Mars Hill Quick Report: August 29 – September 4
Welcome back to the Mars Hill Quick Report, a bite-sized weekly news update from Lowell Observatory! Each week, we’ll give you the short version of upcoming events at Lowell and beyond, plus a little dash of history.
News
☆ Wednesday, August 31
Flagstaff Family Food Center: Weekly Science Lesson
4 – 5 PM
On Wednesday, August 31, one of our educators will teach a science lesson at the Flagstaff Family Food Center for preschool-aged kids. This month’s theme is Our Moon, and this week’s lesson will be an activity called Oreo Moon Phases. Kids will use Oreo cookies to recreate the phases of the Moon!
☆ Saturday, September 3
Lowell Observatory at Movies on the Square
5 – 7 PM
This is the last week of Movies on the Square for the Summer! Come find us in Heritage Square on Saturday, September 3 from 4-8pm. We’ll have solar telescope viewing, UV bead bracelet-making, and trivia! This week’s theme is Astronomy. Kids and their families can participate with a question to win a Lowell prize or enter a raffle for a Planet Plushie! We’ll see you there!
☆ Tuesday, August 30
New Star Stuff episode: Academic Burnout
The Star Stuff crew sits down to discuss what it’s like to be a student in modern university structures, including the pressure that students (especially women) face in STEM majors.
This Week in History
☆ September 1, 1979
NASA’s Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn
“Pioneer 11, launched 45 years ago on April 5, 1973, became the first human-made object to fly past Saturn. Along with its sister spacecraft Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11 completed direct observations of Jupiter, focusing on the planet’s polar regions, obtaining in-depth photos of Jupiter’s giant red spot and determining the mass of Jupiter’s moon Callisto. Pioneer 11 used Jupiter’s massive gravitational field to swing back across the solar system to set itself on a flyby course with Saturn, spending 22 years exploring deep space.”
— Danielle Carmichael, NASA.gov | Apr 5, 2018
