2014 World Science Festival Ultimate Street Fair

Beautiful weather occurred during the World Science Festival Ultimate Street Fair, which took place June1, 2014, on the campus of New York University and Washington Square Park. The street fair had science-related exhibits and hands-on experiments for kids and their families. Many vendors gave out prizes to kids for correctly answering trivial questions.

This article is about some of the exhibits and lectures that interested me..

There were inflated models of the Orion Space Capsule and the giant Space Launch System rocket. Frank O’Brien, the NASA person at the exhibit, explained the Orion would be launch on its first flight in December 2014 on top of a Delta 4 heavy rocket because the Space Launch System would not ready prior to 2017. The first flight would test Orion systems, including the heatshield. It would descend in the earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 mph. The Orion, which would carry crews starting in 2021, would be used primarily for missions beyond earth orbit - to an asteroid, the moon, and Mars. There was a large cloth in which people could write messages and sign their names. Since the large cloth was not securely attached to the fence, my script left much to be desired.

Weather lecture: A meteorologist from one of the Hudson Valley’s cable stations discussed the weather extremes in the NYC Metropolitan area in the past decade. He mentioned the increased number of tornadoes and amount of snow in the area. He answered my question on why the remains of a hurricane would move very quickly over land before dissipating. The person said the jet stream in the higher latitudes would move the hurricane’s remains.

I went the Garibaldi area and listed to lecture given by Astronaut Mike Hopkins, who landed in Kazakhtan in March 10, 2014, after spending six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Hopkins said the Soyuz rocket ride into orbit was smooth, except during staging and third-stage engine cutoff. He was thrown forward when the staging occurred.

During the time at the space station, he and his crewmates had to spend a minimum of two hours per day exercising because a person’s body would lose muscle mass and become weak. In addition to exercising, running the science experiments, and maintaining the ISS, Hopkins and crewmate Rick Mastracchio performed two unscheduled spacewalks to replace faulty ammonia pump last December.

The ammonia pump is very important because it keeps the ISS cool.

Mike kept in contact with his family and friends by email, telephone calls, and a weekly videoconference.

During reentry, he was subjected to three-to-four earth gs. Since the main parachute would deploy off-center, a combination of the Soyuz capsule (both the Russian rocket and capsule are "Soyuz)" rotating like a top and the crew being exposed to the pull of gravity the first time in six months, Hopkins described the decent as a roller coaster ride. About thirty seconds after the main chute was deployed and moved to a vertical position, the decent to the ground was smooth until the Soyuz capsule hit the ground. After landing, Mike said his head felt heavy and his balancing system was "messed up." He felt he would fall if he leaned forward.

Bobak "Mohawk Guy" Ferdowsi was on Curiosity entry, descent, and landing team. He became famous when the cameras focused on his "Mohawk" hairstyle during the August 6, 2012, successful landing of Curiosity on the Martian surface. Ferdowsi explained that the landing sequence had to be tested separately. He helped developed the 500,000-line software code that controlled the procedure. The sequence had to be done autonomously because it would take a signal 14 minutes to reach Earth from Mars. Ferdowsi also stated the skycrane method had to be used to land Curiosity because it was too heavy (one ton) to use the airbag-landing technique.

"Mad Scientist" Demonstration - funny guy, describing Newton’s laws and discussed the planets in the solar system. He asked some kids to participate in the experiments. He asked a 12 years old "Are you married?", which was funny.

Museum of Interesting Things Exhibit– Touring museum that had an early 20th century phonograph, a hand-held circular film viewer, an erector set, an old computer using 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch diskettes, and a tape reel used on main frame.

Speaking of old equipment, there was a person sitting in Washington Square Park using a 12-to-14 inch Royal manual typewriter, typing poetry on request. He told me he would order the typewriter ribbon from a company from Portland, OR. I thought the typewriter should be an addition to the Museum of Interesting Things or at the Smithsonian.

About a half dozen telescopes were set up to view the sun. Joe Martinez, the subway-platform astronomer, was in attendance. He said he would do a 24-hour subway astronomy marathon, starting from subway platforms in the Bronx then goes to Brooklyn.

FIRST Robotics - Several high schools that participated in the recent FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competition displayed their robots. The students stated they received boxes containing parts with no instructions and a laptop. They had six weeks to create the software, build, and test the robots before the competition. The top teams in the FIRST regionals would participate in the championship.

Brain NY organization exhibited an actual human brain in a container that has a liquid solution. It’s amazing that a five-pound organ does so much!

The World Science Festival Ultimate Street Fair was fun and educational. The 2015 addition should be even better.

April 12, 2014: My Day at the Northeast Astronomy Forum

Reading Astronomy magazine for many years, I saw ads promoting the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY. I had never given though about attending because I thought people just purchase astronomy equipment. In recent years, several people had told me the event had other activities in addition to buying equipment.
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Earlier this year, I carefully read the 2014 ad and noticed there would be speakers and magazine publishers. I decided to attend the 2014 edition of the event.
 
After paying the entry fee and walking to the balcony’s edge, I couldn't believe the Rockland Community College gym was almost wall-to-wall astronomy-related equipment, dominated by telescopes of different sizes. I walked around looking at telescopes displayed and taking free magazines. I went the Astronomy magazine booth and spoke with the editorial staff, including the editor Dave Eicher, about the possible discovery of a moon orbiting a planet outside our solar system two days prior to this event.

While looking at the vendors' booths, I spotted "Springer", a name of a vendor selling astronomy-related books. I liked the company’s symbol, a knight shaped as a piece on a chess demonstration board ("Springer" means knight in German).

After looking at the vendors’ booths, I went to the iOptron Theater, located at the far end of the gym, and sat in on the last twenty minutes of Dr. Ken Kremer's lecture on Commercial Space and the dependency on Russia to launch our astronauts. During the Q and A session, I asked if we had a backup plan if Russia decided not to ship any more engines for the Atlas 5’s first stage. Dr. Kremer did not know if the Atlas 5’s manufacturer had any contingency plans. Ironically, the Atlas 5 was used to launch a National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft on April 10.
　

After Dr. Kremer's lecture, I spoke with a lady connected with the OSIRIS Rex project, which would attempt to bring home a sample of asteroid Bennu. I then saw Joseph Martinez, an amateur astronomer whom I met at last year’s Spacefest held on the USS Intrepid. He used remote control to move his four-wheeled, microwave oven-sized rover on the gym floor. Joseph said he was building a rover with real solar panels. Mr. Martinez, who lives in the Bronx, also said he would set up his telescope on elevated subway stations in the Bronx and Queens to spread the word on astronomy. Joseph said people, especially kids, were fascinated looking at celestial bodies.
　

Since the lunch line was very long, I went outdoors, where other telescopes were set up, to the view the sun and Venus (believe it or not). It was a beautiful day. The outdoors greeter wore a Boston Bruins jersey. We discussed our teams' chances in the playoffs (I'm a NY Ranger fan).

While viewing the sun through one of the telescopes, I saw tiny dots that were larger than the earth!! I also saw a prominence, shaped like a circle, touching the sun at the 3 o' clock position.

I then went to the Celestron Theater to listen to Dr. Garik Israelian’s lecture. He discussed the inverse relationship between the amount of lithium a star had and the number of exoplanets in that star’s system. Despite not understanding some of the details, I thought Dr. Israelian’s lecture was good.

The next lecture and final activity I saw at NEAF was a Q and A session by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was shown on a giant screen. The theater was packed. Dr. Tyson teased a 13-year-girl whose first name was "Moon." I enjoyed the Q and A that ran a little past the scheduled ending time of the lecture.

I could not stay for Dr. Alan Stern lecture on the New Horizons spacecraft, Pluto, and the other Kuiper Belt objects. 

I really had a great time and had one question while going home - Why didn't I carefully read past NEAF ads and attend the events?




　

Cellphone Etiquette

Cellphones are popular because they are relatively inexpensive, small, and they are portable entertainment center. Unfortunately, some people do not use common sense when using cellphones in public. I will discuss several examples below.
People talking loudly: This is not necessary since today’s cellphones’ mikes are sensitive enough to pick up a whisper. Other people do not wish to hear about another person’s play-by-play of an argument or drama. Also, some people discuss topics that should not be in public. If you must use a cellphone for an extended period of time, either whisper or go to an area that would not disturb people.

People Blasting Music with or without headphones: That’s rude. Just lower the volume so no one other than you can listen to the music. Also, blasting music while wearing headphones may cause hearing problems in the future.

People Staring at their cellphones while walking as though they are hypnotized: This is unsafe because a person may hit another pedestrian or a vehicle, or may be hit by a vehicle.

About eight months ago, I saw a person staring into his cellphone while walking across an outdoor mall street. He walked into the front right-side door of a cab. After the impact, the cellphone person turned into a lean, mean, cursing machine, shouting obscenities at the shocked cab driver. I could not believe what I witnessed. The cellphone person was lucky he was not injured or killed. A person should be aware of their surroundings at all times.

　

Talking on the cellphone or texting while driving: This is dangerous. Many people have been killed doing the above. Wait until you are not driving before talking or texting.

Using a cellphone at the checkout counter: I’ve witnessed some cellphone users get an attitude when the POS person politely asked a question. Is the call that important? Wait until the POS process is completed.

Using cellphones at a funeral: I was at a funeral less than two years ago. Not only were some people texting with the auto-key-click (audible touch-tone) on but also talking during the beginning of the service. The pastor had to interrupt the service and politely asked people to turn off their cellphones. Using the cellphone during a funeral is disrespectful to the deceased and to the deceased's  family. Was it important to speak or text during the funeral?

A person should be considerate of others while using a cellphone in public.

I have discussed only a few examples of misusing cellphones in public. Feel free to post some of your experiences with people not using cellphone etiquette.