AD ASTRA KANSAS FOUNDATION Volume 12, Issue 1 Spring 2013 AD ASTRA KANSAS Ad Astra Kansas Day travels from Earth to the Van Allen Belt to Curiosity to Voyager DAY 2013: Why are we studying the Van Allen high-energy particles are trapped by games and activities for all ages, Radiation Belt? Earth’s magnetic field. Space events model planes demos, space ice affect the number of particles and cream, telescopes, planetarium shows Voyager (Are we there yet?) speed. Find out how this extreme and stargazing at the Crane Observa- space weather can affect us. tory. April 27, 2013 How did a Kansas high school get an observatory and what’s coming next? Dr. Tom Armstrong—He has been a This free event is open to the public, Stoffer Science Hall co-investigator on Voyager for the and geared for all ages. It is put on Washburn University How do you name a spacecraft? past 35 years. He has Voyager up- through the cooperation of the Ad dates, a Voyager video and plenty of Astra Kansas Foundation, the Wash- Topeka Answering those questions at the other NASA and space information. burn University Department of Physics 2013 Ad Astra Kansas Day Space and Astronomy, the Washburn Univer- Celebration in Topeka will be: Mike Ford— He instrumental in the sity Chemistry Club, Northeast Kan- 5:30—10 p.m. start of Elk Creek Observatory, Hol- sas Amateur Astronomy League, Dr. Jerry Manweiller— He is Co- ton, the only high-school owned Children’s Discovery Center, Founda- Fun for all ages Investigator and Science Operations observatory in Kansas. He will tell tion for Aeronautic Education, Ameri- Center Lead Engineer for the about its beginnings and expan- can Society of Civil Engineers Kansas Radiation Belt Storm Probes sion into Banner Creek Section, Space Age Publishing Com- Free Ion Composition Experi- Observatory/Science pany, Mike Ford and Fundamental ment (RBSPICE) instru- Center, and its potential Technologies, Inc. For more information ment on NASA’s Van for science education Allen Probes mission, in northeast Kansas. go to www.adastra- which is exploring ks.org Earth’s radiation belts. Clara Ma—She is the A physicist and soft- Kansas high school ware engineer for over student whose entry 30 years, Dr. Manweiler “Curiosity” was chosen is a co-founder of Funda- over 9,000 others nation- mental Technologies, LLC, a wide as the name for that Inside this issue: software development and data analy- diligent Mars rover. She will share sis firm in Lawrence, Kansas. Funda- what an exciting experience it has mental Technologies is currently been seeing the rover being built , participating in six NASA satellite launched and landing. missions including Van Allen Probes and Voyager I & II. In addition to all this the ever popular Stargazing at the Crane Observa- Meet our Board 2 event held at Washburn University tory is always a popular activity at Van Allen Radiation Belt is two donut- Stoffer Science Hall on April 27, from the Ad Astra Kansas Day event shaped regions encircling earth where 5:30 until 10:00 p.m., will include KU researchers 2 featured on Kansan discovers asteroids to rival Russian one Weather Channel In September 2012, while doing ob- which is underneath the high satel- data bank, the Near Earth Object servations from his back yard obser- lites. “We’re not in any immediate Confirmation Page (NEOCP) of the Cosmic ray ob- 3 vatory south of Topeka, amateur danger. Virtual mathematics gives the Minor Planet Center. He takes one astronomer Gary Hug discovered an chance of a hit at 77,000 to 1, but the with an orbit that is only vaguely servatory student asteroid comparable to the meteorite chance over several centuries that known and by tracking it over the experience that would hit Russia in February something could occur is there,” says course of several nights helps refine 2013. Hug. the data and project its orbit with more accuracy. There are not a lot of peo- Where to see 3 Hug’s find is a little bigger than the The drier and clearer winter months ple worldwide working on asteroids— meteorites in Russian one, (which NASA info says are good for observing, and in Janu- a half-dozen surveys and about two was 18 meters) almost 60 feet across. ary 2013, Hug discovered asteroid dozen universities. “We can always Kansas He reported it immediately to the 2013 AS27. An educated guess is that use more help,” says Hug. Minor Planet Center (MPC) at the it is 160-340 meters across. This take- Asteroid Fast 3 Smithsonian Astrophysical Observato- out-a-country-sized asteroid is, fortu- Asteroids generally are in a belt be- ry. During the next 30 hours, dozens nately, about 5 million miles away this tween Jupiter and Mars. Over 99.9 Facts of other observatories around the time around the Sun according to percent are well-behaved, following a world confirmed the object. Hug. basically circular orbit. “A few rene- gades bump around or are affected by The rough mathematical estimate An amateur astronomer for the last 40 some gravitational influence and veer Interstellar R & D 4 gives Hug’s asteroid, name 2012 years, Hug made these discoveries off into different orbits or directions. SY49, the potential to orbit as close while doing follow-up observations on It’s these less than one percent that as 20,000 miles above the Earth— other asteroids listed on a scientific “Discovers” cont. page 3 Headline Story Inside Page 2 Ad Astra Kansas News Spring 2013 Meet Our Board Steve Durst is editor and publish- Mark Smith: “I am a father of Margaret Hennessey- er at Space Age Publishing Compa- four, a proud Kansan, a Marine Springe is the Director of Educa- ny in Hawai`i and California, and a Corps veteran and a graduate of tion at the Kansas Children's Dis- founder and director of its affiliated Washburn University. I earned a PhD covery Center (KCDC) in Topeka. International Lunar Observatory in experimental particle physics from She is responsible for the creation Association / Galaxy Forum, Stanford Kansas State University. Since 2009, and implementation of educational on the Moon, and Ad Astra Kansas I’ve been a faculty member at Wash- curriculum and programs at initiatives. burn University.” KCDC. Smith has been instrumental in the Prior to her work at KCDC, Ms. Steve’s appreciation for Kansas – annual Ad Astra Kansas Day Space Hennessey Springe owned and mid-way USA, the heartland and the Celebration at Washburn since its operated “Art to Educate,” an art- breadbasket – provides support for start in 2010, contributing his time, based educational program for interstellar R&D, inspired by the Ad astronomy expertise and administra- children grades Pre‐K – 5. She has Astra Per Aspera state motto and by tive skills to this successful event. created and taught hundreds of considerations for America and multi‐disciplinary classes through- Humanity’s long-range future. out the region that utilize art to Above: Steve Durst reinforce the K‐12 Kansas Stand- (left) with former ards. She serves on the Kansas Heather Mull assists with business Next Generation Science Standards Kansas state senator development and project documenta- (NGSS) review committee, a lead Steve Morris tion at Fundamental Technologies, state agency, to provide leadership LLC, a software development and to the writers and to other states as data analysis firm in Lawrence, Kan- they consider adoption of the sas. Prior to joining Fundamental NGSS. Technologies in 2009, she owned a successful marketing communica- tions company, taught business communications for National Semi- nars, a Division of Rockhurst Univer- sity Continuing Education Center, Inc., and was Editor-in-Chief of The Colorado Real Estate Journal. Right: Mark Smith, Heather Mull. Far right: Margaret Hennessey-Springe KU researchers seen on Weather Channel series “Forecasting the End” LAWRENCE--Three KU faculty some unusual cases the radiation life on Earth is a great increase in members appeared in the March 21 goes out in narrow jets that can ultraviolet radiation brought about by episode of the new Weather Chan- cause damage to a planet thousands damage to the ozone layer resulting nel series “Forecasting the End.” The of light years away. from the radiation. episode was entitled “Gamma Ray The KU group Burst.” “One can show that the Earth should The KU group has become the world have been hit by such a jet multiple leader in the analysis of possible The researchers are Bruce Lieber- times during the geological past, damage to Earth by radiation bursts. has become the man, professor of ecology and evolu- from such a distance as to likely In a January report on possible glob- tionary biology; Adrian Melott, phys- cause mass extinction [or] the sud- al disasters, the British journal Na- ics and astronomy; and Brian Thom- den loss of a large fraction of the ture devoted one-third of its citations world leader in as, associate professor of physics species that live on Earth,”said to the KU work. and astronomy at Washburn Univer- Melott. analysis of sity and adjunct associate professor Thomas added that televising results at KU. Melott said mass extinctions have of these kinds of scientific investiga- come on average around once per tion has special value. possible The series chronicles natural disas- 25 million years. ters that occur only occasionally, but “TV is a great way to get science out cause severe problems, including The KU collaboration has advanced of the lab and into people’s homes,” damage to extinction of species. Each episode the idea that at least one mass ex- he said. “This gives them an oppor- is devoted to one kind of catastrophic tinction that occurred 445 million tunity to see scientists talking about event.