1 / 14

Astrophysics @ NASA Goddard

The Universe Beyond the Solar System…. Astrophysics @ NASA Goddard. Anita Krishnamurthi Education and Public Outreach Lead Astrophysics Science Division NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Goddard. Goddard Space Flight Center is one of 10 NASA centers Located in Greenbelt, Maryland

mirra
Download Presentation

Astrophysics @ NASA Goddard

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Universe Beyond the Solar System… Astrophysics @ NASA Goddard Anita Krishnamurthi Education and Public Outreach Lead Astrophysics Science Division NASA Goddard Space Flight Center http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  2. Goddard • Goddard Space Flight Center is one of 10 NASA centers • Located in Greenbelt, Maryland • Largest science center for NASA • Sciences and Exploration Directorate is composed of • Astrophysics Science Division • Solar System • Heliophysics • Earth Science http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  3. Astrophysics Science DivisionLabs and Missions • Astroparticle physics [Balloon programs, Swift, Integral, GLAST…] • X-ray Astrophysics [RXTE, Suzaku, XMM-Newton, Constellation-X] • Observational Cosmology [Balloon programs, WMAP, JDEM, JWST…] • Gravitational Astrophysics [Theoretical work, LISA] • Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics [Instruments on Hubble, Spitzer, JWST, TPF…] http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  4. What we study…. • The Early Universe • Galaxies • Stars • Black Holes and Neutron Stars • Gamma Ray Bursts • Extra-solar planets • Gravitational Waves (Theory) • Technology Development http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  5. Challenges and opportunities for communicating with the public Challenges: • Large range of science themes and missions • High-energy astrophysics is not very visual • “Exotic” science Opportunities: • “Exotic” science! People are fascinated… • Can discuss a wide variety of astronomy topics • Highlight importance of multi-wavelength astronomy • Show technology  science interdependence http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  6. Evidence of public interest… http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  7. Reaching the public… Wide range of projects and programs for a variety of audiences: “Influentials” Press Policy-makers Classrooms - Curriculum support - Training workshops - Teacher programs http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  8. Reaching the public… Out-of-school-time - Afterschool programs - Girl Scouts - Family Science Nights General public Websites, Podcast, Public Talks, DVDs, Brochures http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  9. Imagine the Universe! • Popular website targeted at general public (~1 million visits/month) • Has “Ask-an-Astrophysicist” feature • “Teacher’s Corner” has curriculum support materials as well tools for analyzing data http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  10. Beyond Einstein Explorers’ Program (BEEP) • Out-of-school-time program teaches middle-school kids about the Universe beyond the solar system • Kids that age really interested in “complex” science, but not much opportunity to learn about them • Currently 12 sessions – steps through basics and introduces content such as life cycles of stars, black holes, galaxies… • Flexibly structured beyondeinstein.nasa.gov/education/BEEP/ http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  11. BEEP (contd.) • Very hands-on, incorporates art and movement • Piloted with small group in 2006 and tested nation-wide in 2007 • “It changed my idea of how big the Universe really is.” • “I was more enthused about astronomy because I now have a better understanding.” • Widely available in Spring 2008 – detailed downloadable PDF manual + materials list http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  12. Worlds Beyond • Educational art project exploring the topic of exoplanets • Students learn about detection techniques and “adopt” an exoplanet • Translate their scientific knowledge into art • Successfully piloted in 2007 http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/worldsbeyond/index.html http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  13. Opportunities for IYA • Including the themes of IYA into our existing programming • Share our programs with people like you • Develop some new programming around technology development – JWST presents an opportunity to highlight how far we’ve come since Galileo! We’re open to other ideas! http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

  14. Contact us! Anita.Krishnamurthi@nasa.gov http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov (and) http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/outreach/ http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov

More Related