Aug 25, 2006

Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761

Charles Henry Guillaume Canadian Space Agency, Montreal 450-926-6651

RELEASE: 06-301

NASA INVITES STUDENTS TO HELP ASTRONAUT COUNT THE STARS

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are collaborating on a new education activity that helps students become astronomers The Star Count Project will investigate the visual quality of the night sky and help assess the extent of atmospheric light pollution

There are many factors that affect how many stars can be seen at night NASA and the CSA are inviting U S and Canadian students to participate in an effort to study these factors

The project was suggested and is being supported by CSA astronaut Steve MacLean He is a member of the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the next mission, designated STS-115, to the International Space Station The mission is scheduled to launch Sunday, August 27

MacLean will perform the Star Count experiment during the mission While in space he will upload star observation information into a database via the Star Count Web site As part of the project, students will learn how to estimate the number of stars observed based on random samples of sections of the sky Students will add to the database by entering their location, number of stars observed and information about their viewing conditions The students will be able to compare their observations with MacLean's and other observers

Star Count is a project of the NASA Student Observation Network The network is a collection of online inquiry-based activities that challenge students to find answers to research questions by making their own observations and interpreting them with NASA data

To participate in the Star Count Project, students should visit:

http://www nasa gov/audience/foreducators/starcount

or

http://www space gc ca/asc/eng/educators/resources/stars/default asp

The Star Count Project is directly tied to NASA's major education goal of attracting students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies NASA is committed to engaging and retaining students in these disciplines which are crucial to the agency's future missions

For information about NASA education programs, Star Count Project and the Student Observation Network, visit:

http://www nasa gov/education

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: BULK_EMAIL

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/[list]/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/list/[list]

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:list
admin@aus-city
com>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

http://www aus-city com