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Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium

Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium The Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, incorpo The Friends of Arlington's David M.

Brown Planetarium, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 2010 to save the Arlington school based planetarium from closure due to budget cuts. The organization continues to raise funds to help support and improve the planetarium facility and promote science education for the general public. The group also sponsors a college scholarship, provides grants for teacher professional develo

pment, and purchases licenses of planetarium programming for the school system and the community. As part of its ongoing public education mission, the organization hosts a variety of science themed public events and screenings of full-dome videos. Brown Planetarium has an all-volunteer Board of Directors and Advisory Council.

Operating as usual

March 30, 8-9 pm. Register to attend in person or online.
03/18/2023
Earth-Based Analogs In Support of Space Missions

March 30, 8-9 pm. Register to attend in person or online.

Join Marc Shepanek from NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer to hear about testing sites on Earth — like the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions — that support work done on the International Space Station and beyond.

NASA aims to develop a spacecraft capable of steering the International Space Station (ISS) to a controlled destruction ...
03/17/2023
NASA wants new 'deorbit tug' to bring space station down in 2030

NASA aims to develop a spacecraft capable of steering the International Space Station (ISS) to a controlled destruction in Earth's atmosphere when its time in orbit is up.

The agency doesn't want to depend solely on Russian cargo spacecraft to deorbit the ISS.

In the Wasatch Mountains of the western US on the slopes above a spring-fed lake, there dwells a single giant organism t...
03/17/2023
World's Largest Organism Is Slowly Being Eaten, Scientist Says

In the Wasatch Mountains of the western US on the slopes above a spring-fed lake, there dwells a single giant organism that provides an entire ecosystem on which plants and animals have relied for thousands of years.

"Pando" is a 106-acre stand of quaking aspen clones.

Although it looks like a woodland of individual trees with striking white bark and small leaves that flutter in the slightest breeze, Pando (Latin for "I spread") is actually 47,000 genetically identical stems that arise from an interconnected root network.

In the Wasatch Mountains of the western US on the slopes above a spring-fed lake, there dwells a single giant organism that provides an entire ecosystem on which plants and animals have relied for thousands of years.

When faced with a potentially mission-ending problem with NASA's 15-year-old Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) space...
03/16/2023
NASA Fixes Malfunctioning Spacecraft The Same Way You Fix Your Troublesome Laptop

When faced with a potentially mission-ending problem with NASA's 15-year-old Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, engineers performed a time-honored procedure to fix it: They turned it off and then turned it back on again.

Success! IBEX is now fully operational again.

NASA fixes malfunctioning spacecraft the same way you fix your troublesome laptop When faced with a potentially mission-ending problem with NASA's 15-year-old Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, engineers performed a time-honored procedure...

The preflight checklist enabled the advancement of aviation technology by ensuring that, with proper protocols in place,...
03/16/2023
“On. Set. Checked.”

The preflight checklist enabled the advancement of aviation technology by ensuring that, with proper protocols in place, pilots could safely fly the increasingly complex aircraft that sprang from the minds of engineers. Read more in the latest Air & Space Quarterly.

How an accident gave us the checklist, and safer flying.

Axiom Space on Wednesday revealed a prototype of the lunar spacesuit that NASA plans to use for its astronauts during Ar...
03/15/2023
Axiom unveils spacesuits for NASA's upcoming Artemis moon missions

Axiom Space on Wednesday revealed a prototype of the lunar spacesuit that NASA plans to use for its astronauts during Artemis missions, which are set to launch later this decade.

Axiom Space on Wednesday revealed a prototype of the lunar spacesuit that NASA plans to use on its Artemis missions to the moon.

NASA aims to develop a spacecraft capable of steering the International Space Station (ISS) to a controlled destruction ...
03/14/2023
NASA wants new 'deorbit tug' to bring space station down in 2030

NASA aims to develop a spacecraft capable of steering the International Space Station (ISS) to a controlled destruction in Earth's atmosphere when its time in orbit is up.

The agency doesn't want to depend solely on Russian cargo spacecraft to deorbit the ISS.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to fall into a black hole, a dusty gas cloud in the galactic center can give you ...
03/14/2023
Watch the Milky Way’s Black Hole Spaghettify a Cloud

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to fall into a black hole, a dusty gas cloud in the galactic center can give you an idea. Observations of the cloud dating back to 2002 show it’s coming apart in the presence of the supermassive behemoth residing there.

Two decades of observations show a dusty gas cloud elongating as it approaches our galaxy's supermassive black hole.

Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2020This quartet of new instruments promises to deliver stunning science on the hot-bu...
03/13/2023
Four new giant telescopes are about to rock astronomy

Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2020

This quartet of new instruments promises to deliver stunning science on the hot-button issues. But, as with the previous great leaps forward in size, the new scopes likely will also make discoveries that no one can yet envision. As Pat McCarthy, vice president of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) Organization, puts it: “We expect to learn things we don’t know.”

There's about to be some new telescopes in town.

Modest equipment became a tool for obtaining ultra-deep images that could capture the outskirts of nearby massive galaxi...
03/11/2023
How amateur images are helping professional astronomers?

Modest equipment became a tool for obtaining ultra-deep images that could capture the outskirts of nearby massive galaxies and survey vast areas of the sky with unprecedented depth. This enabled a new type of collaboration between world-class amateur astroimagers and international teams of professional astronomers exploring one of the fundamental questions in modern astrophysics: How did massive galaxies like our Milky Way come to be?

From the February 2021 Issue

Advances in our understanding of galaxy formation aren’t just coming from large, professional telescopes.

There will be public planetarium shows at the David M. Brown Planetarium on March 18 and 19.Tickets are available online...
03/11/2023

There will be public planetarium shows at the David M. Brown Planetarium on March 18 and 19.
Tickets are available online at https://friendsoftheplanetarium.ticketleap.com

There will also be a limited number of tickets available at the door for each program.

We hope to see you there!

Just over a year ago, a trio of astronomers set a record for the most distant object ever discovered in the solar system...
03/11/2023
In pursuit of Planet Nine

Just over a year ago, a trio of astronomers set a record for the most distant object ever discovered in the solar system. In recent years, the same group of researchers have uncovered a handful of other extremely distant bodies. And, much to their surprise, they have determined many of these objects make their closest approach to the Sun, or reach perihelion, at about the same point in space.

The researchers believe this growing list of clustered objects — which FarOut is suspected to be a part of — is the best evidence yet for the existence of an elusive world lurking in the outer fringes of our solar system. A world called Planet Nine.

A slew of oddly orbiting objects seems to suggest a massive and as yet unseen world is skulking in the outer reaches of our solar system.

In an attempt to optimize communication in space across vast distances, a team of researchers from the University of Ari...
03/10/2023
Student-Designed Cubesat to Feature Inflatable 'Beachball' Antenna

In an attempt to optimize communication in space across vast distances, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona will rely on a unique antenna for CatSat, a small satellite that will study the ionosphere. The antenna resembles a space-age beachball that can beam information to Earth at high speeds.

University of Arizona students are behind CatSat, a cereal box-sized satellite that will probe the ionosphere and beam data to Earth with an inflatable antenna.

Astronomers designed the CARMENES instrument to find Earth-size planets in their habitable zones. And it has delivered. ...
03/09/2023
New Planets in the Neighborhood

Astronomers designed the CARMENES instrument to find Earth-size planets in their habitable zones. And it has delivered. Since it came online in 2016, it has resulted in a flurry of exciting results.

The CARMENES consortium is now celebrating its first five years of operations with the publication of visible-light measurements for more than 350 stars in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

A planet-hunting consortium is marking five successful years by releasing data on more than 50 worlds.

Australian scientists have discovered an enzyme that converts air into energy. The finding, published today in the journ...
03/08/2023
Newly discovered enzyme that turns air into electricity, providing a new clean source of energy

Australian scientists have discovered an enzyme that converts air into energy. The finding, published today in the journal Nature, reveals that this enzyme uses the low amounts of the hydrogen in the atmosphere to create an electrical current. This finding opens the way to create devices that literally make energy from thin air.

Australian scientists have discovered an enzyme that converts air into energy. The finding, published today in the journal Nature, reveals that this enzyme uses the low amounts of the hydrogen in the atmosphere to create an electrical current. This finding opens the way to create devices that litera...

The “Tucson Triangle” is the greatest collection of scopes and spectrographs in the continental U.S.  The dry air and mo...
03/06/2023
How a trio of observatories around Tucson is changing astronomy

The “Tucson Triangle” is the greatest collection of scopes and spectrographs in the continental U.S. The dry air and mountainous terrain around Tucson make this power trio the core of optical astronomy in the continental U.S.

From the February 2023 Issue

The “Tucson Triangle” is the greatest collection of scopes and spectrographs in the continental U.S.

Getting closer to the exact value of the electron magnetic moment – simply put, how strongly an electron behaves like a ...
03/06/2023
We Just Got The Most Precise Measurement of a Property of a Particle, Ever

Getting closer to the exact value of the electron magnetic moment – simply put, how strongly an electron behaves like a tiny magnet – might one day unlock a greater understanding of the building blocks of physics and how they interact.

The Standard Model of particle physics is our current best-guess on what the blue-prints for matter looks like.

The Sun has been on an absolute wild roll lately, and one of the results of its continued activity is some spectacular a...
03/05/2023
Breathtakingly Beautiful Photo Gives an Astronaut's View of an Aurora

The Sun has been on an absolute wild roll lately, and one of the results of its continued activity is some spectacular aurora activity.

The last days of February were marked by bands of green light undulating across the high latitude skies. But those of us down on the planet's surface weren't the only ones to enjoy these stunning light-shows.

Hundreds of kilometers above our planet, astronauts were also enjoying the rare sight of the auroras from a unique perspective.

The Sun has been on an absolute wild roll lately, and one of the results of its continued activity is some spectacular aurora activity.

At just 500 years old and spinning at 1.4 rotations per second, this magnetic neutron star is even more exotic than prev...
03/05/2023
Astronomers find the youngest, fastest spinning ‘magnetar’ yet

At just 500 years old and spinning at 1.4 rotations per second, this magnetic neutron star is even more exotic than previously thought.

Published: Monday, January 18, 2021

At just 500 years old and spinning at 1.4 rotations per second, this magnetic neutron star is even more exotic than previously thought.

Astronomers have found a new comet! They’ve labeled it C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). And it’s something to look forward...
03/04/2023
New comet – C/2023 A3 – could be bright in 2024

Astronomers have found a new comet! They’ve labeled it C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). And it’s something to look forward to, as it makes its closest approach to the sun (its perihelion) more than a year from now. So, the bad news is it’s not until 2024! But the good news is that early estimates of the comet’s brightness suggest it’ll be bright!

Perihelion for this comet will come on September 28, 2024. At that point, some estimates are suggesting it might be around magnitude 0.7. That brightness rivals some of the brightest stars in the sky.

Astronomers have found a new comet! They’ve labeled it C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). And it’s something to look forward to, as it makes its closest approach to the sun (its perihelion) more than a year from now. So, the bad news is it’s not until 2024! But the good news is that early estimate...

Scientists have discovered something unexpected while studying masers around oddball star MWC 349A: a previously unseen ...
03/04/2023
Hydrogen Masers Reveal New Secrets of a Massive Star | Center for Astrophysics

Scientists have discovered something unexpected while studying masers around oddball star MWC 349A: a previously unseen jet of material launching from the star's gas disk at impossibly high speeds. The team, based at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, believes the jet is caused by strong magnetic forces surrounding the star.

Seattle, WA – Scientists have discovered something unexpected while studying masers around oddball star MWC 349A: a previously unseen jet of material launching from the star's gas disk at impossibly high speeds. The team, based at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, believes the j...

The same forces that produce dazzling displays of light above Jupiter’s poles also pack some serious heat.Published: Wed...
03/03/2023
Jupiter’s aurorae trigger heat waves

The same forces that produce dazzling displays of light above Jupiter’s poles also pack some serious heat.

Published: Wednesday, September 22, 2021

The same forces that produce dazzling displays of light above Jupiter’s poles also pack some serious heat.

03/02/2023

On this day in 1969, the first Concorde supersonic transport, Concorde 001, made its maiden flight. The Concorde flew thousands of passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound for over 25 years. Designed and built by Aérospatiale of France and the British Aircraft Corporation, the graceful Concorde was a stunning technological achievement that could not overcome serious economic problems.

Using laser-propelled lightsails, tiny spacecraft could venture to the Sun’s nearest neighbor in just a few decades.Publ...
03/02/2023
Breakthrough Starshot: A voyage to the stars within our lifetimes

Using laser-propelled lightsails, tiny spacecraft could venture to the Sun’s nearest neighbor in just a few decades.

Published: Thursday, June 17, 2021

Using laser-propelled lightsails, tiny spacecraft could venture to the Sun’s nearest neighbor in just a few decades.

03/01/2023

The exciting story behind the discovery of radioactivity!

On March 1, 1896, the world of science was revolutionized when French physicist Henri Becquerel made a serendipitous discovery while studying phosphorescent materials. While investigating X-rays, which had recently been discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen, Becquerel hypothesized that phosphorescent uranium salts might absorb sunlight and re-emit it as X-rays. To test this, he placed crystals of uranium salts on photographic plates wrapped in black paper and exposed the setup to the sun. When he developed the plates, he observed an outline of the crystals and blackening of the plates, which he initially thought was evidence of his hypothesis.

However, when the weather in Paris prevented further experimentation, he put the uranium salts and photographic plates away in a drawer. On March 1, when he finally retrieved them, he was surprised to see a clear image of the crystals on the photographic plates. He realized he had observed something spectacular that had nothing to do with phosphorescence. The uranium salts emitted some invisible radiation, which was given the name “Becquerel Rays.”

This accidental discovery of radioactivity led to further research by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, who discovered two other elements with similar properties: polonium and radium. In 1903, Becquerel and the Curies were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their groundbreaking work in radioactivity. This discovery paved the way for numerous scientific and medical applications, including cancer treatments and nuclear power.

The coolest new space pictures: February 2023
02/28/2023
The coolest new space pictures: February 2023

The coolest new space pictures: February 2023

This month's featured image is a small asteroid burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, captured by a photographer in the right place at the right time.

02/27/2023

Physics Term of the Day (30/12/2022)

The Exoplanet Watch project invites you to use your smartphone or personal telescope to help track worlds outside our so...
02/27/2023
NASA Wants You to Help Study Planets Around Other Stars

The Exoplanet Watch project invites you to use your smartphone or personal telescope to help track worlds outside our solar system.

More than 5,000 planets have been confirmed to exist outside our solar system, featuring a wide array of characteristics like clouds made of glass and twin suns. Scientists estimate there could be millions more exoplanets in our home galaxy alone, which means professional astronomers could use your help tracking and studying them.

The Exoplanet Watch project invites you to use your smartphone or personal telescope to help track worlds outside our solar system.

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Arlington, VA
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FRIENDS OF ARLINGTON’S PLANETARIUM

Founded in 2010 to save the Planetarium from being closed, Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that continues to raise funds to make the Planetarium even better, and to support Arlington Public Schools in providing enhanced science education in Arlington County. The Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium has an all-volunteer Board of Directors and Advisory Council.

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February 16, join WalkArlington and Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium for a full moon walk with Astronomer Jennifer Bartlett. We'll have two walks: one at 5:30 and one at 7:30. Register here: https://bit.ly/3skxSuG
Here's a new video about animal constellations in the night sky. We learn that the robots Piper and Vista can send me "time-texts" from their friends Tommy and Laura, space explorers of the future.
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