarge Elementary as they make their own Moon phases using lollipop models.
More from John: " They come to an after school program at Kickapoo Valley
Reserve. Space Club is supported by a Special Initiatives Award from Wisconsin
Space Grant Consortium designed to encourage underserved rural students to
enter the STEM stream. In addition to the Shadows toolkit, we also used
activities from Magnetic Sun and Space Rocks. They enjoyed them all!"
News for Amateur Astronomers from NASA: Check out 10 things to know about the
solar system this week !
1. Webinar: Astronomy from the Stratosphere: NASA's SOFIA Mission
2. Website Updates
3. Avoid Member Burnout: Tips from the Growing Your Astronomy Club Video
Series
4. Shipping Updates - Pins and Eclipse Items
5. Andee's Corner: NSN Program & Website Tips
6. Featured Resources: Videos, Articles, Activities & More
1. NSN Webinar: Astronomy from the Stratosphere: NASA's SOFIA Mission
Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Wednesday, February 15 at 6:00pm Pacific
Time (9:00pm Eastern) as Dr. Dana Backman brings us the latest about NASA's
SOFIA mission. You can register for this webinar on the Zoom website at this
link .
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is an engineering
marvel and an international scientific research facility. This remarkable
airborne telescope began full operations in 2014 and is returning exciting
discoveries about the birth of stars, interstellar chemistry, the atmospheres
of giant planets, the environment around supermassive black holes, and other
branches of astronomy.
About Dr. Dana Backman (SETI Institute / SOFIA Outreach)
Dana Backman coordinates SOFIA's outreach programs at NASA’s Ames Research
Center and the NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program at the SETI
Institute. Before joining the SOFIA team, he was professor of physics &
astronomy at Franklin &a mp; Marshall College in Pennsylvania. He is co-author
of three college-level astronomy textbooks and a frequent public speaker on
astronomy and SOFIA. His research specialty is planetary system formation and
the history of the solar system.
You can register for this webinar in advance on the Zoom website:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/1c013954b1bcaa7266858a512be5123a ;
NSN members can find related links to SOFIA resources for this webinar on our
dedicated outreach resource page (Night Sky Network member login required)
2. NSN Website Updates
We have heard your requests, and recently made some updates and fixes to the
NSN website to better serve you! Many of the changes are aimed at helping club
coordinators manage and log their events and club's roster and resources. The
biggest news is that we have updated the calendar to make compatible with the
very latest browsers, a new embedded version of the calendar is out for your
club websites that no longer uses Flash, more export options, and many more
features. You can read in a little more detail about the features and fixes
that have recently rolled out here:
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=757 ;
If you experience any issues with the updated website:
First, we recommend clearing your cache and trying it out again to see if it
helps. You will want to delete the temporary internet files stored on your
computer by the Night Sky Network. Here is a handy site that lists how to do
that for a wide v ariety of browsers: https://kb.iu.edu/d/ahic ;
If you still experience issues , please let us know by sending a message to
nightskyinfo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and describing the problem you are having with
the site or bug you may have noticed. Please also include the web browser and
computer or device you are using to browse the site (ie, Firefox on a Mac, Edge
on Windows, Safari on an iPad, etc). Screenshots, if available, are also often
very helpful for us and our web developers to see exactly what the problem
looks like. Thank you!
3. Shipping Updates: Pins and Eclipse Items
We want to let you know that we are hoping to ship the final batches of award
pins and eclipse goodies together once the last batch of eclipse materials
arrives from our partners. We even needed to order a ne w batch of outreach
pins as the demand was so high this year - which is wonderful! Keep up the
amazing outreach in your communities, and keep recognizing the good work your
volunteers are performing! Our goal is to have these items out of our doors and
into your hands by the middle to end of March.
4. Avoid Member Burnout: Tips from the Growing Your Astronomy Club Video Series
An astronomy club needs its members to fill a variety of support roles to help
the club run smoothly. But does your club have trouble getting club members to
volunteer for club positions? Are your current club leaders or volunteers
feeling a bit of burnout? Watch this video to get ideas on how to best share
the work and recognition to help your clubs stay fun and organized:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuCyM_vaaUE ;
Photo Credit: Julie Hoel / Iowa County Astronomers
Here you can see John Heasley engaging more young students in learning about
the Moon and its phases, with help from a vinyl Night Sky Network Moon poster.
5. Andee's Corner: NSN Program & Website Tips
Here is our latest tip from Andee Sherwood, Club Mentor & Trainer for the NSN
Program:
To qualify for toolkits, free handouts, and the NSN award pins, here are some
important tips for you:
When you first post an event on your NSN club calendar, you will view an option
asking you to be reminded to log your event or not. If you click YES, you will
receive a message to log an event on the right hand side of your home page
under OPEN ITEMS, after the event happens. Here is what to do next:
1. Click directly on the reminder and a page will open, listing the event you
may wish to log.
2. Click on the event and click on the grey tab that says LOG THIS EVENT to
open the log form.
3. If you used any resources or printed material from one of the toolkits at
this event, please be sure to click on the TOOLKIT tab (found under the text
box you would use to write an anecdote).
4. Once the TOOKIT tab opens, you will be able to check off any of the toolkits
you used.
This is the best way to let us and NASA know you are using NSN resources for
your outreach events, and shows NASA that their science is being shown to the
people in your community!
All of the toolkits and files for each kit are viewable online. Just click on
OUTREACH RESOURCES found under the NSN blue banner at the top of every webpage.
Type i n the word, "toolkit" in the blue search box that will open on your page
on the right hand side to view all of the kits.
5. Featured Resources: Videos, Articles, Activities & More
JPL's Stargazing Video: What's Up for February
Use Venus and Mars to find the zodiacal light, plus two comets and the
brightest asteroid. Watch on JPL's YouTube page or on our Night Sky Planner
page.
Featured Resource: Club Coordinator Tools
Find tips on how to manage your club and make the most out of the resources
available to your on the Night Sky Network with the items on this page. For now
we have the newly updated Club Coordinator manual available for download, as
well a handy video which gives a brief overview of some of the latest changes
to the Night Sky Network website. Find them both, and more resources in the
future, at https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/download-view.cfm?Doc_ID=597 ;
Photo Credit: Donald Wheeler/Astronomers of Humboldt
Featured Article: How to Partner with Your Local Astronomy Club
Our featured article for this month is actually aimed at folks who may be
looking to partner with an astronomy club like yours! Check out the article and
forward it to people and organizations who you think may find these tips
useful- and please let us know of any suggestions to make these organizing tips
for non-astronomers more useful! Find it at:
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=752 ;
Universe Discovery Guide for February: Orion Nebula, Nursery of Newborn Stars
Explore the Orion Nebula, a giant nursery of baby stars, in February's Universe
Discovery Guide! Find the downloadable PDF files, in both color and
night-vision friendly red, at
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/download-view.cfm?Doc_ID=538 ;
That is all for our member news for this month. Questions or comments? You can
reach us at nightskyinfo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wishing you clear, dark skies,
Vivian White, Andee Sherwood, & Dave Prosper
Night Sky Network Team
Member Clubs:
You are the backbone of astronomy outreach to the general public. NASA/JPL,ASP,
and our partners are proud to support your amazing outreach events with a
variety of free materials: astronomy outreach toolkits; quarterly prizes for
logging your events, handouts from NASA partners; and publicity for events you
post on the Night Sky Network calendar.
Find Astronomy Outreach Tips on Social Media with the NASA Night Sky Network
We invite you to join the NASA Night Sky Network astronomy outreach community
on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on astronomy events, outreach
opportunities, and astronomy activities. Pictures of your astronomy outreach
and other behind the scenes photos are featured on our Instagram feed.
Subscribe to the Night Sky Network channel on YouTube and watch demonstrations
of astronomy outreach activities and recordings of our monthly webinars with
astronomy professionals and NASA scientists.
Find Clubs and Events In Apps!
Distant Suns , your personal guide to the cosmos, lists Night Sky Network
astronomy club star parties, safe solar gazing events, and lectures in the main
navigation bar. Distant Suns is available for Android, Apple iOS, Kindle, and
Nook.
SkySafari , a powerful planetarium that fits in your pocket, lists Night Sky
Network astronomy club star parties, safe solar observing events, and lectures
in the help menu. SkySafari is available for Android and Apple devices and
computers.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The NASA Night Sky Network is managed by the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific . The ASP is a 501c3 non-profit organization that advances science
literacy through astronomy.
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