Public Astronomy - Girl Scout Troop 166 (Ballwin, Missouri)

There are so many awesome things in Astronomy that we need our own page!

Astronomy & Space Exploration

There are so many ways to look all around us and see the image of God; astronomy is one way.

This is just one video linking music and the beauty of space/God's creation, with Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the firmament proclaims the works of his hands.

We have a fun sheet to learn more about Astronomy, and one Astronomy-Archery relationship, in the presentation attached at the bottom of this page.

A good read relating to God & science/astronomy is "The Heavens Proclaim,"by Vatican Astronomer Fr. Guy Consolmagno (yes,the Vatican has an astronomer!).

Fr. Consolmagno has several titles that talk about what he and his cohorts do, and about how science and religion really/actually do coexist.

(Did you know that the Church developed the Scientific Method?

Why? In part to help understand the Truths through which God created and maintains the world/universe around us.

Three copies of "The Heavens Proclaim" are available in the Holy Infant School library... good for family reading.

Also from Fr. Consolmagno is a good podcast/iTunes U episode:

"God and the Mystery of the Universe" / What Science can Teach Us About God."

http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/sandiego.edu.2135777319.02135777324

and another podcast through Chicago's Adler Planetarium, "The Galileo Wars" which at least shows that there is no absolute clarity in "the Galileo situation":

http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/podcasts/0d7dad56648032e9015bb3316b5acd35/?searchterm=consolmagno

The James S. McDonnell Planetarium turned 50 in 2013.

They also have an Astronomy Fact ofthe Day page. Check it out!

http://www.slsc.org/WhatToDo/Planetarium/AstronomyFactoftheDay.aspx

Astronomy magazine is beautifully illustrated and provides good insights into its namesake scientificfield.

Its website has a good Astronomy for Kids section that provides great background information for kids and parents alike.

More for kids... Uncle Percy's Adventures in Space, courtesy the Lowell Observatory, in Flagstaff, AZ (where American Percival Lowell 1) fantasies about the canals on Mars led to "The War of the Worlds" and 2) he discovered Pluto.

http://www.lowell.edu/ -the kids section should be available in Fall, 2011.

The Astronomy League has many resources for Scouts and parents alike: http://www.astroleague.org/ .

Questions Astro-Scouts may seek to answer include...

What are the two pointers in theBig Dipper?

http://www.space.com/5323-doorstep-astronomy-big-dipper.html

http://www.space.com/5277-arc-arcturus.html

Is the Big Dipper the large bear?

Sort of; it is part of Ursa (bear)Major (big/large).

http://www.space.com/5869-north-star-moving-target.html

Are the stars of the big dipper all"close to one another" or "an optical illusion"?

Was Vega the North Star thousands of years ago? Will it be the North Star again one day?

What is the summer triangle?

http://www.space.com/5869-north-star-moving-target.html

How many earths could...

... stretch across the face of the sun?

... fit inside the sun?

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970518a.html

How does the sun compare to other stars, like Antares (in Scorpio)?

http://didyouknow.org/the-size-of-the-sun-in-comparison/

Where are we in the Milky Way?

http://astronomy.com/en/Press%20Room/Press%20Releases/2011/07/September%202011.aspx

How many moons does Pluto have?

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/20110720.php

http://astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/News/2011/07/The%20Hubble%20Space%20Telescope%20discovers%20another%20moon%20around%20Pluto.aspx

Where was Pluto discovered?

Has this country discovered other planets?

http://lowell.edu

Where can I learn more about Pluto, about the New Horizons spacecraft?

http://www.astronomy.com/Press%20Room/Press%20Releases/2010/05/July%202010%20How%20well%20explore%20Pluto.aspx

Planet or Planetoid or...

http://www.astronomy.com/Columnists/David%20Levy/2010/08/David%20H%20Levys%20Evening%20Stars%20Plutos%20second%20chance.aspx

What does a Catholic Priest have to do with the Big Bang?

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0022.html

Why is part of I-44, in MO, named the Hubble Highway?

http://www.senate.mo.gov/04info/pdf-bill/tat/sb767.pdf

http://www.marshfieldmochamberofcommerce.com/History%20of%20Marshfield%20and%20Webster%20County.htm

How did McDonnell Douglas, headquartered in St. Louis, help get Man to the Moon?

http://vanvooren.us/VV/St._Louis_and_the_Moon.html

How many Astronauts have been Girl Scouts?

GirlScout Astronauts

•Have you ever wanted to journeyinto space? Over twenty of NASA’s career astronauts were former Girl Scouts.

•As a result, former Girl Scouts have flown on at least 40 of the first 114 Space Shuttle missions. That’s morethan one third of the missions!

•Have you ever wanted tospacewalk?
The first American woman to spacewalk was a former Girl Scout, Dr. KathrynSullivan.

•Have you ever thought aboutbecoming a teacher?
Barbara Morgan, a former Girl Scout, used to be an elementary school teacher, but was selected as NASA’s first Educator Astronaut and is nowpreparing for spaceflight on STS-118.

•Have you ever dreamed aboutbeing at Girl Scout meeting in space?
Several Space Shuttle missions, beginning with STS-40, have included two career astronauts who were former Girl Scouts.

•Have you ever wanted to fly aspaceship?
The first American woman to command a Space Shuttle was a former Girl Scout,Eileen Collins.

•Have you ever wanted to live inspace?
Former Girl Scout Susan Helms was the first woman to serve as a crew member on the International Space Station.

•SOURCE: http://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/girlscouts/gsusa_astro.html

Do you want to go into space, to themoon, to Mars, or beyond?
Do you have THE RIGHT STUFF???
Will YOU be the first Girl Scout on the moon?

How high have the highest model rockets flown?

(go on... re-read how quickly it got to that altitude!!!)

http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/848/38/#axzz1ShuFMMS2

A dad & his son sent an iPhone into space?!?!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUZBGsLcLvs

Ready to launch something???

http://legospace.com

See also "There's an Astro App for That," scanned from the August, 2011 issue of Astronomy Magazine,copyright Kalmbach Publishing. (http://www.astronomy.com)

Two local observatories

UMSL / UM-St. Louis / University of Missouri - St. Louis Schwartz Observatory

The observatory houses a Celestron14-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope.

It is located on the North Campus...

It is open one night a month for a public open house, Saturday nights when it's not cold.

Contact details in attached Zipfile, below, and via:

http://www.umsl.edu/~physics/About%20the%20Department/astro.html

One Pack 627 visit provides us views of the moon's terminator (light/dark line), with great close-ups of somedark craters with lit crater tops... and two moons, and the rings of, Saturn!

Washington University

Wash U also has a observatory.

If your have insights, contact details, please share. Thanks!

Local / St. Louis Astronomical Groups:

Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri, who hosts events at Bromelsick Park in O'Fallon, MO: http://www.asemonline.org/

St. Louis Astronomical Society: http://www.slasonline.org/

Recent Astronomy/Space news:

"NASA Unveils Giant Rocket Design for Future Odysseys"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44517102/ns/technology_and_science-space/?ocid=ansmsnbc11#.TnQVNEbqTZU

"Planet like Tatooine found orbiting two suns"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44538031?ocid=ansmsnbc11

NASA Unveils New Detailed Photos of Moon Landing Sites