Growing With Science Blog

As many of you may know, this month is Women’s History Month. Let’s celebrate by learning about some women astronomers past and present.

This is a video of an interview with Dr. Letisha McLaughlin, an astronomer at NC State. She talks about how she became an astronomer and how she was inspired when her mother got her a telescope.

I was also able to find this video tribute to Women Astronomers in History: Telescope Women in History.

Please Note: One of the images in this video is a star map overlaid with a drawing of a woman with one bare breast, which some people may find offensive. Please preview this video for suitability for your children.

Finally, here is a video about Women in Astronomy from NASA, which begins with a recent history of the field.

As if National Chemistry Week wasn’t enough science this week, the Orionid Meteor Shower is also expected to peak on Wednesday, October 21. For more information, check The 2009 Orionid Meteor Shower page at NASA or keep an eye on SpaceWeather.com. If you have never watched a meteor shower, it is fantastic! Bundle up, find a nice dark place to observe the sky, and if possible, spread out on a lawn chair, the ground or the back of a pick-up truck with some blankets or sleeping bags. When the meteors are active it can be better than fireworks. No guarantees, though, so prime your children to be patient or also do the star count at the same time (see next).

If you and your family are interested in stars right now, it is also time for the Great Worldwide Star Count. This international event encourages everyone to go outside, look skywards after dark, count the stars they see in certain constellations and report what they see online between October 9 and 23, 2009.

Let’s hope for clear nights this week. Let me know what you see.

If you are in the western U.S. or Canada, you might want to set your alarm clocks so you can catch the Quantrantid meteor shower. The meteor shower is predicted to be at its peak just before dawn, or 6:00 am Mountain time.

Have you ever watched a meteor shower or seen a “shooting star?” Basically the bits of rocks or dust from a comet that create a streak of light as they burn up in the atmosphere. You won’t be able to use binoculars or telescope, because they move too quickly to follow. A few years ago my family stretched out on blankets (and under blankets – it was cold) in the back of my husband’s pick up truck and watched the sky. What a neat experience.

If you want to find out more about the Quantrantid meteor shower, check SpaceWeather.com.