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October 2007
theWoman Astronomer, Where Woman Are The Stars!
Reaching 104,043 visitors in the past 12
months!
Our mission is to promote astronomy as a hobby and science, to encourage women and girls interested
in astronomy, and to be a resource to the astronomy community and the public at large.
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To subscribe, go to:
/newsletter.htm
To unsubscribe, go to the end of this newsletter for instructions.
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In This Issue:
1.) Publisher's Desk For October 2007
2.) Musings: Adopt-A-Mission
3.) Letters To The
Editor
4.) Feature Article: Interview with Dr. Debra Fischer, Planet-Hunter
5.) Ask Urania: What is astronomy?
6.)
Cosmic Campus: Website Review: theWoman Astronomer, by Kathryn Piorkowski
7.) Links
8.) Woman Astronomer Wanted
9.) Call for Submissions
For easier clicking, read this issue online at:
/newsletter0710.htm
What's New!
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Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math
Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, by Danica McKellar. August 2007. Hudson Street Press, New York.
Where was this book when I was taking middle school math? If there had been a book like this around back then,
there is a very good possibility I would have enjoyed math a whole more. I always felt that math was just a puzzle to be
solved. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite understand the language.
Danica McKellar is a young actress best known for her roles on the television series The Wonder Years and West
Wing. She is also an “internationally recognized mathematician” and co-author of a physics theorem, the
Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem. She began promoting math to girls in 2000.
This charming book translates math into girl-talk and offers easy tricks and anecdotes for solving prime numbers and
factorization, finding the greatest common factor, fractions, and how to solve word problems, to name a few. Each chapter has
a theme that any young girl can relate to and then translate into a math solution that will make sense to her, such as “What
Every Savvy Shopper Should Know: All About Decimals” and “How to Entertain Yourself While Babysitting a Devil Child:
Converting Decimals to Fractions.”
Every chapter contains definitions of math terms, quick notes, what to watch out for, how to do the math, and “Step-By-Step in
Action.” There are also testimonials and notes from girls sharing their thoughts about math. For extra help not covered in the
book, girls can visit McKellar’s website at www.mathdoesntsuck.com.
theWoman Astronomerhighly recommends Math
Doesn’t Suck. It is an entertaining read and demystifies math. If you have a young girl in your life who is struggling
with mathematics, buy this book!
This book are available at Amazon.com. Support theWoman Astronomer by clicking through to
Amazaon.com from our site:
/amazon_com.htm
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1. Publisher's Desk
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FOR SALE: Comets II, by Richard P.
Binzel (Forward), Michael C. Festou, H. U. Keller, Harold A. Weaver (Editors). Hardcover, 745 pages. University of Arizona
Space Science Series, November 2004. $68.00.
FOR SALE: Asteroids III, by Richard P. Binzel (Author), William F. Bottke, Alberto Cellino, Paolo Paolicchi (Editors).
Hardcover, 785 pages. University of Arizona Press, December 2002. $76.00.
I bought both of these books for a planetary science class. They were recommended, but not required and I did not use them.
They are in new condition and the price listed is 20% off of list price. If interested, please send me an email to
saturna2@earthlink.net. Shipping is included.
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2. Musings
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Adopt-A-Mission
We live in a wonderful age of
astronomy, witnesses to our adventuress first steps out into the black void of space. No longer confined by the myopic view
from our beautiful blue planet, we are finally meeting the rest of our solar system neighbors up close and personal.
On August 4, the Phoenix Mars Mission launched from Cape Canaveral, beginning its 10-month flight to our red neighbor...
Read the rest of my musing here:
/FTEMusings.htm
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3. Letters to the Editor
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We are both high school teachers
of chemistry and physics and also amateur astronomers - till now, we have sent a total of more than thirty thousand variable
star observations to the AAVSO. Perhaps, it could interest you to know that we've done some research about Antonia Maury
(because she was an astronomer, a woman and also a Portuguese descendent)...
Read the rest of the posted Letters to the Editor at:
/FTETotheEditor.htm
Advertisement
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Astronomy Technology Today, the definitive “astro
equipment rag,” is a new monthly magazine that debuted this Spring and is offering an introductory annual subscription price of
$12. The price is good through August 31. To subscribe go to:
http://www.astronomytechnologytoday.com/
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4. Feature Article
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Interview with Dr. Debra Fischer,
Planet-Hunter
"As soon as the Sun set, I opened the camera shutter and began collecting starlight...This became a personal quest - me
against the star.”
Dr. Debra Fischer began hunting planets orbiting around other stars as a graduate student at the University of California,
Santa Cruz. She is currently a professor of astronomy at San Francisco State University and continues her quest for worlds
around distant stars. She was featured in Timothy Ferris' recent PBS film, "Seeing in the Dark." Dr. Fischer is an
amazing astronomer and an incredible woman. She took some time from her busy schedule to answer a few questions about her
research and her life as a woman astronomer.
Read the entire article here:
/dfischer.htm
Advertisement:
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PHOENIX TRAVEL, YOUR PASSPORT TO ADVENTURE.
Featuring SkyWatcher Tours. See the 2008 eclipse in Mongolia, or the aurora in Alaska, or go to the Southern Skies Star
Party.
For more details, go to:
http://www.phoenix-travel.net/SkyWatcher/SkyWatcher_Splash.html
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5. Ask Urania
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This month the goddess of Sky and Light
answers the question...
What is astronomy?
To read the Muse’s reply, go to:
/ask_urania.htm
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6. Cosmic Campus
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Website Review: theWoman Astronomy, by Kathryn Piorkowski.
"With the North Star as a guide, you will never be lost." Regina Jachim Goles (1909-2003). Advice Kathryn received
from her mother.
Kathy Goles Piorkowski's love of astronomy started when her mother first showed her how to find Polaris. From there it was a
short step to Orion and a long journey of promoting astronomy, especially to young girls, as an amateur astronomer. Kathy is
currently a student at Northern Illinois University, completing her course work toward a Bachelor of General Studies. Her
paper was for a "Women in Science" class. Kathy’s grade on this assignment was 50 points out of 50!
Read the entire story here:
/twa_review.htm
Advertisement:
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"Science Educators Under the Stars: Amateur
Astronomers Engaged in Education and Public Outreach," (Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2007), paperback, 120 pages.
Edited by Michael G. Gibbs, Marni Berendsen, and Martin Storksdieck. Foreword by Terry Mann. Contributing authors: Marni
Berendsen, Michael Gibbs, Jim Kaler, Judy Koke, David Levy, Mike Reynolds, Scott Roberts, Tim Slater, Martin Storksdieck, and
Dan Zevin.
"Science Educators Under the Stars: Amateur Astronomers Engaged in Education and Public Outreach"
is the first comprehensive treatise of the amateur astronomer's role in communicating knowledge and passion about astronomy to
the public. The book reviews the topic from many angles: it characterizes the nature of education and public engagement with
astronomy that amateur astronomers are currently doing; it features projects and organizations that support and aid these
practices; it discusses the potential impact on the public and on astronomy and amateur astronomers; and it embeds these
pieces into a larger framework of astronomy education as a whole. The book also provides a summary of research conducted on
amateur astronomers engaging in education and public outreach along with presenting new research findings on women in
astronomy.
The book is $10 + postage and is available this September through the ASP's ASTRO Shop located online at
http://www.astrosociety.org/aspbook.html (product number BO 432).
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, an international nonprofit scientific and educational organization founded in 1889 that
works to increase the understanding and appreciation of astronomy.
http://www.astrosociety.org
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7. Links
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We’ve updated our Links page and added some new sites we hope
you will find interesting.
Go here to find sites of women astronomers, reports about the status of women in astronomy, and organizations and
businesses:
/links.htm
Advertisement:
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Quality Roll-Off Observatory Plans, Kits and Telescope Piers
http://www.skyshed.com
SkyShed POD (Personal Observatory Dome) is an evolutionary, affordable, dome observatory designed for a broad range of amateur
astronomers, from the ‘lone wolf’ observer to the entire observing family.
http://www.skyshedpod.com
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8. Woman Astronomer Wanted
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The following positions are listed as a public service and were obtained from the e-newsletter of the American Astronomical
Society's division of the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA).
+Tenure Track Astronomy Position at Haverford College
+Submillimeter Array Postdoctoral Fellowships
+Tenure-Track
Assistant Professor Position, Western Washington University
+Faculty Position, Physics/Astronomy, Michigan State
University +Openings, Dept. of Physics, NC State University
+AIP Fellowship Announcement
+Chandra Fellowships
+Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Dept. of Physics, Baylor University
+Fellowships Focus on Gender/Women in STEM Fields
See the entire list with details here:
/wawanted.htm
Please consider supporting theWoman Astronomer by advertising your positions on this page. Click here to visit our advertising
page:
/advertising2.htm
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9. Call for Submissions
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Have you written a paper on astronomy, planetary science, women
in astronomy? Would you like to share it with our readers? Shelby Cook, a 10th grade student, did and the professional
astronomers loved it!
Are you an amateur astronomer? A professional? A student? Are you doing some interesting research you would like to share? Send
us an email with a brief summary of your proposal to saturna2@earthlink.net for consideration.
Thank you!
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theWoman Astronomer
PO Box 36011
Tucson, AZ
85740-6011
Voice 520.203.4412
Debra L. Davis, Publisher
webmaster@womanastronomer.com
Advertising Rates:
/web_site.htm
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Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved
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