(CNW) NASA and the Canadian Space Agency(CSA) are collaborating on a new education activity that lets students become amateur scientists.
For the Star Count project, students are asked to input the
number of stars they see in the night sky along with
information on the viewing and atmospheric conditions in their
area into a North America-wide database.
Participants can then use the results and the information
found on the Star Count website to investigate the visual
quality of the nighttime sky.
Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean will perform the Star Count
experiment during STS-115, the assembly mission to the
International Space Station that will deliver a new set of
energy-generating solar arrays. The space mission is expected
to be launched this Sunday (Aug. 27) at 4:30 pm.
While in space, MacLean will upload data from the experiment
into a database via the Star Count website.
Students will not try to count every star in the sky, but
will learn how to estimate a total number based on random
samples of sections of the sky. They will then enter the number
of stars and information about their viewing conditions and
location in an online database.
The Star Count activity promotes the agencies' major
education goal of attracting and retaining students in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
For more information visit: www.space.gc.ca/stars ; www.space.gc.ca/ ; or http://son.nasa.gov
