| |||||||||||
 |
News |
_____________ Island Astronomy Institute |
NEWS FROM THE ISLAND ASTRONOMY INSTITUTE
“Hands in Space” Education Debuts in June 2008
The Island Astronomy Institute and Flagsuit LLC have joined forces to present a new kind of educational experience featuring Peter Homer's space glove design, which won NASA's Astronaut Glove Challenge in 2007. Based on demonstrations given in local classrooms and at NASA exhibitions in Los Angeles and at the Kennedy Space Center, the team has developed the “Hands in Space” Astronaut Glove Experience, a portable vacuum box that lets anyone reach into the emptiness of space.
Intended for science museums and traveling outreach programs, the “Hands in Space” exhibit will incorporate four astronaut gloves manufactured by Flagsuit, the company founded by Peter Homer. For the first time, an astronaut glove will be made just for children.
Peter was featured at the Smithsonian Institute's 42nd Annual Folklife Festival, which took place June 25-July 6 on the National Mall. A member of the Island Astronomy Institute's Board of Advisors, he is recognized for developing "an innovative new space suit glove design that is strong, easy on the hands, and gives the operator a high degree of dexterity."
Peter discusses his glove design, and the processes of innovation and invention, in his June 27 video from the Folklife Festival. Visitors to Peter's display at NASA's Derived Technologies tent were able to see how it feels to wear a pressurized space suit glove, and to learn more about the devlopment of the next generation of space suits.
Our Director's Blog and video report will bring the Folklife Festival to you! See the complete "Hands in Space" press release here.
Tyler Nordgren's Reflections on Acadia
Astronomer Tyler Nordgren is on a mission to connect our national parks to the heavens above. Tyler’s one-year sabbatical from Redlands University is devoted to linking landscapes to the latest astronomical discoveries. The geologic stories of our home planet, so spectacularly displayed in our national parks, are the tools Tyler uses to explain the forces at work through the solar system.
Tyler integrates his cultural appreciation for astronomy through Native American stories about features in a pristine natural sky, which is increasingly visible only from our national parks. These visible features illustrate the primal forces that are responsible the earth at our feet. Tyler’s gift for connecting the stars above to the earth below is evident in the beautiful photography and artwork he is compiling for a companion book.
During Tyler’s October 2007 visit to Acadia, he noted the national significance of Acadia National Park’s endangered nightscapes and the broad public support for work on MDI. His spectacular mosaics of the Milky Way over famous vignettes of Acadia’s Park Loop Drive capture vistas rarely seen in the eastern United States. These are the very nightscapes we are surveying with the help of the National Park Service’s Dark Sky Team as part of our National Scenic Byway Project for Acadia.
To learn more about Tyler's work and his reflections on Acadia National Park, visit his Planetary Society Blog.
"Seize the Night" at Town Hill EBS
Homeowners ready to protect our starry skies will find night-sky-friendly lighting fixtures on display at the Town Hill EBS. IAI member Clarissa Venditelli has created a display of fully-shielded lights and retrofit shields. See our Get Involved page for details.
Peter Homer Wins NASA Award
Peter Homer, who is on the Institute's Board of Advisors, won NASA’s Astronaut Glove Challenge in May 2007. Developed for only $500 on his kitchen table, his new glove design outperforms the current Space Station glove, and shows how rapid prototyping can produce remarkable results. NASA awarded Peter $200,000 for his design. The Institute’s outreach program now brings "hands-on education" to local students, who have an opportunity to try on Peter Homer’s space glove.
In January 2008 NASA added detailed information about Peter's design to their online resources for science educators; see NASA's article on "Holding a Winning Hand."
See our special report for more information about Peter's exciting innovation.
STARLAB 2007 Raffle Winner—June 2007
Caleb Geary (below left) of Tremont, stands next to his new telescope, presented to him by Island Astronomy Institute’s Director, Peter Lord. Caleb toured Mr. Lord’s Meadow View Observatory where he learned to use his telescope.
Caleb’s winning raffle ticket helped pay for the Institute’s regional campaign to purchase a portable STARLAB planetarium. See the STARLAB page for details about this amazing new equipment and our fundraising efforts.
Light Pollution Map of Mount Desert Island—April 2007
The first light pollution map of Mount Desert Island has been created by College of the Atlantic students Nicholas Bacon and Apoorv Gelhot from the Geographic Information Systems Laboratory, as part of the Island Astronomy Institute’s new Starlit Communities Project. Nick and Apoorv presented the map for public viewing at COA's Earth Day celebration on April 22 (right).
Friends of Acadia Grant
In January 2007, the Friends of Acadia made a commitment to grant $15,000.00 in matching funds for the Night Skies Initiative. Their letter of support may be downloaded as a PDF.
The Island Astronomy Institute's Dark Skies Initiative is featured in an editorial entitled "Dark Skies," in the May 16, 2008 issue of the Mount Desert Islander. The editorial discusses zoning regulations, public education, energy conservation, and voluntary actions taken by organizations and businesses to preserve the nighttime environment on MDI.
The Island Astronomy Institute and Friends of Acadia made the headlines with a front-page story, "Saving the Night Sky," in the April 5-6, 2008 Bangor Daily News. Bill Trotter's excellent article discusses growing awareness of the light pollution issue, and the efforts that many local communities and businesses are making to preserve the precious resource of our night sky.
The Winter 2008 issue of NASA ASK Magazine features two articles from the Island Astronomy Institute. Peter Homer's "The Astronaut Glove Challenge: Big Innovation from a (Very) Small Team" tells the inside story of how Peter transformed "a pile of failures sitting on his dining room table" into one of the most important innovations in spacesuit glove technology. Peter Lord's "Using the Space Glove to Teach Spatial Thinking" explores the significance of hands-on learning experiences for engineers and schoolchildren alike.
"Lights at Night Are Linked to Breast Cancer," according to a February 20, 2008 report by Washington Post staff writer Rick Weiss. "Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime illumination are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where nocturnal darkness prevails, according to an unusual study that overlaid satellite images of Earth onto cancer registries." For further commentary on the same study, see NPR's "Light May Be Connected to Breast Cancer."
Laurie Schreiber's "Eyes on the Sky" (Bar Harbor Times, January 14, 2008) discusses the service learning program at Pemetic School in Southwest harbor, where fifth-grade students are measuring light pollution.
A "Sunday Chat" with Institute Director Peter Lord appears in the November 11, 2007 edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram. The interview with staff writer Meredith Goad includes information about light pollution measurements on Mount Desert Island, the Institute's work in educational outreach and night sky preservation, and the awe-inspiring experience of living under a starry sky.
Seeing in the Dark, a film by Timothy Ferris, explores that indescribable something—the wordless awe—that happens when ordinary people step out into the darkness to gaze upon the universe. It first aired on PBS on September 19, 2007.
The September 4, 2007 edition of Maine Things Considered on MPBN included an interview with Institute Director Peter Lord. The interview begins at 17min 44 sec. (Please note: The observatory mentioned in the broadcast is located on private property and is not part of the Institute as the segment suggests.)
David Owen's article, "The Dark Side: Making war on light pollution," in the September 5, 2007 issue of New Yorker magazine, has generated a great deal of interest in light pollution. He emphasizes the broad significance of this issue, discussing the adverse impact that poorly-designed lighting has on public safety and security, as well as the environment. You may download this excellent article as a PDF here.
Issue 68/69 of the Newsletter of the International Dark Sky Association includes an article about the first light pollution map of Mount Desert Island, which was created by College of the Atlantic students in collaboration with Peter Lord as part of the Island Astronomy Institute’s Starlit Communities Project.
The July-August 2007 issue of Acadia National Park’s newsletter, Beaver Log, features an article on the night sky and the Institute’s collaboration with Friends of Acadia. The article, "Protecting the Night," is available as a PDF here.
Our STARLAB 2007 Fundraising/Demonstration tour was fhe subject of "Starlab shines," by Laurie Schreiber, in the May 16, 2007 Bar Harbor Times.
The Institute's work on light-pollution mapping is featured in "Stars shine in dark skies," by Laurie Schreiber, in the March 23, 2007 Bar Harbor Times.
The Institute's starlit-sky initiatives are discussed in "Resource at Risk: Can Downeast Maine save its dark skies?" by Craig Idlebrook, in the February 2007 edition of Working Waterfront.
The Institute's president, Peter Lord, wrote an article entitled "Of Curiosity and Starlight" for the Fall 2006 issue of Friends of Acadia Journal. It may be downloaded as a PDF here.
Recent issues of Observer, the Institute's newsletter, may be downloaded as PDFs: