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The sun...
the battery for life
on our Earth.
Even when its cloudy.
Hi, I'm JD!
It's Earth Science week,
and we're celebrating it
by exploring the sun's
energy and the particles
and waves it sends our way.
But before we get to that,
let's find out what's
happening at NASA NOW!
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After completing its primary
mission to map the infrared sky,
NASA has extended the mission
of its Wide-field
Infrared Survey Explorer,
called WISE satellite.
The spacecraft will now focus
on our nearest neighbors --
the asteroids and comets
now in orbit around our sun.
Recently, WISE caught a
glimpse of the comet Hartley 2,
the target of an upcoming
"fly-by" mission
in early November.
Tune in next week
for more information
on this historic mission.
Last week, a Soyuz spacecraft
carrying three flight engineers
from the United States
and Russia lifted off
from a launch pad in Kazakhstan.
To begin a six month tour
a board the International
Space Station.
The new crew members will join
three other Expedition 25 team
members who were
already in orbit.
Now lets travel forward
to the past.
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Robert H Goddard, noted
American physicist
and considered the father
of modern rocket propulsion,
was born this month in 1882.
By 1926, Goddard had constructed
and successfully tested the
first rocket using liquid fuel.
Since then, Goddard's
basic design has been used
to carry men to the Moon, propel
robotic spacecraft to the edge
of our solar system, and launch
the communication satellites
that help connect us to
people all over the planet.
In fact, historians say
that the first flight
of Goddard's rocket was as
significant to aviation as that
of the Wright brothers'
first flight at Kitty Hawk.
The electromagnetic or
(EM) spectrum is the name
that scientists give to a
bunch of types of radiation
when they want to talk
about them as a group.
Using our eyes or an ordinary
camera, we see the range
of colors we recognize
as visible light.
A special thermal camera
can reveal the gradients
of heat being radiated
from our bodies,
as well as from everything
else around us,
and an infrared camera
let's us see in the dark.
Here to tell us more about the
EM spectrum is Dr. Eric Brown de
Colstoun, Coordinator of
Earth Science Education
and Public Outreach at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center.
Eric? My name is Eric
Brown de Colstoun.
I am a Physical Scientist here
in the Earth Sciences Division
in Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt Maryland.
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When people think
about your hometown -
I don't really have a hometown,
so I started thinking, "Well,
maybe my hometown
is the planet."
One of the things people
don't actually realize is
that these waves are present
virtually on a daily basis
around us, and we
don't necessarily think
about electromagnetic energy
as being part of our lives.
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The sun is the source
of energy for a lot
of processes on our planet.
All the food that
we have is a process
that is driven by energy.
The visible light from the sun
comes down and is fixed plants
through the process
of photosynthesis.
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People might not
necessarily realize
that when you change
the channel on your TV,
you are using electromagnetic
energy to send a pulse to the TV
to change the channel, or
maybe even heat your popcorn
in the microwave that you are
actually using microwave energy
as well.
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We use the electromagnetic
spectrum in various ways.
NASA has a fleet of satellites
that orbits Earth continuously,
and they measure anything
from rainfall and hurricanes
to the thickness
of the ice sheets
to sea surface temperature, land
surface temperature and changes
in the land due to land use,
measuring all the different
systems of the earth
at any one point in time.
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The big picture really is,
in terms of the heating
of the planet that we've been
observing over the last 30-some,
40-some years, as you
know - fossil fuels
and CO2 are greenhouse
gasses, so that means
that they trap the
heat of the planet.
So, that's a really good example
of upsetting the normal balance.
With remote sensing we
really see the change
that we are bringing
to our planet.
It's sort of a cycle
that we're trying
to better understand,
but that worries us.
To me, my job is fun everyday.
I come in, and I find
something new, and I get to talk
about things I hadn't
thought about before,
and so It's a process of
investigating, and so,
you're like a CSI
for the planet.
Now lets set our
sites even higher.
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The next time you visit one
of our great national parks
its likely you'll see gigantic
trees, mountain peaks, and
gorges, rare and colorful birds,
bears, insects and exotic plants
and now you'll also be able
to have a unique view of the
International Space Station.
Recently, NASA joined with
the National Park Service
to provide the parks
as environments free
of light pollution that offer
perfect vantages for spotting
and tracking the space station
as it crosses the heavens...
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Don't forget, there's still
time to enter the contests
that we told you
about last week -
deadline for the Earth Science
Week Photography Contest is
October 15, and the last day
for the weightless
challenge is November 1.
Check out these contests right
here on the NASA NOW home page.
Well that's it for NASA NOW,
remember to tune in next week
when we'll learn about
NASA's efforts to search
for life beyond our planet...
Will see you THEN on NASA NOW!
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NASA NOW comes to you
from the Virtual Campus
at NASA Explorer Schools.
