Issue 14-21, August 25, 2014
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1) “ASTRONOMY AMBASSADORS” OUTREACH WORKSHOP AT THE TUCSON DPS MEETING
2) RELEASE OF THE CALL FOR THE M4 ESA CV MISSION
3) FARINELLA PRIZE AWARDED TO DAVID VOKROUHLICKÝ
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“ASTRONOMY AMBASSADORS” OUTREACH WORKSHOP AT THE TUCSON DPS MEETING
Introduction to Outreach for Early Career Planetary Scientists:
A Day-long Hands-on “Astronomy Ambassadors” Workshop
Sunday, 9 November at the JW Marriot Starr Pass, Tucson
Update: We anticipate some travel support will be available for some participants, for example towards the additional hotel night. Accepted participants will be polled for financial need and those selected notified by 16 September.
We invite graduate students, post-docs, and early-career faculty or research scientists to a workshop providing training and resources for effective outreach to K-12 teachers and students, families, and the public. The workshop will take place on the Sunday preceding the annual Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Tucson. It’s based on based on the popular and successful AAS Astronomy Ambassadors program run at the AAS meetings. Participants will be introduced to discussion and questioning strategies, ways to avoid technical jargon, specific hands-on activities usable in a variety of settings, and ways of finding outreach partners in their own communities. They will also learn about and receive a set of written and electronic resources, including The Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0 (which features 133 classroom tested astronomy activities and much background material) and The MOOSE (“Menu of Outreach Opportunities for Science Education” which covers existing astronomy outreach programs, directories of useful organizations, training and evaluation resources, websites for images and further activities, and guides for scientific presenters.)
Participants will gain some basic communication skills for bringing planetary science to the public, will discover a wealth of existing resources (and thus lose the desire to reinvent the wheel), and will network with other early-career professionals who would like to make outreach an integral part of their professional identities. Some of the discussion will focus on how to establish on-going partnerships with local schools, museums, parks, fairs, and community centers. The workshops will include presenters from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the DPS.
The number of participants is limited, and we ask you to apply as early as possible. To apply, we ask you to register for the DPS meeting and complete the application here: http://aas.org/content/dps-46-astronomy-ambassadors-workshop-application . Applications are due by August 27. You will be notified of your acceptance by September 9. We especially want to encourage applications from groups that are under-represented in science and those who are new to outreach. For more information, see http://aas.org/meetings/dps46/aasdps-astronomy-ambassadors-workshop.
Nick Schneider, DPS Education & Public Outreach Officer
Suzy Gurton & Andy Fraknoi, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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RELEASE OF THE CALL FOR THE M4 ESA CV MISSION
The “Call for the M4 mission” (a Medium-size mission opportunity in ESA’s Science Programme for a launch in 2025) has been released.
The Call and all the relevant information are available at http://sci.esa.int/2014_M4_Call
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FARINELLA PRIZE AWARDED TO DAVID VOKROUHLICKÝ
The Board of the 2014 Paolo Farinella Prize, composed by B. Bottke, F. Mignard,
A. Rossi, D.J. Scheeres and G.B. Valsecchi, has unanimously awarded Prof. David
Vokrouhlicky (Charles University, Prague, Czeck Republic) the Prize for 2014,
on the topic “non gravitational forces in the Solar System”.
David Vokrouhlicky is an accomplished dynamicist who has made major
contributions to crucial questions in the dynamics and physics of solar system
and has brought new ideas that are now the ground for wider exploration.
A close collaborator and friend of Farinella, David shared Paolo’s interest in
the dynamics of both artificial and natural celestial bodies exploiting this
interdisciplinary approach to enrich both disciplines.
David and Paolo Farinella were the first to set forth a unified
version of the Yarkovsky effect (the diurnal and seasonal brands) and to draw a
bold conclusion at that time regarding the importance of this kind of radiation
forces in the orbital evolution of asteroids. At that time when radiation
forces were seen relevant only for dust particles, David and Paolo set a new
paradigm by showing that these tiny forces could drive minor bodies into the
internal region of the solar system and be responsible for triggering their
capture into resonances.
The Prize will be delivered to Prof. Vokrouhlicky in a Special Prize Session during the 2014 EPSC in Cascais, Portugal (07 – 12 September 2014)
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