astronomy

Many are familiar with the concept of citizen science: opportunities for amateurs to play a role in helping researchers gather or process scientific data. That could involve a backyard bird count, or the use of a home computer to sift through terrabytes of data.

As 2016 draws to a close, Manfred Olson Planetarium at UW-Milwaukee director and Lake Effect contributor Jean Creighton highlights the important astronomy stories of the past year:

Highlights of 2016:

1. Discovery of Gravitational Waves

Every few years, it seems we’re treated to photography from outer space that gives us a brand-new perspective on the universe. Missions like the Mars Pathfinder, with its Sojourner rover, have allowed people to see places humans will probably not experience in the near future – though they might, someday.

On this day in 1964, the Spacecraft Mariner 4 was launched into its 228 day mission that would bring the spacecraft within about 6,000 miles of Mars. That mission resulted in the first close-up photos of the Red Planet.

In celebration of that historic mission, November 28th is known as Red Planet Day.

"At first, all we wanted to do was learn more about the environment, but now, of course we want to get [to Mars]. We want to send a person there," says astronomy contributor and director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at UW-Milwaukee, Jean Creighton.

Saturn has 62 moons. One of them is Enceladus, which on first glance doesn’t look like much – kind of like a huge galactic golf ball. But this small moon, about the size of England, is a lot more interesting that you might imagine. Enceladus provides almost all of the material that makes up Saturn's E Ring. 

"It turns out that this whole ring is material that came, ultimately, from the moon itself," says astronomy contributor, Jean Creighton. 

Many of the star constellations we see from the Northern Hemisphere have names that derive from Greek myths and legends.

Astronomer and Greece-native, Jean Creighton, knows both the science and the myths. One such tale is the story of the Corona Borealis constellation, also known as the Northern Crown.

“There was a huge battle between the Minoans and the Athenians, and the Athenians lost. So the king, Minos, said, ‘Okay. As your punishment, you’re going to be sending seven young women and seven young men to Crete to feed the Minotaur,’” says Creighton

Astronomers were excited to learn of the discovery of a new object in the Kuiper Belt recently. The Kuiper Belt is a distant part of the solar system, past the orbit of Neptune, estimated at more than 4 billion miles from the sun. 

The belt is believed to contain comets, icy bodies, dwarf planets and asteroids. Since the Kuiper Belt is relatively distant, it's difficult to know exactly what the object is or even get basic facts like size. 

Every month Lake Effect contributor Jean Creighton discusses new and exciting happenings in the world of astronomy and astrophysics, but this month we’re taking a bit of a look back.

In July of 1976, the American Viking shuttle had a soft landing on Mars to capture a 20 second video before going silent, most likely due to a dust storm.

"I don't think they understood at that time truly how magnificent it was, because it was two decades before we were able to do that again," says the director of the UW-Milwaukee Manfred Olson Planetarium, Jean Creighton.

On July 4th, NASA’s Juno spacecraft will enter orbit around Jupiter, and it's been a long time in the making. An Atlas V rocket launched with the Juno spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 5, 2011. It's five-year, 400 million mile voyage to Jupiter will soon have it orbiting the planet to investigate its origin.

Every month we talk with astronomer Jean Creighton about goings on in the night sky. 

This month, she talks with us about how to wrap your head around the night vista you have – or how to wrap the night vista around your head:

Jean Creighton directs the Manfred Olson Planetarium at UW-Milwaukee.

There aren’t many scientists who are out and out celebrities.

Steven Hawking might qualify but otherwise it’s a pretty short list. And there certainly aren’t many scientists today who would command a performance at the Riverside Theater.