Science : Super Blood Moon & Total Lunar Eclipse ? Wow ! Let's enjoy the cosmic show !

 

credits: The Old Farmer's Almanac

https://www.almanac.com/

The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years coincides with a supermoon this week, on Wednesday, May 26, for quite a cosmic show.

This full Moon will be the closest full Moon of the year, making it the second of two supermoons—don’t miss it! And it will be the first total eclipse since January 2019. The eclipse will occur as the Moon gets closer to the Earth during its orbit.

Compared to other Full Moons in 2021, the Flower Moon will have the nearest approach to Earth, making it appear as the closet and largest Full Moon of the year.

Plus, it will coincide with a total lunar eclipse in some areas. Here’s everything you should know, including how it came to be called the Flower Moon, says Farmer's Almanac.

credits: NASA

This super “blood” moon will be visible on Wednesday across the Pacific – offering the best viewing – as well as the western half of North America, the bottom of South America and eastern Asia.

“Hawaii has the best seat in the house and then short of that will be California and the Pacific north-west,” said Nasa’s Noah Petro, the project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. New Zealand and Australia also will have prime viewing.

Why it called the Flower Moon?

The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not solely to the full Moon.

credits: The Old Farmer's Almanac

https://www.almanac.com/

"May’s Flower Moon name should be no surprise; flowers spring forth across North America in abundance this month!"

But if you hear anyone calling this a super blood moon, that’s because the moon will also line up in its closest approach to our planet, an event some call a supermoon.

If you live in a country where the cosmic show isn't visible, visit Virtual Telescope  live streaming.

Education: 

Lunar eclipses occur when our planet comes between its two major heavenly companions, the sun and moon. Moonglow is actually reflected sunlight and so the lunar surface gradually darkens as the moon falls into Earth’s long shadow.

The total eclipse will last about 15 minutes as Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun. But the entire show will last five hours, as Earth’s shadow gradually covers the moon, then starts to ebb. The reddish-orange color is the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected on to the surface of the eclipsed moon.

The next total lunar eclipse will be May 2022. 

“It’s quite a spectacle to behold,” said Madhulika Guhathakurta, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

credits: Georg Hochmuth/Agence France-Presse/ Getty Images

via NYT Science

Teacher may visit NASA : How to Watch a Total Lunar Eclipse and Get Students Observing the Moon

There’s no better time to learn about the Moon than during a lunar eclipse. Here’s how to get students watching and exploring more.

You might read my post of the last total eclipse 2019: Science : Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse ? Wow ! Let's talk!

There are some interesting pedagogical resources to include into your in-person lesson.

A full moon is always a good reason to go outside and look up, but a total or partial lunar eclipse is an awe-inspiring sight that gives students a great opportunity to engage in practical sky watching. 

“Tonight I’ll be looking at the blood moon and maybe I’ll think of you. But maybe I won’t and I probably won’t, but I guess that’s a chance you had to take.”

Dominic Riccitello

G-Souto

25.05.2025

Copyright © 2021-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com® 

Science : Super Blood & Total Lunar Eclipse ? Wow ! Let's enjoy the cosmic show ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

sources: NASA/ Farmer's Almanac

House of Dragon prequel ? For sure ! Here we are again !

House of Dragon

credits: HBO

Of course you do remember my post The House of The Dragon sequel. So Westeros is back. And it's very blond. 

HBO released the first images from its highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.

Now coming to some really amazing news that we would seriously like to share with students as it will give them some more shivers and will make them jump with joy and happiness.

Game of Thrones House of The Dragon

The official poster

 credits: HBO

https://georgerrmartin.com/

The series, based on author George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, follows the the Targaryen family 300 years before the events of the original series. And in the first glimpse of the new series, the relatives of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) are sporting the mother of dragon's white-blond hair.

“House of the Dragon has been in development for several years (though the title has changed a couple of times during that process),” Martin wrote on his blog in response to news of the series pickup. 

“It was actually the first concept I pitched to HBO when we started talking about a successor show, way back in the summer of 2016.”

House of Dragon recently began production and is set to debut in 2022. The three images show five of the series' characters standing stoically on a beach (maybe the shores of Dragonstone, the longtime seat of Targaryen power) clad in Westeros' best finery. 

credits: HBO

The second image shows Olivia Cooke and Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower and his daughter Alicent Hightower.

Otto is the Hand of the King to the current ruler of Westeros, King Viserys Targaryen.

"Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm," according to HBO's character description. "As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king's brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne."

Alicent is described by HBO as "the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms." She was raised in the Red Keep, in King's Landing, "close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen."

credits: HBO

In the final image, Steve Toussaint is pictured as Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka "The Sea Snake." 

He's the heir to a house of Valyrian blood as old as the Targaryens, and is "the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros. Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world."

The real hints for fans eager for the new series are in the character descriptions HBO provided along with the three images in a news release. 

The show will debut on HBO and on its streaming platform HBO Max in 2022. Let's be patient.

But you can show the spinoff to your students. They will be glad! These images provide glimpses of the cast, which features ‘The Crown’s Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint and more.

Education: 

A play and a prequel? A true sequel? Yes. Two interesting themes to include into your lessons - remote learning or in-person lessons.

• The Narration : George R.R. Martin prequel

Teachers are invited to read my publications :

Game of Thrones : Here's again the Narrative Text !

Game of Thrones prequel : The House of The Dragon & a play ? Yes ! Prepare your students

As I wrote, a Narrative text lets us know something. It tells us what happened. It tells us a story. Our students love to hear narrations. And Game of Thrones was a huge success among young people. Among teachers as well.

Movies, TV and streaming series based on children and teen books are an attractive and enjoyable digital resources to motivate students to read at school or on remote learning.

So, we can motivate young readers, presenting literary books trough movies, actually, streaming series or TV series due the Covid-19 pandemic. 

House of the Dragons 

The first look at the dragons have been aired 

credits: picture HBO

Whatever we take from this series, everything is just extremely fantastic and fabulous. Don't you think?

The bestselling inspired the popular HBO streaming saga Game of Thrones. And it was  the HBO series that inspired students to read the books. Movies or series offer teachers and students a nice captivating push! 

Some teen literature is difficult for the 'screen-generation' to read. Movies or TV series adaptation can help students to understand better those books, to appreciate and enjoy the book by having a different approach before... or after.

They strain to hear the latest news about what happens over the week and they rush to watch the latest TV or streaming series that promise a good story! We know that! So, get ready! 

House of the Dragon Golden Globe Best Drama Series

https://www.goldenglobes.com/

*New: Congratulations to the House of the Dragon cast and crew on their Golden Globes award for Best Drama Series, and SAG Awards nomination for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series.

G-Souto

20.05.2021

update: 13.01.2022

Copyright © 2021-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com® 

Schools ! House of Dragon prequel ? For sure ! : Here we are again !  by  G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Schools ! Culture Matters : Let's talk about Museums !

 

https://icom.museum/

On May 18th, Museums of the world are celebrating International Museum Day with free admission and other special activities. 

The objective of International Museum Day (IMD) is to raise awareness about the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.

Organized on 18 May each year or around this date, the events and activities planned to celebrate International Museum Day can last a day, a weekend or an entire week. 

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) established International Museum Day in 1977 to encourage public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society.

IMD was celebrated for the first time 40 years ago. All around the world, more and more museums participate in International Museum Day. Last year, more than 37,000 museums participated in the event in about 158 countries and territories.

https://icom.museum/

Theme 2021:

“The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine”

With the theme “The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine”, International Museum Day 2021 invites museums, their professionals and communities to create, imagine and share new practices of (co-)creation of value, new business models for cultural institutions and innovative solutions for the social, economic and environmental challenges of the present.

As per ICOM, the COVID-19 crisis has affected the museum sector and while there will be long and short term impacts, it also serves as a catalyst to discover innovative solutions.

https://icom.museum/

International Museum Day is also a fantastic opportunity for museum professionals to meet their public. At the heart of society, museums are institutions dedicated to its development.

Now is the time to power education by stepping up collaboration and international solidarity to place education and lifelong learning at the center of the recovery.

As the world continues to battle the pandemic, cultural education – as a fundamental right and a global public good – must be reimagined to help recovering from the generational catastrophe.

After so many months closed, museums - art and culture - could be an interesting aim to recover school education. 

However COVID19 is forcing yet again 43% of museums worldwide to close their doors.

Faced with alarming and extended closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s museums are of “fundamental importance” to reviving cultural life and preserving our shared heritage “in all its diversity”

UN cultural agency chief  

Young people are coming more and more at museums. Teachers could be good guides to help young people to enjoy Museums live or virtual visits.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Getty photography

@UNESCO

Education:

"Museums preserve heritage for future generations, promote lifelong learning, provide equal access to culture and spread the values on which humanity is based, said."

Their function in terms of social inclusion is also vital to help keep societies together, and they play a major role in the creative education. 

The authors also draw attention to traditional educational activities that are hosted by museums, such as school visits, guided tours and workshops. 

Don't forget as well virtual guided tours that some museums offer to teachers and students because many museums worldwide are forced to close their doors.

school visit

credits: unknown

via Choose Chicago

Teachers have an entire weekend to talk about art and culture visiting museums live or virtual and celebrating museums at school.

Check out some pedagogical ideas to explore and support activities at a museum and/or at school with your students:

• Visit a museum with your students. Please read Uma Aula no Museu  (Portuguese language) an interesting pedagogical project developing creative writing and artistic skills through Portuguese painter Paula Rego: cross-curricular Languages, Arts, History, IT;  
• Include Museum events into your school curriculum. Invite your students to a weekend on art and culture;
• Choosing different paintings and chef-d'oeuvres, students get inspiration to write stories and draw some interesting works;

• Explore a virtual school exchange to develop during the cultural week;
• Explore virtual museum tours. Invite your students to spend some time enjoying Google Arts & Culture, Google Street Art; museums forced to be closed.
• Visit different exhibitions at international museums using apps: For example Musée des Arts et Métiers (Paris); Thyssen Museum (Madrid); Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam); Art Legacy, bringing art to life; other;
• Another activity could be a #selfie at the Museum. During a visit to a Museum near your school, invite the students to snap selfies with an artefact of their choice.

Well, let us enjoy then a cultural adventure going at Museums that were closed so many months. Believe me, your students will be creative admiring art, and will develop incredible activities. Museums want to recover and are reimagining, by preparing fantastic activities to this big occasion. To have their public again.

This year, we needed art.

G-Souto

18.05.2021

Copyright © 2021-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com® 

Schools ! Culture matters : Let´s talk about Museums  by  G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Education : Science & Music ? ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet & Coldplay music in microgravity !

 

Thomas Pesquet

crédits:  Photo AFP /European Space Agency/ ESA/ AFP

via ESA 

To celebrate the premiere of Coldplay's latest single Higher Power, the band linked up for an extraterrestrial video chat with French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who is currently on a six-month mission on board the International Space Station. 

A specially recorded performance of Higher Power - featuring dancing alien holograms - was beamed up to Thomas, who gave the track its very first play on board the Station. 

The song’s premiere followed a conversation which took in similarities between life on tour and life on the Space Station, how planet Earth looks from space and its fragility; and how Thomas listens to music in microgravity.

ESA

Vous rappelez-vous de l'astronaute français Thomas Pesquet et du concours sur le Petit Prince d'Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Bien sûr!

Alors, l’astronaute français Thomas Pesquet a décollé le 21 avril dernier, en direction de la Station spatiale internationale (ISS). Accompagné de deux astronautes américains, Shane Kimbrough et Megan McArthur, et du Japonais Akihiko Hoshide, le Français doit passer six mois en orbite.

L’astronaute tricolore Pesquet est le commandant de bord de la mission, une première pour un Français. Wow!

Coldplay/Handout via REUTERS

Eh ben! Thomas Pesquet et Coldplay ont eu l’honneur d’échanger ensemble, en visioconférence. A cette occasion, le commandant de bord de l’ISS a diffusé, en exclusivité, le nouveau titre High Power du groupe britannique. 

Thomas Pesquet et Coldplay ont échangé ensemble en visioconférence l’occasion de la sortie du nouveau titre du groupe britannique, Higher Power. 

Depuis la coupole où se trouvait le commandant de bord de l’ISS, Pesquet, les artistes et l’astronaute ont partagé un moment complice au cours duquel ils ont pu parler de leurs expériences respectives. 

Pesquet a montré aux musiciens une vue panoramique magique de l’espace, répondant ensuite à leurs questions - un anglais parfait - et ils ont évoqué ensemble les similitudes entre la vie dans la Station Spatiale Internationale et les mois de tournées mondiales. Magnifque! Il faut regarder la vidéo ci-dessus.

crédits: ESA

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/

"Que ressentez-vous à propos de la Terre et des gens, quand vous êtes là-haut ?" - a demandé Chris Martin, très impliquée dans la défense de la planète. 

"C’est une bonne question. Quand vous êtes là, vous ne voyez pas les frontières qui sont une création qui n’existent pas naturellement. La deuxième chose, c’est que c’est incroyable à quel point la Terre et petite et fragile", a notamment répondu Pesquet. 

"Vous devez utiliser vos ressources à bon escient, vous devez partager et travailler ensemble", a-t-il poursuivi. "C’est une belle perspective, c’est ce que nous ressentons aussi", a enchaîné Chris Martin.

Cette conversation avait aussi un autre but pour Coldplay : partager leur toute nouvelle chanson, Higher Power. 

"On vous a envoyé notre musique parce que pour l’instant, on ne peut pas jouer devant quiconque sur Terre, donc on s’est dit qu’on allait la jouer pour vous", a expliqué le leader du groupe en souriant. 

Une performance spécialement enregistrée de Higher Power, mettant en vedette des hologrammes extraterrestres dansants, a été diffusée à Thomas Pesquet, qui a offert au titre sa toute première diffusion à bord de la Station», écrit sur Youtube l’Agence Spatiale Européenne. 

"C’est la première fois que notre musique est diffusée… dans toute la galaxie. Et c’était incroyable mec", peut-on entendre le groupe réagir, une fois Thomas Pesquet déconnecté.

Thomas Pesquet a ensuite diffusé les premières notes du single avec sa tablette. 

Higher Power

crédits: Coldplay/PA

Science, & pop music:

Coldplay have premiered their new single with the help of French astronaut Thomas Pesquet on board the International Space Station (ISS).

A special performance of Higher Power featuring dancing alien holograms was sent up to Thomas Pesquet, who gave the track its first play after midnight on board the station.

The award-winning band, fronted by Chris Martin, also joined the 43-year-old aerospace engineer for a conversation via video call.

                                        Thomas Pesquet & Coldplay

credits: ESA/ YouTube

Martin told Mr Pesquet: “Right now we aren’t able to play for anybody on Earth, so we thought we’d just play for you. It’s like our one-man concert.”

In the recorded performance, the four-piece are seen playing in their trademark colourful outfits in front of shipping containers, while a troupe of hologram dancers perform in front of them.

The Max Martin-produced song was teased last week via a cryptic video and website referencing an Alien Radio.

A snippet of the track later appeared on TikTok for a 24-hour period.

  Thomas Pesquet & Coldplay

credits: ESA/ YouTube

Education: science & pop music: Why not?

We all know that students love pop music. Why not talk about pop music and astronomy? Two strong subjects to include into school curricula. Especially in pandemic tome where most of world schools were closed and student so far away from teachers and colleagues.

They need to reconnect to school subjects, even those who have special needs and felt outside the education system on remote learning. 

credits: ESA/ via YouTube

This experience Thomas Pesquet on space conversation with a pop group which took in similarities between life on tour and life on the Space Station, how planet Earth looks from space and its fragility; and how Thomas listens to music in microgravity. Wow!

Music offers a bundle of advantages for the educational and overall development of students. Training in music helps students develop language and reasoning. Early musical training helps develop the areas of brain related to language and reasoning. Music can help develop the left side of our brain, and songs can help in imprinting information on our minds."

Music also has the potential to achieve social and psychological transformation of children and young people. Their sensibility will be accurate. 

image: via Music Travel

Music and science? Yes. Some good students in science discovered or will discover that they can do both. Music and science.

Knowing that all humans are musical allows teachers to easily get past the myth that music education should be reserved for a subsection of the population: the “talented few.” 

It is imperative to get this message out to people – first to ourselves as educators, then to our students.

Many teachers love Music, in this case pop music and feel comfortable to speak about Music in the school curriculum.

Did you felt the enthusiasm of young students when we are talking about music in the classroom? Any kind of music. Pop or classical. No matter the curriculum. It depends from the learners we are teaching. And from teachers, of course.

They must love pop music, as a science teacher open to the new interests of students. They are changing, after pandemic times. They are open to new subjects in school curricula, More inclusive to their interests.

We must never waste such an opportunity as teachers! Captivating the major interests of our students to Music.

But, if possible, you may contact the band of Coldplay - in these days everything is possible - and ask for a chat with students to increase cultural education. 

Who knows if you will discover a gifted kid, a new pop musician among your students? 

This would be the perfect (idealistic, I know) school education! Artists and teachers working together for the complete education of children.

Thomas Pesquet & Coldplay conversation

credits: ESA/ YouTube

Some thoughts: 

"Those who believe that music isn't as important as other core academic subjects are uneducated about how music can benefit students, both emotionally and in their academic pursuits. In schools world-wide, music education is critical to students' development of skills necessary for thriving in school and beyond."

Jef Furr

All of your lessons plans must be thought to meet specific area and curricular requirements, but also enrich students experience. 

For example, start by choosing the subject area such as Core Curriculum (Languages, Sciences, Music, Digital Literacy) and of course a Media Art | Music cross-curricular project.

G-Souto

09.05.2021

Copyright © 2021G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Education : Science & Music ? ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet & Coldplay music in microgravity by  G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sources: ESA | Coldplay/ Facebook