3 min read Supporting Scientists and Educators in Engaging Families in Puerto Rico In November 2023, the Planetary Resources and Content Heroes (ReaCH) team facilitated a Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement workshop for and with scientists and educators in Puerto Rico. During the two-day workshop, planetary scientists and informal educators explored the importance of building equitable partnerships, learned about evidence-based, culturally relevant, authentic approaches to engaging Latinx and Black audiences, and practiced planetary science engagement approaches through a culturally inclusive lens. The workshop was informed by an advisory board of scientists…
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New Patterns in Mars’s Clouds Revealed by Volunteers
2 min read New Patterns in Mars’s Clouds Revealed by Volunteers Volunteers found that clouds in Mars’s atmosphere cluster at certain latitudes and altitudes. White patches in this pair of plots shows where Cloudspotting participants spotted the most clouds (or “arch peaks” in the project lingo). Red labels highlight a few interesting regions: 1) where high-altitude Carbon Dioxide-ice clouds form; 2) water-ice clouds that show a different pattern between day and night; and 3) clouds that form in a cold region over the poles. Credit: Adapted from Slipski et al.…
Read MoreDaily Minor Planet Volunteers Spot an Asteroid Passing Close to Earth
2 min read Daily Minor Planet Volunteers Spot an Asteroid Passing Close to Earth The Catalina Sky Survey telescope “G96” with the follow-up telescope “I52” in the background. Credit: David Rankin Volunteers working with The Daily Minor Planet have made the project’s first big discovery: an asteroid passing very near planet Earth. On the night of October 3rd, a telescope for the Catalina Sky Survey snapped four pictures of a far northern section of the sky. The next day, volunteers H. N. DiRuscio, X. Liao, V. Gonano and E. Chaghafi spotted a clear…
Read MoreNASA’s Dragonfly Tunnel Visions
5 min read NASA’s Dragonfly Tunnel Visions Dragonfly Team Utilizes Unique NASA Facilities to Shape Its Innovative Titan-bound Rotorcraft Dragonfly team members review the half-scale lander model after it underwent wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Pictured are (from left) Art Azarbarzin, Juan Cruz, Wayne Dellinger, Zibi Turtle, Chuck Hebert, Ken Hibbard, Bernadine Juliano and Bruce Owens. Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman With its dense atmosphere and low gravity, Saturn’s moon Titan is a great place to fly. But well before NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft lander soars…
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