Just as Venus occasionally passes between Earth and the sun, distant planets occasionally pass between their star and us. Kepler will be able to detect such transits.
Since 2001, Gould, coordinator of the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) space science programs, has been gearing up for launch as Kepler's co-investigator for education and public outreach. Working with the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., he has developed educational curricula that teachers can use to harness students' interest in the mission to learn not only about extrasolar planets, but about the solar system as well. As coordinator of the Kepler mission's website , Gould also has helped provide the public with a wealth of information on the mission and given teachers a smorgasbord of class activities. And through teacher workshops, he and his LHS colleagues have promoted astronomy and space science in elementary, middle and high school classrooms through the hall's well-established GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science), FOSS (Full Option Science System), GSS (Global Systems Science) and HOU (Hands on Universe) programs. "Kepler is supporting these educational outreach projects, but these projects are providing Kepler with huge leverage as a way of reaching a lot of teachers," he said. "That was a very strong element of our education proposal to NASA." Among other offerings are a planetarium show, "Strange Planets," that LHS planetarium staff developed for use in science museums around the world; and a transiting planet demonstration that is part of "Alien Earths," a larger museum exhibit developed by the Space Science Institute of Boulder, Colo. The exhibit premiered at LHS four years ago and is now on a national tour.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
