Transit of Venus Event – June 5, 2012 at OMSI in Portland, OR

Watch the Transit of Venus on June 5-6, 2012

CELESTIAL EVENT OF A LIFETIME
Rare transit of Venus viewing: June 5, 2012 from 3‐9 p.m. at OMSI

Portland, OR (May 29, 2012) The last to occur in our lifetime, a rare celestial event called a transit of Venus is set to transpire on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and the Rose City Astronomers Club will host a free transit of Venus viewing party in OMSI’s south parking lot for this exciting occurrence. Filtered solar telescopes and indirect viewing methods will be available for safely observing the transit. NASA TV and San Francisco’s Exploratorium will display the transit of Venus from viewing sites around the world. OMSI will show their broadcasts live in the museum’s auditorium. The auditorium doors will open at 2:30 p.m. and admission to the televised transit is free (no reservations required).

A transit of Venus is the observed passage of the planet Venus across the disk of the sun. It occurs when Venus, orbiting the sun “on the inside track,” catches up to and passes the slower Earth. To viewers, Venus will appear as a small dot in the foreground, making its passage (or “transit”) from left to right across the face of the sun.

For Portland, the transit will commence at 3:05 p.m. when Venus appears to the east of the Sun. The greatest transit movement will occur at 6:29 p.m. when Venus appears just off-center to the right of the northern area of the sun. The sun will set at 8:55 p.m. and the transit will end at 9:44 p.m. as Venus exits to the west of the sun.

It is important to use eye protection or indirect viewing techniques when observing this transit activity. Viewers should use only an approved solar filter which blocks dangerous ultraviolet and infrared radiation as well as visible light. Special solar viewing glasses are available at the OMSI Science Store for $2 (http://www.omsi.edu/science-store).

Transits of Venus always occur in pairs that are spaced eight years apart. Each pair of occurrences is then not repeated for more than a century. For example, the last transit of Venus took place on June 8, 2004, and of course the next one will be visible this June of 2012. The previous pair of transits occurred in December, 1874 and December, 1882. After 2012, the next transits of Venus will take place in December, 2117 and December, 2125.

Learn how to view the Venus transit with the experts by joining us for the event at OMSI! You can find more information by visiting http://www.omsi.edu/starparties or by calling 503.797.4000.

About OMSI
Founded in 1944, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of the nation’s leading science museums, a world-class tourist attraction, and an award-winning educational resource for the kid in each of us. OMSI is located at 1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214. For general information, call 503.797.4000 or visit http://www.omsi.edu.

OMSI Star Party – Perseid Meteor Shower Watch August 12, 2011

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is getting ready for its largest star party of the year on Friday, August 12, the Perseid Meteor Shower Watch! Hundreds of star lovers from across the Pacific Northwest will be meeting at both Rooster Rock State Park and Stub Stewart State Park at 9 p.m. to watch and enjoy the wonder of the Perseid Meteor Shower. The event, sponsored by OMSI, the Rose City Astronomers, the Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers and Oregon Parks and Recreations will have telescopes set up for attendees to use. OMSI staff will be presenting informal talks about the meteor shower, constellations, and the summer sky.

The Perseid Meteor Shower occurs when the Earth enters the path of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle in its last trip past the Sun. Swift-Tuttle follows a highly eccentric orbit around the Sun with an orbital period of about 130 years. The comet last passed by the Earth in December 1992. Timing is not precise, but according to the American Meteor Society, the 2011 peak is expected on August 12th at around 9:00 p.m. PDT (0400 hours UT on August 13). There is some uncertainty, so it’s very worthwhile to observe on either side of this time. The OMSI Star Parties will be held on the night of August 12 and into the early morning of August 13. Estimate peak rates for this year’s Perseid is near 60 for those under transparent rural skies. Those under dark but hazy skies should still be able to see 30 to 40 Perseids per hour. Those under urban skies will be lucky to exceed 10 to 20 per hour. Unfortunately, this year will have the full moon on August 12 and will be a factor for viewing the fainter meteors of the Perseids. While viewing the Perseids, we will look at the Moon, Saturn and later Jupiter. As a bonus, the International Space Station will be visible on the same night.

To reach Rooster Rock State Park, take I-84 east of the Sandy River at exit 25. The park is located 22 miles east of Portland. To reach L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, take US-26 west of Portland and turn right on OR-47. The park is located 23 miles west of Portland. The event is free, and there is a $5 per vehicle parking fee for public. For possible weather cancellation, call (503) 797-4610 on August 12 after 4:00 PM to get the latest information.

Background:
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower. Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet’s orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.

Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. This meteor shower gets the name “Perseids” because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere can start seeing Perseid meteors as early as July 23, when one meteor every hour or so could be visible. During the next three weeks, there is a slow build-up. It is possible to spot five Perseids per hour at the beginning of August and perhaps 15 per hour by August 10. The Perseids rapidly increase to a peak of 50-80 meteors per hour by the night of August 12/13 and then rapidly decline to about 10 per hour by August 15. The last night meteors are likely to be seen from this meteor shower is August 22, when an observer might see a Perseid every hour or so.

“Shooting stars” are intense streaks of light across the night sky caused by small bits of interplanetary rock and debris called meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Traveling at thousands of miles an hour, meteoroids quickly ignite in searing friction of the atmosphere, 30 to 80 miles above the ground. Almost all are destroyed in this process; the rare few that survive and hit the ground are known as meteorites.

Most people do not know how easy it is to watch a meteor shower. Although it is Summer, evening temperatures can drop and jackets may be a necessity. Choose an observing location giving a wide view of the sky with as few obstructions as possible. If you’re viewing from the city, try to observe where artificial lights interfere the least. Places like Rooster Rock State Park, Mt Hood area, or eastern Oregon are popular locations for dark sky in viewing the meteor shower. Possible to watch it from the comfort of your backyard, but only the bright meteors would be visible. Meteor watching is basically an unaided-eye event but binoculars are handy for watching trails (persistent trains) that may hang in the sky for one or more seconds after a meteor’s passage.

The Radiant will be low in the northeast sky after sunset. For early evening viewing, be outside about the time the first stars appear. The Radiant will be low in the northeast but don’t concentrate just on that one area, but rather, let your gaze wander over a large portion of the sky. Meteors that appear near the Radiant will have short paths while those that begin farther out have much longer ones. In the early evening you may spot a few so-called Earth Grazers which can blaze long trails across the sky. They’re not likely to be numerous but do appear, sometimes at the rate of half a dozen or more an hour.

As the hours pass the Radiant rises higher and between about midnight and dawn the greatest number of meteors can be seen. Viewing through city lights will reduce their numbers considerably but the brighter ones will show up nicely.

Earth From Space Student Internships at OMSI in Portland, OR

STUDENT INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

OMSI is seeking college interns to develop and present compelling demonstrations using spherical display systems (Science on a Sphere, Magic Planet) that make NASA datasets and research processes accessible to the public.

The demonstrations should frame NASA data to tell interesting stories in a visually engaging setting that demonstrate how NASA satellite data is collected. At OMSI’s main museum location, this programming will be displayed on a Science on a Sphere system, while Magic Planet spherical display systems will be used to provide programs at rural libraries, schools, and other outreach venues.

Interns will work together in groups of two or three.
Internships will begin March 1, 2011 and will be offered quarterly through May 31, 2013

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS:
· Excellent written and oral communication skills.
· Extremely organized, detail oriented, and a team player.
· Ability to stay focused and manage time effectively.
· Excellent work ethic and ability to work independently.
· Experience and proficiency in Microsoft Office.
· Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and HTML a plus.

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE:
The Earth from Space Intern must be a student at an Oregon university and should be working toward or have completed a Bachelor’s degree, with coursework or experience in the sciences, education, marketing, communications or related fields.

INTERN BENEFITS:
· Admission for the intern to the museum, OMNIMAX and Planetarium shows, and submarine tours.
· An OMSI Family Membership upon completion of project.
· The opportunity to meet many new people and learn more about NASA.
· Stipends available to eligible participants.

CONTACT:
Students interested in this excellent internship opportunity should contact Nate Lesiuk, Program Developer, OMSI Earth from Space Program at nlesiuk (at) omsi.edu or by phone at 503-239-7817.

Earth From Space Program Flyer

OMSI Professional Development and Field Trip Scholarship Opportunity for Educators – Deadline June 17, 2011

Teachers inspire wonder in their students every day. But how do teachers stay inspired? OMSI would like to invite you to apply for a unique professional development and field trip scholarship opportunity. This scholarship includes year-long professional development support (minimum 30 hours per school) for science teachers and field trips to OMSI during the 2011-2012 school year. The purpose of the scholarship is to positively impact students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning by deepening the connection between classroom instruction and museum visits and providing extensive access to OMSI resources.

Application and Selection Process
· Three schools from Oregon and Southwest Washington will be selected.
· Application deadline is June 17, 2011
· The selections will be made over the summer and candidates will be notified no later than August 1, 2011.
· If your school is selected, OMSI will contact you over the summer to begin outlining the details.

To apply, please complete the attached application, and return it to:

OMSI Program Sales and Registration
1945 SE Water Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
Fax: 503-239-7800
E-mail: register@omsi.edu

If you have questions about, please contact the Program Sales and Registration Office at 503.797.4661 or register@omsi.edu

OMSI Scholarship Application

Perseid Meteor Shower – OMSI Star Party in Oregon – August 12, 2010

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is getting ready for its largest star party of the year on Thursday, August 12! Stargazers will be meeting at both Rooster Rock State Park and Stub Stewart State Park at 9 p.m. to watch and enjoy the wonder of the Perseid Meteor Shower.

August brings one of the year’s most famous and enjoyed meteor shower – the Perseid Meteor Shower. Hundreds of star lovers from across the Pacific Northwest are expected to attend OMSI’s biggest star show of the year. The event is sponsored by OMSI, the Rose City Astronomers, the Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers and Oregon Parks and Recreations. At both Rooster Rock State Park and L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, volunteers will have set up telescopes for attendees to use.

The Perseid Meteor Shower occurs when the Earth enters the path of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle in its last trip past the Sun. Swift-Tuttle follows a highly eccentric orbit around the Sun with an orbital period of about 130 years. The comet last passed by the Earth in December 1992.

Timing is not precise, but according to the American Meteor Society, the 2010 peak is expected on August 12th at around 5:00 p.m. PDT (0100 hours UT on August 13).  There is some uncertainty, so it’s very worthwhile to observe on either side of this time.  The OMSI Star Parties will be held on the night of August 12 and into the early morning of August 13.  Estimate peak rates for this year’s Perseid is near 60 for those under transparent rural skies. Those under dark but hazy skies should still be able to see 30-40 Perseids per hour. Those under urban skies will be lucky to exceed 20 per hour.  The waxing crescent moon will set at 9:23 p.m. on August 12 and will be a non-factor for viewing the Perseids.

To reach Rooster Rock State Park, take I-84 east of the Sandy River at exit 25. The park is located 22 miles east of Portland.  To reach L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, take US-26 west of Portland and turn right on OR-47. The park is located 23 miles west of Portland.  The event is free, and there is a $5 per vehicle parking fee for public. For possible weather cancellation, call (503) 797-4610 on August 12 after 4:00 PM to get the latest information.

Vernal Equinox Start Parties in Oregon – March 27, 2010

(From our friends at OMSI, Portland Oregon)

On Saturday March 27, OMSI, Rose City Astronomers and Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers will celebrate the vernal equinox and the beginning of spring with a free Star Party at both Rooster Rock State Park and L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park! From beginners to experts of all ages, here’s your opportunity to view the stars and other celestial objects up close and personal through telescopes. Viewing highlights includes the planets Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn, waxing gibbous Moon, deep sky objects including the Orion Nebula, Beehive star cluster and more!

Join us as we gaze at the spring night sky at Rooster Rock State Park, located 22 miles east of Portland on I-84 just east of Sandy River at exit 25. To reach L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, take US-26 west of Portland and turn right on OR-47. The event starts at 7:30 pm and is free with $5 parking per vehicle. Warm clothing and a flashlight with red light are recommended. Personal telescopes and binoculars are welcome.

On the scheduled day of each OMSI Star Parties, it is suggested that interested visitors call the OMSI Star Parties Hotline, (503) 797-4610 #2, or check the OMSI Star Parties web site for possible weather-related cancellations.

Vernal Equinox – March 20, 2010

(from our friends at OMSI)

Saturday, March 20 is the vernal equinox for Pacific Time Zone at 10:34 a.m. PDT, the day on which both the north and south pole of the earth are equal distances towards the sun (92.6 million miles). At that instant the sun stands directly over the Earths equator. The first day of spring, called ‘the vernal equinox’, vernal meaning ‘green’, and equinox meaning ‘equal night’, which simply means that on the equinox the hours of daylight are equal to the hours of night.

Fun Facts:

• As seen from Portland on March 20, the noon sun (1:18 pm) will reach its mid-point in the sky near 45 degrees from the southern horizon.
• On the first day of spring, the Sun rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west. And each successive day thereafter it rises and sets just a little bit farther to the north until the summer solstice on June 20, the first day of summer, when the Sun reaches its northernmost point along the horizon and actually seems to ‘stand still’ and rise and set in the same place for a few days. In fact the word ‘solstice’ means ‘sun stands still’.
• As the season changes from summer to winter and vice versa, the Sun and Moon are in perfect balance, as if they were on opposite ends of a celestial see-saw:
• Summer: The Sun rises in the NE and sets in the NW; the Moon rises in the SE and sets in the SW. At transit, the Sun’s altitude is high; the Moon’s altitude is low. The Sun is visible ~15 hr.; the Moon is visible ~9 hr.
• Winter: Sun rises in the SE and sets in the SW; Moon rises in the NE and sets in the NW. At transit, Sun’s altitude is low; Moon’s altitude is high. Sun visible ~9 hr.; Moon visible ~15 hr.  Note: The preceding statements are true only during (or near) Full Moon. During (or near) New Moon, the Moon appears to closely follow the path of the Sun across the sky.
• The lengths of day and night are then equal over almost all Earth, except at the poles. At the North Pole and South Pole, Earth’s atmosphere bends the Sun’s rays enough to make the Sun visible throughout the day and night, even during the 12 hours the Sun is below the horizon.
• From March 21 until September 24, the days are longer than the nights for the northern hemisphere. The 12 hours day and night actually occurs few days before the vernal equinox. This is due to the earth’s atmosphere causes the light from the sun to be refracted when the sun is near the horizon.
• In A.D. 150, the annual path of the Sun against background stars was such that on the vernal equinox, the Sun “entered” the constellations Aries. This is how the first day of spring became endowed with the name “first point of Aries.” In 1930, the International Astronomical Union restructured constellation boundaries. And because of the ongoing precession (wobble) of the Earth on its axis the “first point of Aries” has shifted in the calendar and occurs one month earlier than the vernal equinox. On the first day of spring, the sun will be in the constellation Pisces, the “Fish.” In about 600 years, the “first point of Aries” will reach the constellation Aquarius and enter the “age of Aquarius.”

WATCH THE LCROSS IMPACT THE MOON AT OMSI FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9

(From our friends at OMSI in Portland Oregon)

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will offer space exploration enthusiasts the opportunity to watch the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) crash-land on the Moon Friday, October 9. The LCROSS will crash into the Moon in order to gather data from the 6-mile-high impact cloud it will create. OMSI will be showing the impact in the auditorium live via satellite on NASA TV beginning at 3:30 a.m., with the impact scheduled at 4:30 a.m. PDT. Admission for the televised impact is free.

The Mission Objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) include confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon’s South Pole. The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon. LCROSS will excavate the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon’s polar craters with two heavy impactors in 2009 to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. The impact will eject material from the crater’s surface to create a plume that specialized instruments will be able to analyze for the presence of water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.

On October 9, 2009 at 4:30 a.m. Pacific time, the Centaur upper stage of the rocket that launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS to the Moon will crash in to moon crater at the south pole, Cabeus A, as the LCROSS spacecraft watches. Four minutes later, LCROSS itself will crash at the same spot. The impact will be watched by numerous spacecraft and both amateur and professional ground-based observatories. On that date the impact site will be in darkness but the ejecta plume, predicted to be approximately 6 miles in height, will launch into sunlight.

The impact will be observed by several space-based observatories, including the newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope; GeoEye, a private spacecraft that provides high-resolution satellite imagery; Odin, a Swedish radio astronomy satellite; NASA’s Earth Observing 1 technology demonstration satellite; and LCROSS’s sister mission Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. In addition, numerous professional ground-based telescopes will be watching, including Keck, Gemini, and IRTF in Hawaii; Magdalena Ridge and Apache Point Observatories in New Mexico, and MMT in Arizona.

For more information about the LCROSS mission, including images and timeline, visit: http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/

Please note that the LCROSS impact date and time is subject to change by NASA.

ABOUT OMSI
Founded in 1944, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of the nation’s leading science museums, a world-class tourist attraction, and an award-winning educational resource for the kid in each of us. OMSI is located at 1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214. For general information, call 503.797.4000 or visit http://www.omsi.edu