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FOAP Newsletter November 2024 |
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November is the season of thanks and FOAP President Theresa Schweser shares her reflections and gratitude with members. Read more...
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Support the Friends on
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As the leaves change and the holiday season approaches, many of us are beginning to think about ways to give back to our communities and to causes that are important to us.
One way is through GivingTuesday - a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was launched in 2012 to give people a day of focused action. In the years since its establishment, GivingTuesday has evolved to a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
This year Giving Tuesday falls on December 3, 2024, and we invite you to visit our website and donate, become a member, and volunteer to help with our programs. If you are a federal employee or federal retiree, please consider contributing through the Combined Federal Campaign to our CFC # 39066 - you can access directly through the QR code listed here.
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Your support makes it possible for us to continue to preserve and expand access to this amazing community resource!
At the Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium (FOAP), our mission is to support the planetarium as an accessible community resource for all people to learn, engage, and be inspired by the wonders of science and the universe.
We raise funds to sponsor college scholarships, provide grants for teacher professional development, and support the licensing and creation of programming for the planetarium. We also host a variety of science themed public events and screenings of fulldome video programs. None of this would be possible without the support of the community and people like you.
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Board of Directors Vacancies |
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The Friends of Arlington's Planetarium Announce Vacancies on its All-Volunteer Board of Directors
Beginning in January 2025
The Friends seek interested individuals to serve on its Board, elected in January to a three-year term. Three seats are up for election in 2025.
Enthusiasm, a willingness to be actively involved in various projects, and the time to do so are the primary requirements of the position. No special science knowledge is required, however, to further enhance the planetarium's broader audience volunteers with a background in communications, publicity, and volunteer program management are a plus as is any candidate who is bilingual in Spanish.
To learn more about the Friends of Arlington’s Planetarium and this volunteer opportunity, please contact elections@friendsoftheplanetarium.org and visit our elections page on the FOAP website, where you will find the application form, timeline, and other details. The deadline for application submission is December 31, 2024. |
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David M. Brown Scholarship
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Since 2013, Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown has funded more than $56,000 in student scholarships. We collaborate with the Arlington Community Foundation (ACF) to provide scholarships to Arlington Public School (APS) students who attend college and study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Last year, a scholarship was awarded to a student who attended Wakefield High School and is now studying Applied Mathematics at Harvard University.
Please check out our website if you’d like to find out more about the David M. Brown Scholarship.
To learn more about the application process and to apply for a scholarship please visit the ACF Scholarship Webpage.
The application period will open mid-December and close early February. Look in SCHOLARSHIP FAQs - When Can I Apply? Or PREGUNTAS FRECUENTES SOBRE BECAS - ¿Cuándo puedo presentar mi solicitud? to sign up to receive email announcements about the scholarship. |
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David M Brown Public Planetarium Shows for November!
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The Friends of the Arlington Planetarium (FOAP) will be hosting full dome planetarium shows about Water, Water Everywhere in the universe on November 16 (6:30 and 8:00pm) and 17 (1:30 and 3:00pm). Show details and an advance ticket sales notice will be released to members next week. |
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Water, Water Everywhere
By MaryClare Whitehead
Water is one of three keys to life on earth as we know it. The other two are energy and organic molecules. About 60% of the human adult body is water. We need water to help deliver oxygen to all the different parts of our bodies, keep our temperatures at a safe level, and digest our food. And these are only a few examples. We really do need to drink water!
About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, so there should be no problem getting water to drink, right? Not really. Most of the water on earth, about 97%, is salt water and salt water is not safe to drink. Most freshwater is frozen in icecaps and glaciers. Some fresh water is polluted and not safe to drink. In the United States, we are very lucky to have freshwater, and the money needed to make water safe to drink.
Since water is so precious, we should all help to protect it. You can help save drinking water in two simple ways:
- Turning off the tap when you don’t need the water; for example, you can turn off the water while you brush your teeth and then turn it back on when you need to rinse.
- You can save rainwater and use it to water outdoor plants.
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If water is this important, was it always on the earth? Probably not. The earth was much hotter when it formed, and water would probably have evaporated (turned into a gas). Early Earth did not have an atmosphere, so the gas escaped into space. Scientists who study planets (Planetary Scientists) suspect that water was brought to earth by comets and asteroids that collided with the earth. The frozen water on the comets and asteroids then melted and stayed on the earth.
Because water is so important to life, scientists are looking for water on other planets or moons. People are very curious about life on other planets. If we know that another planet or moon has water, it may have life. Also, having water available in other places will help space exploration.
You can find out more about water at these websites: Ocean worlds: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/ocean-worlds/ Water on Mars: https://kids.kiddle.co/Water_on_Mars Talk to your parents and see if they are ok with you doing a water experiment. You can get instructions for the Fireworks in a Jar experiment here: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/oil-and-water-experiment/
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Jokes for Kids Only!
- Why did the water go to the library?To quench its thirst for knowledge!
- What did the ocean say to the river? Nothing, it just waved!
- Why did the water go to the museum? It wanted to see the watercolor paintings!
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What's in the Sky this Month?
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The month of November brings a real feel of fall season in the air. Summer haze that is so ubiquitous around the D.C. area is finally gone and a crisp and chilly autumn air makes the sky so much bluer. For stargazers, a clear day time sky portends a night sky with clarity that seems to make stars appear more lively and brighter. It is as though the window to the universe has been cleaned once more. Read more |
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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, a Dirty Snowball
By Jennifer Bartlett
Did you see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)? It was challenging for Arlington. Despite being the brightest comet since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a small icy body about a mile across. It most likely originated in the Oort Cloud, a spherical shell of similar bodies orbiting the Sun at distances more than 85 times the distance of Pluto; these potential long-period comets are relics remaining from the formation of the Solar System. Some scientists think that comets collisions with the early Earth as it cooled could be a significant source of water on our home planet. This comet, however, will not crash into the Earth. It orbits the Sun in the opposite direction than most Solar System bodies. When it is close to the Sun, the solar heat and light cause some of its ices to become gas forming the coma, or fuzzy region around the still frozen nucleus, and the tail. Having made its closest pass to the Sun on September 27 and the Earth on October 12, it is heading back out towards the Oort Cloud and may never return to the inner Solar System. |
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JWST Identifies First “Steam World”
By Jennifer Bartlett
The unmemorablely named GJ 9827 d appears to be almost entirely made of hot water vapor. While astronomers frequently search for water around distant worlds as a marker for potential habitability, this planet is inhospitable to life as we know it here on Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observed GJ 9827 d when it was between us and its host star using a technique known as transmission spectroscopy. As the starlight passed through the atmosphere of GJ 9827 d, its atmosphere absorbed some of that starlight. Because different atoms and molecules absorb different wavelengths of light, astronomers can interpret the pattern of missing light to determine the chemical composition of the atmosphere.
GJ 9827 is the 9,827th nearby star cataloged by 20th century German astronomers Wilhelm Gliese and Harmut Jahreiss. It is about 97 light years from the Sun and cooler and redder than the Sun. The Kepler space mission first detected GJ 9827 d in 2018; it is the third planet in this system (following GJ 9872 b and GJ 9872 c). This “steam world” is much closer to its host than Earth is to our Sun; it completes an orbit roughly every 6 Earth days. Its diameter is about twice that of Earth while it is about three times as massive.
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November Moon Watching
By Jennifer Bartlett
The Moon is an easy naked-eye target for stargazing; we all know what it looks like. However, easy does not mean uninteresting. In November, the Moon makes close appearances with four planets. Just after sunset on November 4, try to see the sliver of the waxing crescent moon just below Venus; both will be setting in the southwest. On November 10, look for the waxing gibbous moon just below Saturn around 9:30 PM EST in the south-southwest. In some parts of Central and South America, observers will see Saturn disappear behind the Moon briefly. To us, Saturn just seems to be riding on its shoulder. Then, on November 15, the Beaver Moon is the fourth and final supermoon of 2024. Unfortunately, the just past full Moon will wash out most of the Leonid meteor shower that peaks on November 17. However, look for the Moon to rise with Jupiter in the northeast around 6 PM EST; they will travel together throughout the night. Finally, on November 20, we see the waning gibbous Moon rise with Mars after 9:30 PM EST.
Throughout the month, the Moon rises at different times as it orbits the Earth; each night, it is in a slightly different position relative to the Sun and the Earth. As the Earth rotates on its axis daily, tides rise and lower in response the gravitational interaction of the Earth and Moon. While ocean tides are most noticeable, the less deformable continental plate beneath our feet also feels this effect. Extreme tides (spring tides) occur when the Earth, Sun, and Moon are aligned at new and full Moon (November 1 and 15, respectively) in a straight line. Minimal tides (neap tides) occur when the Earth, Sun, and Moon make a right angle at first and last quarter Moon (November 9 and 22, respectively). Although the Moon has trace amounts of water, its solid surface flexes a few inches in response to its gravitational interaction with the Earth.
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Straight from the International Space Station |
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Photo by NASA Astronaut Aurora taken from the ISS |
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Photo by Suni Williams Astronauts and Cosmonauts on the ISS |
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Astronaut Jeanette Epps working on Water Plant Management |
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Photo by Astronaut on the ISS
An ice sheet with a view of a crystal formation thru a polarized plate on the ISS.
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This message has been sent to you from the Friends of Arlington's Planetarium.
Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium
P.O. Box 7029
Arlington, VA 22207 USA
Copyright (C) 2024 Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium (FOAP). All rights reserved.
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