Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Planets, Particles, and the Perseids!

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

WHAT: When Planets and Particles Collide – Part II

WHEN: Thursday, August 12, 9:00 pm EDT

WHERE: AFM*Radio

Join us Thursday night on AFM*Radio for a fun slideshow presentation featuring the Perseid Meteor Shower!  Adapting last year’s When Planets and Particles Collide, we’ll  focus on the Perseids as we talk about the differences between meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites; the mechanisms of meteor showers; and the night sky surrounding constellation Perseus.  Science and Fun, all rolled into one!

NOTE: This special feature will be presented in Adobe Connect.  Log-in here as a “guest”. You can then listen to the audio through the Adobe room, or mute the Adobe sound and listen via AFM*Radio.

MicroBlogs Matter!

Monday, July 19th, 2010

The Big Blog Theory” … I like the sound of that, don’t you?

Australia is celebrating their National Science Week with a competition to name Australia’s best science bloggers.  With categories to include both full-scale and micro blogging, the Big Blog Theory acknowledges Australia’s best online science communicators and hopes to inspire other science enthusiasts to get involved.

There are many excellent finalists, including Marc West’s Mr. Science Show (regularly featured on AFM*Radio) and Natasha Mitchell’s All in the Mind.  My favorite is the micro-blogging category’s Brains Matter – a podcast that features various fields of science and often includes expert interviews.  Recent topics include palaeantology,  Asian Elephant conservation, and galaxy evolution.  Brain Matters regularly communicates on Twitter and has also contributed to 365 Days of Astronomy, with podcasts about asteroid Vesta and hypervelocity stars.

I am a huge fan of “micro” outreach.  While there are  many fantastic websites, podcasts, televisions shows, and magazines that reach millions of people, I believe that it is those lesser-known endeavors, such as microblogging, local presentations, and even simply data and image sharing, that often most inspire people; thus, their contributions could be considered especially important.

The lesser-known efforts – those microbloggers and local presenters – are often unrewarded, save for that most valuable prize of knowing that they have expanded others’ horizons.  They work quietly in the shadows of the larger or more popular enterprises; they work at their own expense and on their own time; and they rarely, if ever, receive accolades.  It is for this reason that we should make the extra effort to acknowledge their valuable contributions.  While word-of-mouth is probably the greatest recognition, competitions can do much to applaud the efforts of these smaller entities.

Take a moment to explore the Big Blog Theory’s finalists, especially those in the microblogging category, and cast a vote for your favorites.  And don’t just stop there.  Anytime you see an opportunity to acknowledge an outreach effort, take advantage of it.  Cast a vote, leave a comment, spread the word.  All outreach is equally important, and we should all be concerned with encouraging its growth.  Our support takes only a moment, yet has the potential to change a lifetime.

Grace Under Pressure – #ALD10

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Ada Lovelace Day (aka #ALD10 on Twitter) is an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science.  Women and men, all across the world, are encouraged to blog about the unsung heroines of these traditionally male-dominated fields, not only to acknowledge their contributions, but to teach us all a little more about the female history behind the development of our modern world.

While my post acknowledges the tremendous, yet humble, contributions of a female science teacher, I specifically chose this person because she also represents a less-talked-about issue facing so many women in particularly those fields traditionally “reserved” for men, such as science and technology – and that is the issue of being judged by our looks rather than our work.  I have changed my “heroine’s” name to protect her privacy.  In doing so, she is no less acknowledged, and probably even more recognizable as someone we’ve all known at some point in our lives.

(more…)

Of Fusion Crusts and Strewn Fields: Science Channel’s “Meteorite Men” Make an Impact

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

PHOTO CREDIT: Photograph by Caroline Palmer © Aerolite Meteorites www.aerolite.org

Join us Sunday, March 7 at 9pm EST (March 8 at 0200 UTC), for a special AFM*Radio presentation featuring Geoffrey Notkin of the Science Channel’s Meteorite Men!

In a pre-recorded interview, we speak with Geoff about all things Meteorite Men, including how the show came to be, some surprising results of the show, and his remarkable fourteen-year friendship with Meteorite Men co-host, Steve Arnold.  Geoff also discusses some of world’s more fascinating impact sites, the intricacies of meteorite hunting,  and his own passions for science, meteorites, and music.

(more…)

In the Homestretch – the Race for Space!

Monday, February 1st, 2010

The 2nd Annual Shorty Awards has reached the crucial vote-off stage. If you didn’t participate in the nominations, now, more than ever, is the time to make your vote count!

This stage runs only five days, from February 1 through February 5, so head on over to the Shorty site to cast your votes for Space.  All original nominations count as votes, so if you already voted for one of the finalists in the nominations stage, you don’t need to vote for them again in this finalists round.  If you haven’t yet voted, please do!  You can vote for more than one finalist in each category, but only once per finalist per category.  Below, are the Space finalists, linked directly to their respective categories.

P.S.  The #education category for which I was nominated did not make it into the official categories, so I am not a finalist.  Thank you, so much, to all who voted for me in the nomination round; and congratulations to finalists NASA, Twitter ISS Alerts, Jen Scheer, and Newbury Astronomy – Go #Spacetweeps!

NASA in #government … Vote Here

twisst (Twitter ISS Alerts) in #science … Vote Here

FlyingJenny (Jen Scheer) in #science  … Vote Here

NewburyAS (Newbury Astronomy) in #science … Vote Here

AFM’s Virtual #SDOisGO Tweetup!

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

WHAT: AFM’s Virtual #SDOisGO Tweetup

WHEN: February 10, 2010 (subject to change, in accordance with SDO launch)

WHERE: Astronomy.FM

WHO: Everyone who wants to attend!

Did you know that NASA is launching a new solar observatory next month, and that you can participate from anywhere in the world?  Or maybe you already are an SDO fan, but aren’t able to make it to the launch, either of  NASA’s two #SDOisGO tweetups, or any of the simultaneous launch events.

In the spirit of NASA’s #SDOisGO tweetup and encouraging greater learning everywhere, Astronomy.FM is hosting the first-ever, simultaneous, virtual launch tweetup to celebrate the launch of NASA’s latest solar observatory!  Events and features will include live on-the-scene radio updates and interviews, solar-themed music and programs, embedded video players to watch the launch as it happens, Do You Know SDO? quiz opportunities for NASA prizes, virtual learning booths, and more!

This will be a 24-hour event, from midnight EST February 10 (0500 UTC) through midnight EST February 11 (0500 UTC), to encourage international participation.  While NASA is a USA space agency, the worlds they explore, the science they investigate, and the knowledge they gain, belong to all of us.  The more you know about NASA, the more you’ll learn about the world we live in and the greater horizons beyond.

Be sure to stop by Astronomy.FM on February 10 to learn more about the SDO mission and our Sun, to watch the launch, and for your opportunity to win some NASA swag!