Mad Scientists Up All Night!
Summer is the perfect time for a young mad scientist to stay up all night and uncover the mysteries lurking in the darkness. There’s a lot to see and learn in the dark.
The International Space Station
Yes, you can see the International Space Station from your backyard. Find out the times that the ISS will be over your town and keep your eyes peeled for a star moving very swiftly across the sky. Unlike a shooting star, this quick-moving star has no trail. You should search the sky with your naked eyes, and perhaps try some powerful binoculars once you have located it. If you have a police scanner or radio that can tune into 145.9 FM, you may be able to listen to signals sent from the ISS when it is in view.
Constellations
Did you ever wonder about the history of the Connect the Dots game? Well, I’m not entirely sure, but I think it’s rooted in finding constellations. Connect the Dots in the sky and see which constellations you can find.. or make up your own.
Perseid Meteor Shower
The Perseid Meteor Shower is called so because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. The meteor shower is actually associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. This meteor shower will typically be most active in the early morning hours of August 12. Keep an eye out for this spectacular show late night Tuesday August 11 into the morning hours of August 12.
The Moon
The next full moon is on August 6th, but you don’t really need a full moon. Look at the moon, through a telescope or with some good binoculars and explore the craters. We looked, once again, on the Fourth of July. We use a telescope and the moon was very close to being full. You can actually see the shadows of meteor craters. It’s just an interesting thing to do. Then, learn about my favorite scientist, Gene Shoemaker. An awesome, awesome dude who dreamed of going to the moon.. back before people went to the moon. He spent his life studying meteors and discovering meteor craters on the Earth where no one knew they were. He also found asteroids in space and even saw the comet named after him collide with Jupiter in a massive explosion. Here’s a YouTube clip.
There are other things to do in the dark, besides look up into the skies.
How about Bending a Light Beam in the Dark?
Exploding Life Savers
Materials: Wint-O-Green® Life Savers, Ziploc plastic bag, hammer, wooden block
Place a Wint-O-Green® Life Saver in the Ziploc bag. In a dark room, place the bag on the wooden block and watch closely while striking the Life Saver with the hammer. A bluish-green light will flash just as the candy is struck.
Lesson: Triboluminescence. Wint-O-Green® Life Savers are made with methyl salicylate which is a crystalline substance. Crushing a crystalline substance emits light.
Throw a Glow in the Dark Party with ideas from Steve Spangler Science.
