Catching the Falling Stars : Science curriculum

Perseid 2012

David Harpe, Boulder USA

http://i.space.com/

"We have found that one meteor shower produces more fireballs than any other," (...) "It's the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12th and 13th."

Bill Cooke, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office 

According to NASA research, the upcoming Perseid meteor shower produces more fireballs — bright meteors that streak across the sky — than any other annual shower, earning it the title of "fireball".

What is the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseid meteor shower is an annual event occurring every August. They are tiny particles of dust and debris from the tail of a comet (109P/Swift-Tuttle) which planet Earth encounters every year in its orbit around the Sun. When these particles collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up causing bright flashes and streaks in the night sky. These are known as shooting stars or meteors.

The Perseids produced 568 tracked fireballs while the Geminid meteor shower came in a close second, producing 426 from 2008 to 2013. 

The annual Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak early next Sunday and Monday, August 11 and 12 2013, all night, and skywatchers in the world are flocking to their nation's national parks, where pristine, dark skies are ideal for watching what is typically the most dazzling fireball display of the year.

Some night sky enthusiasts have already reported Perseid sightings, but the meteor shower is expected to peak overnight Monday, August 12, 2013. 

photo: Credit: Starry Night Software

http://vortex.accuweather.com/

"Comet Swift-Tuttle has a huge nucleus - about 26 kilometers [16 miles] in diameter," (...) "Most other comets are much smaller, with nuclei only a few kilometers across. As a result, Comet Swift-Tuttle produces a large number of meteoroids, many of which are large enough to produce fireballs."

Bill Coke | NASA

Every year, the Earth passes through a trail of dust left behind in the comet's wake. The dust burns up in Earth's atmosphere, creating the brilliant shower.

http://www.mariacarrillohighschool.com/

Education:

Most of us are on vacation. But students can watch this exciting event of the summer with family or in campus summer.

However, if you are a Sciences teacher you can do some amazing videos or photos to explain the Perseid show during a lesson after school summer holiday.

Resources:

There is an interesting guide written by Phil Plait (adaptation):

1) Find a place that's dark. The darker the spot you find away from house and city lights, the better.

2) Your best bet is to have as much sky visible as possible. The more heavenly real estate you can see, the better your chances of seeing more meteors.

3) Be outside after local midnight - literally, halfway between dusk and dawn. After midnight, you're on the part of the Earth facing into the direction of the Earth's travel around the Sun, so you'll see more meteors then.

4) Relax! Use a lounge chair or some other comfortable way to lie out. You'll see a meteors on average once a minute or three. So you need patience - which is rewarded when you see that bit of light zipping across the sky. 

5) Look up! You don't need a telescope or binoculars or other fancy equipment. Remember, the more sky you see the better.

6) Taking pictures of meteors is easy if you only have an inexpensive camera and a tripod. Set it up, point it anywhere you want - find a nice collection of bright stars if you prefer - and let it expose for a few minutes if you can. If you are lucky, you'll find a nice bright streak or two in some of the pictures. Meteors!

7) Got wireless? Then bring your mobile device outside with you and listen to the meteors, too! This is totally cool! son't miss it and 

Other Guides: 

NASA Science

MetOffice| UK

MeteorWatch

Universe Today’s weekly SkyWatcher’s Forecast

Apps:

Meteor counter app for iPhone

Meteor counter app for Android

Social media:

Twitter: Join in with the worldwide #meteorwatch

Video: Tonight's Sky

Of course, you must keep the idea of the beauty and the pedagogical watching of this marvelous summer falling stars shower.

"The Perseids are the highlight of the astronomical calendar and a must see! They are ideal for those who want to see a meteor/ shooting star for the first time."

Hoping to be lucky! I am preparing my garden chair, a soft sweet-shirt, may be a blanket, a little Pink Floyd music, The great gig in the sky, my Android, and some green hot tea to watch the falling stars from my high balcony near country.

G-Souto

10.08.2013
Copyright © 2013G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®


Catching the Falling Stars: Science curriclum by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Schools : Music as social inclusion for kids

Roger Waters, Pavillhão Atlântico (Lisbon)

The Wall

http://blitz.aeiou.pt

Roger Waters began his European tournée "The Wall" on March 21 (International Day of Poetry), with a fantastic concert, in Lisbon. You can  admire some photos on Blitz (Portuguese magazine of Music).

Rolling Stones, U2 are fantastic in their performances but only Pink Floyd and Roger Waters are able to mix images, scenarios, lights, music and technology with such harmony, even such poetry! 

Roger Waters & Coro Juvenil Cova da Moura

The Wall, Lisbon

http://imgs.cmjornal.xl.pt

And Roger Waters did more! Much more! He asked for the presence of a project of social inclusion for kids to be with him on stage.

Sixteen ethnic kids from "Associação Moinho da Juventude da Cova da Moura" (near Lisbon) were on stage in a special participation with Roger Waters and his fourteen musicians. 

Cova da Moura choral group
Lisbon
http://imgs.cmjornal.xl.pt

Whassysa, social assistant, 27 years old, that motivated those kids to participate in such an important concert, told media that the choral group has only a month and kids and teenagers (8-16 years old) were very excited about their participation in the concert.

The Wall - Lisbon (Portugal)

http://mediaserver.rr.pt

Kids (boys and girls) were so motivated - said Whassysa - that they were not missing a single day in the rehearsal, during two weeks. 


They did not know the lyrics, even less English language. And they learned the lyrics in English.


The video below is in Portuguese language, but you have the gesture language to follow it...

Kids engaged very seriously in the project, they made some research about Roger Waters and Pink Floyd. It was the first time that they heard about The Wall, Roger Waters or Pink Floyd.


And March 21-22, 2011 when the classical theme ‘Another Brick in the Wall - Part 1’ began, kids  appeared on stage singing. Watch the video below:

What an audacious project to change the future of Cova da Moura young people. Roger Waters welcomed them on the stage! 


It was very kind of him to invite a choral group of vulnerable young kids to participate in the concert.

http://plsn.com/international-news/

Education:


We all know the importance of Music as social inclusion for kids. There are fantastic projects all over the world! And Cova da Moura project is one of them! 

Music has the potencial to achieve social transformation of vulnerable kids.


The success of this participation and the work of the cultural assistant aim the long-term  – including hopes that children will be driven towards higher educational achievement and, ultimately, out of poverty – are impossible to evaluate at the moment! But it had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the children involved, for sure. 


The holistic immersive approach of music (rock, pop, classical) and the engagement of important and experencied musicians is central to achieving significant transformation, particularly to the lives of the most vulnerable children.



G-Souto


01.04.2011
Copyright © 2011G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Credits: video RTP

Music as social inclusion for kids by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.