Education and Public Outreach Program Update

Fermi User’s Group 2/24/10Prof. Lynn Cominsky

Sonoma State University

NASA Education Framework

• Informal education and public outreach

• Elementary & Secondary education

• Higher Education

Emphasis on workforce development for under-represented populations

Epo’s Chronicles

• Continues weekly• Calendars were made from

IYA “eposodes”• Over 12,500 lithos sent out

during IYA to NSN clubs• This year’s special eposode

theme is high-energy satellites, current and historical

Alkina

Epo

Epo’s Chronicles (special March ‘10)

• http://mystery.sonoma.edu– Galactic Doom now approved by NASA Product Review

Space Mysteries

http://mystery.sonoma.edu/GalacticDoom/spaceMysteries_GalacticDoom.html

Product is now

complete.

365 Days of Astronomy Podcast

• Pulsar GPS podcast with Paul Ray

• Episode aired on 2/11/10

http://365daysofastronomy.org/

Supernova Educator Workshops

• Joint XMM-Fermi Educator’s Guide• Next SSU workshop will be in conjunction

with HEAD in Hawaii – also with GSFC.

Other SSU Workshops & Talks• Tasty Active Galaxy and Supernova workshops at CSTA (10/22-

23/09)• Fermi-sponsored workshop at GSFC in conjunction with Science

Symposium (11/3/09)– Showed the Black Hole show in GSFC’s Geodome, did active galaxy activity, also saw the Fermi sky on

Science on a Sphere.

• Venice, Italy - lecture following the “Shocking Universe meeting” (9/19/09)

• San Francisco - Benjamin Dean lecture at the California Academy of Sciences (10/19/09)

•

BAAS Posters in 2009

• “Transforming Introductory Astronomy in the Urban University”, Kimberly A. Coble, M. Sabella, D. Larrieu, J. McDowell, R. Orlanzino, L. Cominsky & K. McLin, 2009AAS...21346206C

• “Undergraduate Research Experiences with the Global Telescope Network”, K. McLin, K. Wyman, N. Broughton, K. Coble, & L.R. Cominsky, 2009AAS...21346102M

• “Photometry Of The Semi-regular Variable Tx Tau” Katherine Wyman, G. Spear, K. McLin, L. Cominsky, L. Mankiewicz, D. Reichart & K. Ivarsen, 2009AAS...21360205W

• “Probing Student Understanding of Cosmology,” Kimberly A. Coble, G. Cochran, D. Larrieu, J. Bailey, R. Sanchez, L. Cominsky, & K. McLin, 2010AAS...21546614C

Fermi Skymap

• Submitted to APS – chosen for their home page. Now in rotation

• Used for new “goodie” to be given out at HEAD

• New calibration pipeline almost ready for testing by high school partners.• New photometry pipeline handed off to AAVSO for testing.• Two (female) high school interns worked analyzing archival and new data on OS 319 and Mkn 501 and presented their data in a poster at the SSU summer science symposium.

Global Telescope Network 2/10

Next E/PO Plans

• Black Hole (DONE) and eXtreme Universe show for GeoDome and teacher workshops

• New litho set featuring first sky map and discoveries for each type of object – not yet

• Cosmology on-line course – FUNDED!– New grant starts March 1, 2010 – project is underway

• Fermi data into WWT (tours), Google Earth in time - DONE

• AER publications in progress: Cosmology Understanding, Educator Ambassador program, Black Hole show audience learning

PR UpdatePress releases and web features since last

FUG (8/09):• 10/28/09: Fermi Telescope Caps First Year

With Glimpse of Space-Time – NASA Media telecon

• 11/2/09:NASA's Fermi Telescope Detects Gamma-Rays From "Star Factories" in Other Galaxies

• 11/26/09:Fermi Telescope Peers Deep into Microquasar

PR Update (continued)• 12/8/09: Fermi Sees Brightest-Ever Blazar

Flare• 1/5/10: Nature's Most Precise Clocks May

Make "Galactic GPS" Possible – AAS Press conference with Paul Ray and Scott Ransom

• 1/27/10: Newborn Black Holes Boost Explosive Power of Supernovae

• 2/15/10: NASA's Fermi Closes on Source of Cosmic Rays – APS Press conference with Stefan Funk

• 2/17/10: Extreme Jets Take New Shape – SLAC release for Nature paper

Future PR projects• Fermi public newsletter – we are still

missing the last two articles that we need to publish our first newsletter. It will not be ready for HEAD.

• Fermi banner – we are awaiting input as to what should be on this banner. Initial designs were submitted to the project.

• Press conference at HEAD on extragalactic background – in progress, scheduled 3/2/10.