̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Helen Mason

Local school takes classroom into space

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 13:35:47 +0000

On Wednesday 6 February, groups of enthusiastic children, aged 4-11 years old, at Icknield Primary School were taken to infinity and beyond during a day of classes that celebrated all things space, including workshops about space and astronauts, games, a hands-on demonstration of a real space suit (including how to go to the toilet in the space suit), making models of space suits and helmets, and building model spaceships.

̽��ֱ��Icknield space day, which is just the beginning of a programme of space-themed events at the School, is linked to the Space to Earth challenge – and Mission X Train Like an Astronaut challenges a call to action for schools to align their teaching activities with the 400km distance between the International Space Station (ISS) and Earth, and Earth and the Moon as part of the UK Space Agency's package of activities for the Principia Mission.

Over the next few months, teachers at the School will incorporate space-themed physics, technology, mathematics, PE and design activities into daily teaching, coinciding with the six-month European Space Agency (ESA) mission to ISS by British Astronaut, Tim Peake. Tim is the first British ESA astronaut to live and work on the ISS. ̽��ֱ��mission is intended to inspire children and young people to explore the world around them, and engage more fully with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.

Dr Helen Mason OBE from ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and a Fellow of St Edmund’s College, and Heather MacRae (venturethinking), who is leading the Space to Earth Challenge, spent the day at Icknield school. Throughout the day, Helen and Heather participated in every lesson, taking the excited children on a journey through space and answering any questions from the ever-inquisitive young minds, such as:

“What are the chances of there being life on other planets?”

“Could a black hole suck up the space station?”

“What would happen if the space suit had a hole while the astronaut was space walking?”

Speaking about the day, Helen said: “We need to get children interested and excited about science at an early age and Tim Peake’s mission is a great opportunity to do this. ̽��ֱ��mission is called Principia, named after the book by Sir Isaac Newton who studied at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. So this is a fantastic chance for local schools to get involved in a range of fantastic activities.”

Eleven-year old, Karla Bolton, who wore the space suit said: “It’s a lot heavier than it looks and you get really warm inside it. It makes you realise how hard it must be to wear it a lot. ̽��ֱ��best bit of the whole day was trying on the suit. I also found it very interesting learning how small the Earth is compared to the Sun. I’m now really looking forward to watching more stories about Tim in the news.”

Gregor James, also 11-years old, agreed: “I’m really excited to watch more about Tim’s mission too. We’ve done lots of things on space today and on other days, asking lots of questions. It’s made me more interested in doing science when I go to high school.”

Icknield School Deputy Head, Tom Snowdon, who is coordinating activities at the School, has noticed the children’s heightened enthusiasm for science over the last couple of months since they started the Space to Earth Challenge.

He said, “We are part of the Tim Peake Primary Project supported by the European Space Education Resource Office. We’ve been working with Heather and Helen since November and the children are really starting to connect with the ideas, and to think much more about space and science.

“Over the Christmas holidays, lots of the children designed and made space helmets that we have been sharing and using for the basis of science lesson work. These have clearly made the children consider what the environment would be like in space and how they would survive there.

“As a result, they’re now switching on to scientific concepts, as demonstrated by some of their questions that really showed their depth of thought. It’s opened up their eyes to new possibilities, especially all the different types of careers involved with science and space.”

Parents of children at Icknield School have also noticed a difference. Dr Matt Davey, a Senior Research Associate at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Plant Sciences Department, and a research associate of Corpus Christi College, is a parent of pupils at Icknield Primary and Pippins pre-school.

He said: “My children had an amazing day – they really enjoyed touching the space suit and it was great to hear them talking about it in such detail at home. I even learnt a lot about space suits and living in space, such as how each suit and seat is made for each astronaut. They’re now looking forward to the other planned space events this term at the school, such as docking and working in their classroom version of the International Space Station.”

Icknield School has further events planned during the next few months, including a visit from Spectrum Drama Company who will perform a dramatisation about Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. In addition, an astronomer will be visiting the School to give a presentation to Year 6.

A primary school in Sawston spent the day learning all about space and one lucky 11-year old girl had the chance to try on a real space suit.

We need to get children interested and excited about science at an early age and Tim Peake’s mission is a great opportunity to do this

Helen Mason OBE

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Astronaut and Cambridge experts encourage students to ‘tri’ the Space to Earth Challenge

jeh98 — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 14:44:28 +0000

In December 2015 astronaut and keen triathlete Tim Peake will embark on the Principia mission, a long-duration flight to the International Space Station (ISS). He will be the first British ESA astronaut to visit the Space Station.

When he moves into his new home in space he would like children across the UK to exercise alongside him as he trains for two hours a day in the world’s highest and fastest-moving gym – travelling at 27,600km per hour and circling the world every 90 minutes.

So schools across the United Kingdom are being invited to take part in a new space race – to stride, swim, scoot and spin the 400km distance from the ISS to Earth.

̽��ֱ��distance of 400km is just one of a series of space-themed challenges that students can try, which have been designed by experts from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Kings College London.

Dr Helen Mason OBE from Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics is supporting the challenge through a range of activities linked with how astronauts and triathletes need to keep safe in the sun, and the ways in which the sun will affect Peake’s mission on the ISS.

Tim Peake said: “While exercising so far away in space I will have some amazing views, although I will miss the sights, sounds and fresh air of planet Earth. I hope students across the UK will join me in my training and share what they see as they work out back on Earth.”

Tim is especially keen on space-based training that will support his triathlon interests in cycling, running and swimming. Schools taking part in the Space to Earth Challenge will be encouraged to create their own “spaceathlon” trios of space, sport and science activities.

Other activities include looking at how gravity and forces affect sports, and maths and physics activities made to support the Principia Mission.

Schools across the country can sign up for the free challenge and resources at: www.spacetoearthchallenge.org.uk

Dr Helen Mason OBE (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics) has teamed up with astronaut Tim Peake to create sports and science activities for schools taking part in the Space to Earth Challenge.

I hope students across the UK will join me in my training

Tim Peake, astronaut

Dr Helen Mason

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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New light shed on explosive solar activity

lw355 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:00:34 +0000

̽��ֱ��study published today by ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge scientists working with colleagues in India and the USA is the first to visualise the movement of gases at one million degrees in coronal loops – solar structures that are rooted at both ends and extend out from active regions of the Sun. Active regions are the ‘cradle’ for explosive energy releases such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

̽��ֱ��observation will help scientists understand what is considered to be one of the most challenging issues in astrophysics – how solar structures are heated and maintained in the upper solar atmosphere. Extreme solar activity can lead to severe space storms that interfere with satellite communications and damage electric power transmission grids on Earth. Solar activity is cyclical, with the next maximum forecast to occur around May 2013, and severe space weather is now listed very high on the UK’s 2012 National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies.

Based on observations from the Hinode satellite (a joint Japanese, NASA, European Space Agency and UK project), the new findings provide the first evidence of plasma upflows travelling at around 20 km per second in the one million degree active region loops. ̽��ֱ��scientists suggest that the upflow of gases is probably the result of “impulsive heating” close to the footpoint regions of the loops.

“Active regions are now occurring frequently across the Sun. We have a really great opportunity to study them with solar spacecraft, such as Hinode and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO),” said co-author Dr Helen Mason from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. “Probing the heating of the Sun's active region loops can help us to better understand the physical mechanisms for more energetic events which can impinge on the Earth’s environment.”

Previous ultraviolet images of the Sun taken by NASA’s SDO have shown large loops of hot gas guided by the Sun’s magnetic field and rooted near sunspots. Despite such remarkable developments in the observations and theory of active regions over the past few decades, the question remained as to how solar plasma is heated and rises up into the loops in the first place.

Now, the new research provides the first visualisation of plasma flow by showing the movement of gases within the loop as ‘blueshifts’ in diagnostic images using the extreme ultraviolet imaging spectrometer (EIS) on the Hinode satellite. Spectral lines produced by the spectrometer act like ‘fingerprints’ or the ‘bar code’ in a supermarket – the lines identify the multitude of elements and ions within the loop and shifts in the position of the lines provide information on the motion of the plasma. Although the Sun is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, there are also other trace elements, such as oxygen and iron, in the hot ionised gas within the loops.

̽��ֱ��scientists suggest that the gas movement is caused by a process of “chromospheric evaporation” in which “impulsive heating” on a small scale can result in the heating of the solar active regions but on a larger scale can lead to huge explosions, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections.

“It is believed that magnetic energy builds up in an active region as the magnetic field becomes distorted, for example by motions below the surface of the Sun dragging the magnetic fields around,” explained Mason, whose research is partially funded by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). “Sometimes magnetic flux can emerge or submerge and affect the overlying magnetic field. We believe that solar plasma surges upwards when impulsive heating results from magnetic reconnection which occurs either in the loops or close to the Sun’s surface. These disruptions are sometimes relatively gentle but can also be catastrophic.”

Commenting on the newly published study, Professor Richard Harrison MBE, Head of Space Physics and Chief Scientist at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, said: “ ̽��ֱ��Sun governs the environment in which we live and it is the so-called solar active regions that drive extreme conditions leading to the explosive flares and the huge eruptions; understanding these active regions is absolutely critical for the study of what we now call space weather. ̽��ֱ��work published by in this paper is a key element of that work, applying innovative analyses to the observations from the UK-led Hinode/EIS instrument.”

̽��ֱ��researchers hope that a better understanding of active regions might one day help scientists to identify the magnetic field structures that lead to explosive solar energy releases and use this as a means for predicting when such events will occur.

̽��ֱ��study is published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

̽��ֱ��first images of an upward surge of the Sun’s gases into quiescent coronal loops have been identified by an international team of scientists. ̽��ֱ��discovery is one more step towards understanding the origins of extreme space storms, which can destroy satellite communications and damage power grids on Earth.

Probing the heating of the Sun's active region loops can help us to better understand the physical mechanisms for more energetic events which can impinge on the Earth’s environment.

Dr Helen Mason

SDO/AIA (NASA)

Sun's active region loops

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