Jason Schiffman shares his wide-ranging expertise on the UCI Podcast during Mental Health Awareness Month

UC Irvine researchers make ultra-thin bismuth material for flexible technologies

A technology demo on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help increase the variety of distant planets scientists can directly image. .

Online video game players believe the behavior known as “smurfing” is generally wrong and toxic to the gaming community – but most admit to doing it and say some reasons make the behavior less blameworthy, new research finds.

Rebecca Keiser, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) chief of research security strategy and policy (CORSSP), will deliver a virtual keynote address May 23 on the origins of the foundation’s research on research security (RoRS) program with Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

The Ohio State University has selected Jason Opal as its next dean and director of The Ohio State University at Mansfield, effective Aug. 15. Opal currently serves as associate dean of graduate studies in the Faculty of Arts at McGill University, one of Canada’s leading public research institutions. A scholar and historian of early America and infectious diseases, he is a professor in McGill’s Department of History and Classics with 20 years of academic experience.  

Nadine Muzerall, the winningest head coach in The Ohio State University women’s hockey history, has signed a contract extension through the 2028-29 season. In her first eight seasons as head coach of the Buckeyes, Muzerall has developed the program into one of the country’s elite programs in women’s college hockey.

In the United States, only 1 child in 5 has seen the Milky Way. With the growth of outdoor lighting, light pollution has hidden the night to the point where most of us have never seen a truly dark sky. While many can experience the heavens through science museums and planetariums, access to these resources is limited.

Part of the mission of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is to provide innovative and immersive learning about astronomy to students. The visitor center at the Very Large Array, for example, has a wealth of educational resources. But one thing that’s missing is a way to give children an immersive astronomical experience. That is why we propose obtaining a mobile planetarium.

While building a planetarium at the VLA visitor center would be cost-prohibitive, a mobile planetarium system is more economical. It’s based upon an inflatable dome 6 meters across and capable of hosting 38 students at a time. Like a regular planetarium, a mobile planetarium can provide both realistic images of the night sky and 360-degree video to immerse students in learning experiences. The projection system can display 4K videos in both standard and dome formats.  It is an excellent way for students to experience the awe and wonder of the night sky. As a mobile system, the planetarium could also be used in local schools and at other NRAO locations. As such, it would provide a particularly valuable learning experience for classrooms in remote rural areas.

To join our campaign for a mobile planetarium, Become a VLA Member! Join before June 30 and 100% of your membership will directly support the planetarium.

The post Mobile Planetariums Bring the Stars to You appeared first on National Radio Astronomy Observatory.