Get the Inside Scoop on Orion-Ares I

If you enjoy keeping up with NASA's plans for future space exploration, you'll want to join us for a very special night in the Schuele Planetarium. The 8 p.m. Saturday, July 18 Monthly Skyquest program will feature Deputy Director Joe Baumeister of NASA Glenn who will provide the latest information about NASA’s replacement for the Space Shuttle, Orion – Ares I, including the test flight set for later this year.

Free tickets for this event are on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the presentation at 8 p.m. Although we love welcoming the little ones to planetarium programs like Twinkle Tots and Stellar Stars, this program is not suitable for small children. There will also be free telescope viewing at 9 p.m., weather permitting.

NASA Explorer School

Representatives from schools across the country who’ve been chosen as NASA Explorer schools paid a visit to Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s Schuele Planetarium this month as part of their enrichment activities.
NASA Explorer Schools program is designed to bring engaging mathematics, science and technology learning to a select group of educators each year. Teams of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities across the country work with education specialists from NASA centers, including NASA Glenn, in an effort to encourage innovative science and mathematics instruction for 4th - 9th graders.








Here at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, two-dozen Explorer School participants enjoyed an interactive star show and heard first-hand how hands-on, informal science education can make a difference in bringing complex concepts to life. Schuele Planetarium Director Jay Reynolds, Planetarium Specialist Jessica Mazzola and three NASA representatives led the workshop.
For more on how you can enjoy a planetarium program, visit the Schuele Planetarium online. For more information about the Explorer Schools program visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov/.

See the Space Station Tonight!

Schuele Planetarium Director Jay Reynolds says tonight (October 9, 2008) offers your last chance until Thanksgiving to see the space station moving through the night sky! Jay says you can expect to see a bright light moving in a straight line. It will not flash, make sounds or change course. The station is carrying 3 astronauts at 17,500 miles per hour (5 miles per second!)

Here are Jay's viewing instructions:

At 7:16 p.m. look West North West (to the right where the sun sets) Don't confuse the bright star in the West, that is Acturus.
At 7:21 p.m. the space station will be 2/3 high in the sky
At 7:24 p.m. the space station will be heading towards the South East

Happy viewing!

Phoenix Remembered On the Radio

WCPN radio calls him their "resident space ambassador." To us, Jay Reynolds, is Director of the Schuele Planetarium. Yesterday, Jay took time out of his busy schedule to look back at the Phoenix Mars landing and to highlight other astronomy and space news on WCPN's Around Noon program. Jay specializes in bringing complex space science topics "down to earth" for all of us to understand and enjoy. If you missed the original broadcast yesterday on Around Noon, head on over the the WCPN 90.3 website and listen to a replay for insight into life on Mars, the space station and more.

NASA's DAWN Mission

Our Planetarium Director Jay Reynolds wears many hats in the space science community. This morning he was up early, rooting for the long-delayed launch of NASA's DAWN space probe:

As I write this, technicians at NASA Cape Canaveral are preparing to roll the large gantry tower which will finally reveal the rocket that will propel the Space Probe DAWN on it’s 8 year journey. DAWN is a mission to the asteroid belt, reaching its first asteroid destination VESTA in 2011. The probe will then break orbit of VESTA and reach the dwarf planet CERES in 2015.

Since this past March, students of Cleveland State University and Lakeland Community College have been providing telescope support for this mission. This past June, our student researchers and I were invited to Kennedy Space Center to present our research to the science team and educators.

It is also good to point out that the ION engines that DAWN will use were developed by our own NASA Glenn Research Center, right here in Northern Ohio .

Thursday morning, after years of delays, 2 mission cancellations and restorations, 4 actual launch delays, DAWN is scheduled to leave Earth, at 7:20 a.m. EDT. It is sometimes described as “the rocket that wouldn’t leave!” My students and I will be watching with anticipation! Go DAWN!

Jay and his Cleveland State students were not disappointed as DAWN began its 1.7 billion mile journey through the inner solar system at 7:34 a.m. this morning.

We love Jay's connection to NASA! The affiliation allows us to bring exciting, cutting edge space photos and information to all our Schuele Planetarium programs. In fact, if you attended any of our seasonal star shows during the month of August, you already learned about asteroids and the DAWN mission.