New and Noteworthy

Thanksgiving-Holiday

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:09:48 GMT

The LPI will be closed November 26-27, for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

3-D Imagery on Flickr

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:08:56 GMT

The LPI is now adding a second collection to Flicker. The new collection is 3-D imagery. These red/blue anaglyph images are of the Earth, Moon and planets.

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Earth's Moon in 3-D.

Omeka Webinar

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:07:36 GMT

Omeka, a tool to enable institutions to easily place collections online, will be the next topic in Technical Advances for Innovation in the Cultural Heritage Institutions (TAI CHI) Webinar Series.

Omeka is a free and open source collections-based, Web-based platform for scholars, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, educators and cultural enthusiasts.
Until now, scholars and cultural heritage professionals looking to publish collections-based research and online exhibitions required either extensive technical skills or considerable funding for outside vendors. By making standards-based, serious online publishing easy, Omeka puts the power and reach of the Web in the hands of academics and cultural professionals themselves.
Omeka features a "five-minute setup" that makes launching an online exhibition as easy as launching a blog. Designed with non-IT specialists in mind, it allows users to focus on content and interpretation rather than programming. It brings Web 2.0 technologies and approaches to academic and cultural Web sites to foster user interaction and participation. It also makes top-shelf design easy with a simple and flexible operating system. Omeka's robust open-source developer and user communities underwrite its stability and sustainability.
In this webinar, Sheila Brennan, Omeka End User Outreach Coordinator and Senior Digital History Associate at the Center for History and New Media (CHNM), will provide an overview of Omeka. Dave Lester, Omeka Developer Outreach Coordinator and Developer at CHNM, will provide more technical aspects of the Omeka software.
Webinar participation is free and open to all but advanced registration is required. This is the second webinar in the OCLC Research Technical Advances for Innovation in Cultural Heritage Institutions (TAI CHI) Webinar Series developed to highlight specific innovative applications, often locally developed, that libraries, museums and archives may find effective in their own environments, as well as to teach technical staff new technologies and skills. We intend to make recordings of these webinars available on the OCLC Research Web site and in the iTunes Store.

Imagery on Flickr

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:41:38 GMT

The Lunar and Planetary Institute Library is making imagery available on Flickr. Currently we have two topics, planetary size comparisons and 3-D imagery. We plan on adding more imagery on specific topics in the future. View, comment, favorite, blog, add to a gallery or download the images.

Flickr is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. In addition to being a popular website for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository. As of October 2009, it claims to host more than 4 billion images. (Wikipedia)

We hope that using such a popular site will make the imagery available to a wider community.

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing public photos and videos from Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Family Space Day

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:39:59 GMT

Learn about Near Earth Objects at Family Space Days at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Children between 5-8 years and their families are invited to explore space science together. November 21, 10 am - 1 pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

November 21, 2009 10 - 1 pm : Family Space Day at Lunar and Planetary Institute

Near Earth Objects

KAGUYA (SELENE) Data

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:39:35 GMT

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced the availability of KAGUYA (SELENE) data.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) released data from the lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE) (L2 products) during the nominal operation phase (from December 21, 2007 to October 31, 2008) to the public through the Internet. L2 products are calibrated/validated processed data from KAGUYA science mission instruments. By using the L2 products, researchers all over the world are expected to advance the scientific analysis and applicability investigation of the Moon.
"KAGUYA 3D Moon NAVI" services, which can show KAGUYA data using a three-dimension geographic information system (WebGIS) through the Internet, have also commenced. The developed software is based on NASA "World Wind" and the KAGUYA's images and data can be displayed using the 3D map projection function. It is necessary to download and install the free software. Please refer to the following homepage for details.
L2 products during the extended operational phase (until June 2009) are scheduled to be released after processing and calibration/validation are finished.
KAGUYA (SELENE) Data Archive
KAGUYA 3D Moon NAVI

Spinoff

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:39:13 GMT

NASA Spinoff 2009 is now available.

Spinoff is NASA's annual premier publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. For more than 40 years, the NASA Innovative Partnerships Program has facilitated the transfer of NASA technology to the private sector, benefiting global competition and the economy. The resulting commercialization has contributed to the development of commercial products and services in the fields of health and medicine, industry, consumer goods, transportation, public safety, computer technology, and environmental resources. Since 1976, Spinoff has featured between 40 and 50 of these commercial products annually.

You may also request a paper copy.

Sharing Resources

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:40:36 GMT

Can't get to the LPI to borrow that unique resource you found in our library catalog? Borrow it through your local library, using interlibrary loan (ILL). We are part of OCLC, a 9,100-library network of libraries that share resources. Simply bring the citation to your library and request an ILL. The code for the Lunar and Planetary Institute in OCLC is LPZ.

Astronomy, God, and the Search for Elegance

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:39:54 GMT

Inquisitive adults are invited to attend the presentation Astronomy, God, and the Search for Elegance by Guy Consolmagno, S.J. This free public presentation on November 19 is part of the Cosmic Exploration Speaker Series at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). Consolmagno's presentation is the first in this year's theme, "The search for meaning, for planets, for life."

LPI's Cosmic Exploration presentation begins at 7:30 p.m., and will be followed by a light reception. No reservation is necessary.

LPI Earth and Space Science News

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:39:32 GMT

The LPI Earth and Space Science News is now available both on our website, and also through a regularly updated RSS feed to which you can subscribe.

This newsletter briefly highlights Earth and space science education workshops, opportunities, events, resources, and news.

Included in this issue:

Link to the upcoming launch of an infrared telescope, a meteor shower, and winter solstice in Calendar
Learn about Earth science and astronomy educator workshops online, at conferences, at McDonald Observatory, and in select cities nationally at Workshops and Courses
Find out about this week's MyMoon Webcast with a poet, an online climate change seminar, a public lecture at LPI in Houston, a national conference on climate literacy, and the Cosmic Reflection concert in Events
Discover student competitions, teacher grants, nominations for awards, and NOAA Teacher at Sea program in Opportunities
Connect to new constellation posters, an online space calendar, an article on the 2012 doomsday hoax, online books and classroom magazines in Resources
Read about new planets discovered and the chemistry for life, a band of energized atoms at the edge of the solar system, the LCROSS impact, and a supersized ring around Saturn in Mission News and Science

LPI's Now on Facebook

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:52:47 GMT

The Lunar and Planetary Institute now has a Facebook page. Some recent messages include:

Lunar Intern application deadline is January 22, 2010
Lunar and Planetary Institute Paul Schenk releases video of Tohil Mons, Io
Weekend of fun takes place at NASA Johnson Space Center October 23 through October 25. NASA Open House on Saturday October 24.
Lunar and Planetary Institute is looking for Post Doctoral Fellows in Planetary Mapping, Planetary Petrology, and Lunar Surface Geology.

We also have one for the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Videos of Scientists

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:52:26 GMT

Make Magazine has made available video discussions with scientists about their fascination with science.

MAKE magazine announces a new series of educational and inspirational video interviews that are available at ElementsOfHumanity.com. These interviews of working scientists and technologists were recorded at SciFoo, an unstructured conference on Science and Technology organized this past summer by O'Reilly Media along with Nature Magazine and Google.
In an ongoing effort to get more students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Dale Dougherty, founding editor and publisher of MAKE, sought to uncover each person's own fascination with science and how that has shaped their life's work. "It is important to see that scientists are human and they have lots of passion for what they do. They connect their own personal interests to work they enjoy doing and which benefits others," says Dougherty.

Augustine Report

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:51:59 GMT

NASA has announced the Augustine Report is now available.

The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, headed by Norman Augustine, has provided its final report to NASA and Dr. John Holdren, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The report is available on the committee's Web site.
The report provides the nation and Administration with a thoughtful and comprehensive review of where the nation has been and where we could be headed in low Earth orbit and beyond. The report will assist NASA and America as we move forward with human exploration of space.
NASA is working with OSTP, the Office of Management and Budget, and other offices from the Executive Office of the President on its strategy to review and evaluate the options put forth by the committee. Ultimately, the President will make the final decision for the direction of NASA and human space flight activities.
NASA will be engaged in extensive and deliberate discussions on the work of the Augustine Committee and the ultimate recommendations to be made to the President. In the meantime, NASA remains focused on its most important current challenge -- safely flying out the remaining shuttle manifest so that we can make as smooth as possible a transition to our follow-on program.

NASA App for the iPhone

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:51:35 GMT

NASA has released an application for the iPhone.

The New Media Team at NASA Ames Research Center has developed the first NASA iPhone application to deliver up-to-the-minute NASA content directly from Agency sources in one easy-to-use mobile platform. The software makes extensive use of built-in iPhone features and usability to offer NASA information in a clear and intuitive way. The application aggregates and delivers a compelling range of dynamically updated information, images and video links. The NASA App is available free of charge on the App Store from Apple directly to the iPhone and iPod Touch or within iTunes.