NASA Ames Research Center, located in California’s Silicon Valley, will host ‘Cosmic Impacts,’ the second installment in its highly successful Family Night Education Series, on Saturday, July 16, 2005. The event features exhibits and hands-on activities for the entire family, presentations by NASA experts, and ‘galaxy viewing’ where the public can see the moon, planets and other celestial objects through a field of telescopes (weather permitting). Media representatives are invited to attend the event.
‘Cosmic Impacts’ is free and open to the public. The doors of the NASA Exploration Center open at 6:00 p.m. PDT and will remain open until 10:00 p.m. Telescope viewing will continue until 11:00 p.m. PDT. To reach NASA Ames, exit at Moffett Boulevard from U.S. Highway 101. Turn right over the overpass and follow the parking signs.
Schedule of Events
6:00-10:00 p.m. PDT NASA Exploration Center
Family exhibits and activities
7:00 p.m. PDT
Scott Sandford, NASA research astrophysicist – Presenting the latest images and results from the Deep Impact mission’s July 4 rendezvous and impact with the comet Tempel 1.
David Morrison, senior scientist, NASA Astrobiology Institute – Presenting NASA’s efforts to locate and identify near-Earth asteroids that could pose an impact hazard to the Earth.
Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut – Presenting the B612 Foundation’s innovative and exciting plans to demonstrate how impact hazards to the Earth could be addressed by changing the orbit of an asteroid.
8:30-11:00 p.m. PDT Galaxy Viewing
Join local amateur astronomers to view the impact craters on the moon and other celestial bodies.
Ames Family Nights are sponsored by the NASA Ames Education Office and are designed to engage the community in scientific exploration and to inform the public about NASA research and technology.
For more information visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/
For more information about the NASA Ames Education Office, visit:
