Look… it’s a bird, it’s a plane…

It’s the International Space Station.

Tomorrow night (Tuesday) at around 6:50 pm (early evening) Calgarians will have a great chance to lay eyes on the ISS pass (sorta) over Calgary. Here’s the orbital data:

From the Starry Skies Website:

First to keep in mind is that while we are used to seeing celestial objects rising in the east and setting in the west – such isn’t the case with either the shuttle of ISS, which is why it’s very handy to have NASA provide the sightings times for you. Generally, the station and shuttle move from west to east across the sky, looking much like a slow moving star.

The best times to view are just after sunset or before sunrise when the vehicles are reflecting the most sunlight and are easiest to see. A few days before and after the shuttle docks with the ISS is a great time to see both of them as the shuttle will be close to the station and you may see a double pass. Currently (as of June 10/07) the shuttle is docked with the station.

There area actually two opportunities to see the ISS:

ISS	Tue Nov 01/06:53 PM			44 above WSW
ISS	Tue Nov 01/08:29 PM			14 above WSW

Dance of the Seasons

I’ll let you watch some of the nonsense we’ve been doing in Grade 6 Science class before providing commentary.

Please do not judge us!

And now for an explanation…

We are learning about the seasons.  Besides being something that the Province requires us to teach (and grade 6s to learn), it’s the source of many misconceptions. But when asked what truly causes the seasons, the one word that should come to mind is this… TILT.

And so to demonstrate this idea, I came up with something of a seasonal dance, wherein as we tilt at the waist and rotate counterclockwise, we can mimmick the various inclinations of Terra as she revolves around Sol.

If this is confusing to you, please ask your grade 6 student for a better explanation.

The North is our head,  the South is our, um… tailbone.  And as we revolve around Sol, our two hemispheres present themselves more directly to the rays of Sol, and so experience preferential warming (or cooling) known as summer (or winter).

As I say, ask the kids about it.

New Grade 8 Email Update

A new email update to grade 8 Parents has just gone out.  If you haven’t received one, please contact me through email, and I will get you on the list.

I am: mister.buracas@gmail.com

Click through to read the email message.

No one will read this!

No one will read this… but everyone should.

It is long, it relates to nothing we are doing in science (grade 6 or grade 8), and it has no pretty pictures, diagrams, or animations.  Well just one, of Richard Feynman, a very (VERY!) smart guy.

This is Feynman:

Once again, let me repeat:  no one will read this article.  Prove me wrong. Comment or email me.   mister.buracas@gmail.com

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Feynman on Education in Brazil

From Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!:

In regard to education in Brazil, I had a very interesting experience. I was teaching a group of students who would ultimately become teachers, since at that time there were not many opportunities in Brazil for a highly trained person in science. These students had already had many courses, and this was to be their most advanced course in electricity and magnetism – Maxwell’s equations, and so on.

The university was located in various office buildings throughout the city, and the course I taught met in a building which overlooked the bay.

I discovered a very strange phenomenon: I could ask a question, which the students would answer immediately. But the next time I would ask the question – the same subject, and the same question, as far as I could tell – they couldn’t answer it at all! For instance, one time I was talking about polarized light, and I gave them all some strips of polaroid.

Moons of Jupiter

I saw the Moons of Jupiter, Saturday night.  They looked like this:

It’s amazing what you can see, just with binoculars. Mine are 8×40 – 8x magnification with a 40mm objective lens.  Much better than what Galileo had back in the day.

Float my Boat

NEW!!! – Thanks to Dan M. of my grade 8s… He had asked for a link to a video segment showing the oil spill.  Here it is:

Video of New Zealand Oil Spill

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Grade 8s are currently neck deep studying the ideas of floatation and buoyancy. So the tragic news coming to us from New Zealand provides a timely example of how what we do in class relates to the real world around us.

Even if it’s half way around the world.

Shipping containers float in the water around the cargo ship Rena today. (AP Photo/Maritime New Zealand, Blair Harkness) AP

The MV Rena is a container ship, and so is highly laden with cargo containers of imported goods. She (ships are always female) ran aground on October 5, on a well marked reef, in calm and sunny conditions, for reasons known only to her captain and officers.

This BBC news item spells it out succinctly:  New Zealand oil spill threatens ecological catastrophe.

On Friday, 88 containers fell overboard. What’s in them is anyone’s guess, but they will eventually be washed ashore along with the hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil from the ship’s bunkers. (Maybe they will find BMW motorcycles in the containers.)

But now, the quandary – what to do, and who’s responsible… The Captain of the Rena has been arrested, and faces fines and jail time. From the Herald-Sun:

The captain will appear in court today charged “for operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk”.

He has been charged under section 65 of the Act and more charges may follow. The charge carries a maximum penalty of $10,000, or a maximum term of imprisonment of 12 months.

And this poses an interesting question of responsibility and consequences.  Clearly, this was an accident. So does the Captain deserve to be charged and jailed?

This is the discussion we shall be having in the D2L Discussion area, with my grade 8 students.

Night Sky

As we move into prime autumn viewing — the time when it’s dark enough to see the stars while remaining warm enough to stay out and look at stars — I would like to present a few links and resources to help everyone out, especially my grade 6s.

First of all, the Moon.

I took this picture at about 9:30, Thursday night. 400 mm lens with a Canon 5D (if that means anything to anyone).

The moon is about 17 days old.  That means 17 days since the new moon, when it was on the same side as Sol, from our view on Earth.  From night to night, now, it will be getting smaller.  Is is waning. In another 13 days, it will shrink to a sliver of a crescent, and then the cycle will continue again.

Find the Moon’s Age

 

 

Poetry of Reality

Early on in the course, in a bit of a “let’s get motivated about science” moment, I presented this short video from the “Symphony of Science” series. There are now eleven such videos, each touching on an aspect of science, and presenting some of the giants in science outreach.

This one is The Poetry of Reality, which I thought angle to present what we do here in class.

From the Website:

The Symphony of Science is a musical project of John D Boswell, designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. The project owes its existence in large measure to the classic PBS Series Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steve Soter, as well as all the other featured figures and visuals. Continuation of the videos relies on generous support from fans and followers. You can make a donation if you wish to contribute support to the project. Thanks to everybody who has donated – enjoy what you find!

I will admit that I find this a bit cheesy.  Autotuned voices belong to Keh – Dollar Sign – Ah (Ke$ha) and Nebraska Alaska, not on my own scientific heros and inspiration, Sagan and Feynman.

Still, my students enjoyed it, and several have asked for the link.  Well, Hevyn, here it is.

 

Be Excellent

At the beginning of (almost) every class, my introductory activity for students is to copy down a chosen “Quote of the Day”. QotD.

It’s a chance for me to indoctrinate my students into the ways of the scientist; how we think, what we do, how we see the world. Trust me, it’s different than, say, and artist or a writer. (I am all three so I actually like trying to combine those passions.)

Today’s quote of the day, in honour of Steve Jobs — Apple visionary, game changer, agent of change:

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people

aren’t used to an environment

where excellence is expected.

Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)

Photo: Apple Inc (Media Commons license)

The Planets

We are, of course, touring the Solar System in grade 6 science.  This video (and accompanying song) adds absolutely nothing to the conversation.  Nothing.

This one, however, is much better.  Much.  Among other things, it explains why Pluto isn’t considered to be a planet any more.

Oh heck, and this one too.  Happy Tuesday!