#Carolyn Porco

[fallensapphires]

Planets: Saturn

The Saturn system is a rich planetary system. It offers mystery, scientific insight, and obviously splendour beyond compare, and the investigation of this system has enormous cosmic reach... just studying the rings alone, we stand to learn a lot about the discs of stars and gas that we call the spiral galaxies.

[1introvertedsage]

All the atoms in our bodies will be blown into space in the disintegration of the Solar System, to live on forever as mass or energy. That's what we should be teaching our children. Not fairy tales about angels and seeing grandma in heaven.

~Carolyn Porco~

[postersbykeith]

[nondeducible]

i have a deep parasocial connection with the cassini space mission

[oswlld]

MY EMOTION RIGHT NOW IS OCEAN BLUE —  vice versa (2022) ⪢ episode one

john ajvide lindqvist, harbor || m.l. stedman, the light between oceans || carolyn porco || yves klein, sorbonne lecture in 1959 || lucy h. pearce, she of the sea || florence + the machine, what the water gave me

[playitagin]

2013-The Day the Earth Smiled

The Day the Earth Smiled is a composite photograph taken by the NASA spacecraft Cassini on July 19, 2013. During an eclipse of the Sun, the spacecraft turned to image Saturn and most of its visible ring system, as well as Earth and the Moon as distant pale dots. The spacecraft had twice taken similar photographs (in 2006 and 2012) in its previous nine years in orbit around the planet. The name also refers to the activities associated with the event, as well as to the photographic mosaic created from it.

Conceived by the planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, the imaging team leader for Cassini, the concept called for the people of the world to reflect on their place in the universe, to marvel at life on Earth, and, at the time the pictures were taken, to look up and smile in celebration.[2][3]

The final mosaic captured on July 19, processed at the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS), was released to the public on November 12, 2013.[4][5] The photograph includes Earth, Mars, Venus, and many Saturnian moons.[6] A higher-resolution image, depicting Earth and the Moon as distinct points of light, was taken with Cassini's narrow-angle camera and was released shortly afterwards.

[ontologicalshock]

All the atoms of our bodies will be blown into space in the disintegration of the Solar System, to live on forever as mass or energy. That’s what we should be teaching our children, not fairy tales about angels and seeing grandma in heaven.

Carolyn Porco

[thisish20]

Earth as seen from the rings of Saturn.

Dr. Carolyn Porco, a friend of Carl Sagan who worked with him on Voyager, conceptualized and executed this photo as an updated version of the original pale blue dot.

[spacenutspod]

This year’s prestigious Carl Sagan Medal, also known as the “Sagan Medal” and named after the late astronomer, Dr. Carl Sagan, has been awarded to Dr. Tracy Becker, who is a planetary scientist in the Space Science Division of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas. The Sagan Medal recipient is chosen by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and is meant to acknowledge planetary scientists who are not only active in science communication with the general public but have taken enormous strides in helping the general public better understand, and get excited for, the field of planetary science. Dr. Becker is being recognized as the 2023 Carl Sagan Medal recipient for her commitment to science communication towards underserved communities, specifically visually and hearing-impaired students and Spanish-speaking patrons. She previously took part in the American Geophysical Union’s maiden “Voices for Science” program in 2018, along with co-founding Astronomy on Tap in San Antonio, which she actively organizes. Additionally, Dr. Becker has contributed to the “Letter to a Pre-Scientist” pen pal program, SwRI’s Young Engineers and Scientists program, Skype a Scientist, served as a science consultant for the Encyclopedia Britannica for Kids, and co-hosted the “Walkabout the Galaxy” podcast. “My passion for communications and outreach was solidified when, as an undergraduate, I worked with middle school girls in a program focused on the role of women in science,” Dr. Tracy Becker said in a SwRI statement. “The multiweek program ended with an exclusive meeting with astronaut Dr. Sally Ride — a transformative experience for us all.” Dr. Becker earned a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics with a Minor in Latin American Studies from Lehigh University in 2010 and a PhD in Physics – Planetary Sciences Track from the University of Central Florida in 2016. She immediately joined SwRI as a postdoctoral researcher upon graduation and became a full research scientist in 2018. Her research interests include observing satellite exospheres, using ultraviolet reflectance observations to examine compositions of planetary surfaces, using radar observations to estimate the physical dimensions of near-Earth asteroids, and using stellar occultation data to measure particle characteristics of Saturn’s rings. Previous honors and awards that Dr. Becker has received include the OPAG Early Career Funding Award (2018) and the San Antonio Business Journal 40 Under 40 (2021). She has also participated in several team efforts, including as a NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium Space Grant Fellow (2013), the NASA Group Achievement Award for Cassini UVIS Science Team (2018), and a NASA PI Launchpad Workshop attendee (2019). “Since the day I’ve met her, I’ve known Tracy to be one of the most enthusiastic communicators of science to not only the general public, for which she has won the Carl Sagan award, but also amongst her peers and colleagues and especially early career scientists,” Dr. Kurt Retherford, who is a Senior Program Manager for Research & Development at SwRI, tells Universe Today. “She works harder than anyone I know to reach out to underserved communities here in San Antonio where we live, in Puerto Rico where she is closely involved with the Arecibo observatory community, and around the world.” First awarded in 1998, the criteria for being awarded the Sagan Medal include the level of impact the potential awardee has made with the general public pertaining to communicating science, uplifting science in the views of the audiences they have reached, and upholding ethical standards in accordance with the AAS Code of Ethics. Previous awardees include Dr. David Grinspoon (2006), Dr. Carolyn Porco (2010), and most recently, Dr. Caleb Scharf (2022). We sincerely congratulate Dr. Becker on her amazing career and the well-deserved Carl Sagan Award and look forward to watching her continue to inspire and motivate the next generation of planetary scientists in the coming years and decades! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! The post Dr. Tracy Becker Honored with 2023 Carl Sagan Medal for Science Communication appeared first on Universe Today.

[colliermccullough62]

This is not a Brand new Project

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist/science communicator, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a unique kind of computer game. The game's name is "Space Odyssey", and the team behind it hopes to develop an experience that is educational and fun about physics, biology, and space.

Players will learn about the process into vehicle and robot design as they design their own unique machine. They'll travel to other worlds in an open-world "sandbox" setting. Some may even have lives. One could be able to pilot a ship through an asteroid belt, or creating the next-generation robot capable of mining comets for valuable resources. The team is planning to incorporate virtual reality experiences too placing players at the middle of the action. Neil deGrasse Tyson is joined by Loretta Falcone (rocket scientist), Janna Levin (cosmologist), Charles Liu (astrophysicist), Carolyn Porco (planetary scientist), Amy Mainzer (astronomer), Mike Massimino (science communicator) and Bill Nye (science communicator). He has also invited authors like Neil Gaiman, Larry Niven, Peter Beagle and George R. R. Martin to work on the creative world-building side. Many other artists, writers, scientists, game designers and other notable people in the scientific and creative fields are also part of the project. Talk egypt

Although this is a brand new project, it's certainly not the first example of an educational computer game. From classics such as "Oregon Trail" to modified builds of the game "Minecraft," game designers and educators have long recognized the benefits of teaching through play. But Tyson's game - the full title is "Neil deGrasse Tyson Presents: Space Odyssey - The Video Game" It looks like an especially ambitious creation.

The Kickstarter campaign, with its goal of raising $314,159 (a seemingly arbitrary amount, until you think of the pi digits), ends on Saturday, July 29. The administrators acknowledge that funding will only be part of the efforts of Whatnot Entertainment to make "Space Odyssey" possible. If all goes as planned you may soon be able to explore the world from the comfort of your sofa.

This is the most interesting thing about it: Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke on the topic "Stuff You Should Know" on the HowStuffWorks podcast. He said that he would like to expand education globally to increase the odds that human culture will produce "another Einstein."

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

"Let's teach our children from a very young age about the story of the universe and its incredible richness and beauty. It is already so much more glorious and awesome - and even comforting - than anything offered by any scripture or God concept I know."

-- Carolyn Porco

[emvisual]

La auténtica "Señora de los anillos".

[digital-nihilism]

I can’t agree more

[cure-your-delusions]

[linyarguilera]

[nelc]

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram of Famous Astronomers