AD ASTRA KANSAS FOUNDATION

Volume 15, Issue 3 Fall 2016 AAKF points of interest

Founded in 2001 as an Annual Ad Astra Kansas Day Space Celebration initiative collaborates with new Topeka Science & Tech Festival Grassroots organiza- tion to promote space The annual Ad Astra Kansas Festival director Rosa Cavazos, science and STEM Space Celebration has a new date who had the idea for their event to education in Kansas this year—October 15—but it will ignite kids’ interest in science and still be at the same great location— encourage them to stay in school. Unfunded affiliate of the Stoffer Science Hall on Topeka’s That festival will run from 10 a.m. to Kansas Space Grant Washburn University campus. 3 p.m. on the 700 block of Kansas.

consortium since 2003 The celebration will also be coordi- The featured presentation at Ad nating with VISIT TOPEKA!’s first Astra’s space event will be Sponsor of seven Ad ever Science & Tech Festival— “Planetary Exploration 2016—Mars, Astra Kansas Space both October 15. However, we Jupiter and Pluto” given by two-time Celebrations and eight will still have our own designated NASA intern, KU physics grad stu- Galaxy Forums since time and place.—From 5 p.m. to 8 dent and Cosmosphere staff educa- 2008 p.m. How else can you -gaze tor Caleb Gimar. except for after dark? 501c3 status since 2012 Also new this year will be , “We are excited to join forces and fiber optics and other light demos.

work with Ad Astra because it [the Also, attendees will find out about space celebration] is science re- what astronaut training is like and Space Celebration schedule lated which is important for kids [to learn about the total eclipse which is on page 3. see],” said Science & Technical is coming in 2017.

Kepler Space Telescope reveals interesting worlds Inside this issue: “Teachers do make a difference,” she said. said Dr. Penny Warren as she be- gan a presentation on her work with The discovery of new Galaxy Forum 2016 2 the NASA Kepler Space Telescope outside the solar Scrapbook at Ad Astra Kansas’ 2016 Galaxy system in the 1990s ush- Forum August 13 at the Kansas Cos- ered in a fervor to dis- mosphere and Space Center. cover what was out there Don’t forget Ama- 2 and, most interestingly, zon Smiles Warren had wanted to be a scientist were there any in the since age 8. And made special refer- “Goldilocks Zone”—not too ence to her physics teacher at hot, not too cold (actually Space Celebration 3 Winfield High, Kerry Beach, who a technical term). encouraged her to study physics at flyer Kansas State University. According to Warren, Kepler is not an imaging KU Seniors 3 With additional degrees from Purdue telescope, but a photome- awarded Astronaut and a stint at the Naval Research ter. It measures the Scholarship Lab in D.C., Warren’s hard work led amount of light exuded by her to Ball Aerospace and Technolo- a star and then the gies, Corp., in Boulder, Colo., in amount the light dims Interstellar R & D 4 2002. There she was one of the when a transits engineers working on Kepler, which (passes in front of it). A launched in 2009. regular pattern of these dips confirm a planet. NASA put out a series of “ “It’s a weird feeling when several Travel Bureau” posters to publicize years of your life’s work are packed Of course, it’s not as sim- some of Kepler’s discoveries. Find into the nose cone on top a 14-story them at http://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien rocket to be launched into space, “ Cont. “KEPLER ” page 2 -worlds/exoplanet-travel-bureau

Page 2 Ad Astra Kansas News Fall 2016

Left: Jeanette Bosch, a selected par- ticipant in the Honeywell Educators Space Academy astronaut training held at the US Space and Rocket Cen- ter, tells about her experiences. Above, Fred Gassert, president of the Lake Afton Observatory board, Above top: Dr. Penny Warren gives a power tells about their work and the recent Above: Caleb Gimar speaks point on Kepler. Below: Attendees had a lot about the latest on the Jupiter, reopening of the iconic observatory of questions. Photos: Steve Durst and Vicki Johnson Mars and Pluto explorations west of Wichita.

Cont. “KEPLER” from page 1

detector engineers at Ball Aero- ple as that sounds. Beginning with two suns—reminiscent of the space. They design package, test in 2009, Kepler stared at two fictional planet Tatooine in Star and assemble focal plane arrays constellations, Cynus the Swan Wars movies. One of them, Kepler for tactical applications both on and Lyra the Harp for 4 years, 16b is 200 light years from . earth (aircraft, ships, tanks) and in observing over 150,000 . Its field of vision was 24x larger In 2014, the first Earth-sized planet space. than the moon and the tele- in a Goldilocks zone— scope imaged the star field Kepler186f—was found 500 light years from Earth. It is on the edge CORRECTION: In the Spring 2016 every 6 seconds. newsletter, it was reported in an arti- of a five planet system –named Kepler 186— and every 130 days cle about the Honeywell Leadership “Kepler basically played a star- Challenge Academy that a simulated ing game with these stars—not revolves around star about 1/2 the size and mass of our Sun. moon walk was done at 1/16th grav- moving, not blinking, so it would- ity. That is incorrect. The gravity There was a full house again n’t miss any transits,” said War- harness simulated 1/6th gravity. for this year’s Galaxy Forum. ren. As of now 21 planets orbiting stars in habitable zones have been

It found the first rocky planet found. The nearest is eleven light years away. outside the solar system— Don’t forget AMAZON SMILES Kepler 10b—made mostly of Over 3600 have been dense rock, maybe iron, in 2011. Friends of the Ad Astra Kansas Foun- It is 1.4 times bigger than Earth, found—most by Kepler. dation can now support our mission orbiting a sun about the size of of STEM education outreach with a ours. But the planet is too Kepler now has a new mission— K-2— which is to observe the dy- click. We have a unique link,— close—its temperature is about http://smile.amazon.com/ch/46- 2400F. namics of the small bodies of our own solar system. 2821553 Go to it, make your pur- chases as usual and a small percent- Kepler has found five planets Today, Warren leads a team of 35 age will be donated to AAKF. Volume 15, Issue 3 Page 3

Come to the first Topeka Science & Tech Festival From 10-3 at the 700 block of Kansas Avenue— Then head to:

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

5:00 to 7:00— Telescope / displays Flight demos Launch a paper rocket Space suit display Cool laser and other light demos FREE– Fun Interactive engineering / other activities Sky-Q Quiz for all ages Science museum ticket drawings Rain or shine and more… 5:00—8 p.m. Students wait in line for a 6:00— “Space” ice cream demos chance to climb up and look Saturday, Oct. 15 through the Crane Observa- 6:45— “Planetary Exploration 2016”— What’s the tory’s Warner-Swasey tele- latest on those newsmakers Mars, Jupiter and Pluto? scope at a past Ad Astra 7:00—8:00 Telescope and Crane Observatory viewing Kansas Space Celebration. Stoffer Science Hall File Photo Washburn University SPONSORED BY 17th and Washburn

The Ad Astra Kansas Foundation and Washburn University Dept. of Physics/Astronomy

Many thanks to: Banner Creek Observatory, Foundation for Aeronautic Education, North- east Kansas Amateur Astronomers League, KDOT /American Society of Civil Engineers, Caleb Gimar, K-State chapter of Optical Society of America, Jennifer Wilcox, K-State ECE Dept., Union Station Science Center, Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Space Age Publishing Company, Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, Washburn University Chemistry Club

Astronaut Scholarship awarded to two KU seniors

LAWRENCE—Two University of Smith, a graduate of Olathe North- the country’s top scholars in STEM Kansas students were selected to west High School, is majoring in fields. It provides up to $10,000 for receive the 2016 Astronaut Schol- physics and interdisciplinary com- a student’s junior or senior year. arship from the Astronaut Scholar- puting. She has been involved in ship Foundation (ASF). research at CERN (The European Sam Gemar, ASF representative, Organization for Nuclear Research) was selected as an astronaut candi- Seniors Annie Lynn and Emily in Geneva, Switzerland. She is fo- date in 1985. He flew three shuttle Annie Lynn Smith were honored Sept. 23 cusing on the search for the - missions, logging over 580 hours in during a special Aerospace Engi- retical top-prime particle in relation space, with his final shuttle mission neering Colloquium at KU featur- to the recently-discovered Higgs in 1994 as a mission specialist ing NASA astronaut Sam Gemar. boson. aboard STS-62 Columbia. Retiring Lynn, of Overland Park, is major- from NASA in 1998, his honors ing in chemical engineering. Her Established by the six surviving have included three NASA Space research involves using advanced members of the Mercury 7 mission, Flight medals and two National X-ray crystallography techniques the ASF now includes astronauts Defense Service Medals. Currently, to analyze complex biochemical from many other missions. It has he is a principal of Vintage Fliers PhotosKU of courtesy protein assembly mechanisms in awarded more than $4 million in Inc. near Wichita. viruses at the atomic level. scholarships to over 400 of the Emily Smith Page 4 Fall 2016 INTERSTELLAR R & D Ad Astra Kansas News

Published through the Ad Astra Initiative of This “Interstellar R&D” thirtieth feature in the Ad Astra Kansas News these past 15 years continues an enter- Space Age Publishing Company prise to research and gather information on important developments preparatory to humanity’s greatest ad- 230 California Avenue #108 venture—voyaging to the stars. Now, at the millennium’s turn, is an appropriate time for grand vision and for- Palo Alto, CA 94306 ward thinking, and there are strong signs of a renaissance in thought and activity. This feature and newsletter, thus, now set forth to develop a national / international /global clearing center and storehouse of knowledge and know-how for travel to the stars: Ad Astra—Steve Durst

Observation GPIES to image Hot Jupiters around prizes to the best designs of a digital 600 stars, and Keck I and II spec- messaging system than can transmit radio or optical messages from Earth The Exoplanet Revolution and trometer HIRES all have all enabled Editor/Publisher: Steve Durst the newest frontier in this science: to . Developing a mes- [email protected] Hawai’i Astronomy Using a next generation of large sage that can be understood by alien Managing Ed: Jeanette Steinert telescopes such as the Extremely cultures is an exciting project, requir- [email protected] The exponential of the Large Telescope in Chile, JWST and ing insight into mathematics, art, Webmaster: Ken Moum exoplanet revolution (Ad Astra Kansas the proposed 74-meter Colossus linguistics, psychology and culture. News, Fall 2010) totals 3,532 Telescope to characterize extrasolar The competition is open to all. Com- exoplanets, as of 1 October 2016 and planets’ atmospheres. petiton details are expected to be since 1988, in 2649 planetary systems announced by 2017. and 595 multiple planetary systems, as listed in the Extrasolar Planets Ency- Communication clopedia (not including ‘rogue’ planets Transportation which may number in the billions, or , announced in more, in our Galaxy). First speculated , chairman of the Break- Board of Directors 2015 by , Yuri by 16th-century philosopher Giordano through Prize Foundation and former President: Jeanette Steinert Milner and others is focused on Bruno and then by Isaac Newton in the director of NASA Ames Research Vice-President: Ken Moum searching for extraterrestrial alien 18th, exoplanets are the prime objec- Center will manage the new $100 Secretary: Nick Solomey radio communications in the Uni- tive of Kepler‘s space telescope mis- million project Treasurer: Vicki Johnson verse. The project will search for sion (2009) and follow-on K2 (2014) to develop a proof-of-concept that Steve Durst alien communications in the form of with over 2,000 confirmations and gigawatt can be used to propel Shawn Carithers artificial radio and / or optical signals thousands more candidate planets. gram scale robots / nanocraft to Margaret Hennessey-Springe that may come from the nearest stars at the center of our galaxy, or travel in space at 20% of the speed of Craig McLaughlin This accelerating discovery of exo- from the 100 nearest galaxies. light. If this technology is proven, Kay Neill planets is intensifying the search for small robots could be beamed into life on other worlds and the question of To find alien radio signals, Break- space and would be able to transmit , where habitable through Listen will analyze thousand images of possible planets and other or “Goldilocks zone” location (relative of hours of data collected every year scientific data in our closest star sys- to the parent star), and liquid surface by two large steerable radio tele- tem, which is 40 tril- water, radiant heat and protein sub- scopes: in lion km (4.37 light years) away from stance are among prerequisites for West Virginia and Parkes Observa- Earth. With today’s technology, it . Kepler has deter- tory in Australia. To discover alien would take 30,000 years to reach mined about 20% of Sun-like stars optical signals, the project will ana- Alpha Centauri: Breakthrough Star- have an Earth-sized planet in the hab- lyze data collected by the Lick Ob- shot laser-propelled nanocrafts would itable zone, or about 10-40 billion po- We’re on the web! servatory . reach it in about 20 years. tentially habitable Earth-sized planets and Astronomer , SETI Insti- in our Milky Way. The recent confir- tute founder, arranged for SETI to Breakthrough Starshot’s board con- mation that the nearest known extraso- analyze Listen Project data with a sists of Stephen Hawking, Yuri lar planet, Proxima-b, is about Earth- team of scientists from UC Berkeley Milner, . Scientists sized and orbits in ’s headed by , Direc- on the project include Dr. Kevin habitable zone, has placed Proxima-b tor, Berkeley SETI Research Center. Parkin who invented the Microwave at the top of the list of prospects in the Thermal Rocket, Pete Klupar, former Breakthrough Watch project being The initial results of Project Listen director of engineering, NASA Ames, considered to search for life beyond were made publicly available on and Jim Benford, president of Micro- the Solar System. Breakthrough Initiative’s website in wave Sciences as well as two Nobel April, 2016. The Open-Source re- Laureates, from UC According to Breakthrough director sults are for data from most of the Berkeley and Steve Chu from Stan- Pete Worden, more Proxima-b infor- stars that are 16 light years away ford University. mation is likely to come from the large and a sample of the stars that are 16 Gemini and Keck observatories atop to 160 light years away: including Starshot has received mixed reviews. Mauna Kea, Hawai’i, which has long data from Alpha Centauri (4 light While many scientists believe it will pioneered in exoplanet discovery. The years away) and Giselle (15.8 light help propel space travel through the July 2016 Exoplanet Mauna Kea In- years away). For more about this 21st century, other have raised con- ventory compiled by ILOA student project or to view results, go to cerns which include: (1) Lack of fund- intern Rishab Gupta of Scarsdale High http://breakthroughinitiatives.org ing, (2) using powerful 100 gigawatt School, NY, notes Canada-France- lasers to send tiny nanocraft into Hawai’i Telescope exoplanet instru- To send signals to alien civilizations space could destroy satellites and ments ESPaDOnS and SPIRou, Su- in space, Breakthrough will fund a other objects in the lasers’ path and baru Telescope instruments HICIAO smaller project ‘Breakthrough Mes- (3) maintenance and data transmis- and SEEDS, Gemini North survey sage’ which will give $1 million in sion of robots that are light years away still need to be worked out.