01 August 2012
Posted in Our Planet, Our Universe

Nearly eight months ago, NASA launched Curiosity - the latest Mars rover - into space. Set to land on Monday, August 6 at 1:31 a.m. EST, NASA scientists and observers around the world anxiously await to see if Curiosity will able to maneuver the landing process and successfully set down on the Red Planet.

NASA scientists and engineers spend so much time working with the Mars Laboratory rovers that the robots become almost like pets, and just like pets, the rovers get names that often say a lot about their "personalities." The name "Curiosity" explains exactly the nature of this rover’s mission, which is to act as a mobile science laboratory on Mars to investigate whether life could ever exist on the planet.

The rover will begin by studying Gale Crater to see if the area contains any of the necessary ingredients that could sustain life. NASA scientists considered 60 different landing sites and spent diligent time analyzing all possibilities before deciding upon Gale Crater as the designated landing location for Curiosity. About as large as Rhode Island, the site was chosen because it provides a variety of interesting places for the rover to explore and is clear of hazards which will help with a safe landing. The rover, which is no larger than a small SUV, will spend the majority of its time examining rocks and soils in the remote areas of Gale Crater.

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31 July 2012
Posted in NatureWorks

On Tuesday, the city of Orlando will install three swan feeders at Lake Eola in an effort curb people feeding swans the wrong food, which can make them sick. Feeding the swans food such as bread or popcorn can lead them to become sick and even develop a syndrome known as angel wing.

Angel wing is a syndrome that affects aquatic birds and is due to a high-protein or high-calorie diet.

It is incurable in adults and results in the birds’ flight feathers to twist and protrude from its wings at odd angles instead of lying against the body. In extreme cases, the stripped feathers may appear as blue straw protruding from the wings.

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27 July 2012
Posted in Science On A Sphere

The time has almost come for NASA’s Curiosity rover to land on Mars – hopefully. The 254 day journey from Earth to Mars is expected to end on Monday, August 6 at 1:31 a.m. EST should it survive the risky entry, descent and landing (EDL) typical of this sort of mission.

The difficult landing has NASA calling it “Seven Minutes of Terror” during which time, hundreds of technical events have to work together with split-second timing.

When Curiosity enters the Red Planet’s atmosphere, it will be traveling at 13,200 mph. Seven minutes later, it should be at rest on Mars’ surface. To relate, it’s like driving 65 mph down the highway and coming to a complete, controlled stop in 2.1 seconds. Not an easy feat!

[click the image below to see a larger view]

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26 July 2012
Posted in Press and Media

Orlando Science Center Welcomes New Trustees!

Eleven New Faces Named to the Board of Trustees

ALSO: Executive Committee Reassigned

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 25, 2012) - The Orlando Science Center has announced 11 new members to its Board of Trustees for the 2012-2015 term. Those elected are as follows:

Waymon Armstrong
President and CEO | Engineering & Computer Simulations

Mr. Armstrong’s firm is dedicated to utilizing PC-based game technology in an advanced distributed-learning environment. A graduate of Valencia College and the University of Central Florida, he’s currently developing new learning technologies for war fighters and first responders. He was named as a 2007 and 2009 finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst and Young for the state of Florida. In 2010, he was awarded the SBA Region, State and National Small Business Person of the Year award.

Sara Brady
President | Sara Brady Public Relations, Inc.

Ms. Brady was named one of Orlando Magazine’s Top 50 Most Powerful People in 2011 for the third year in a row. A member of the Public Relations Society of America, she handles reputation management as well as corporate and crisis communications at the firm she opened in 2010. She previously spent five years as Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Relations with Bright House Networks, Central Florida Division.

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25 July 2012
Posted in Summer Camps

Lizards, pythons and birds, oh my!

Our friends at Amazing Animals Inc. brought their friends – the animal variety – to meet our 5th and 6th grade summer campers during Operant Science Conditioning: The Science of Animal Training.

The kids were able to get up close and personal with a Blue-and-gold Macaw, bearded dragon, cockatiel, alligator, savannah monitor, African spurred tortoise, Burmese python and rat snake!

All week, the campers have learned the science behind animal training and behavior; studied the teachings of Skinner and Pavlov; and prepared how to train their pet at home. To close their busy week, they'll participate in a husbandry class at the Central Florida Zoo!

Check out the photos below! There are three more weeks of summer camp at the Science Center. If you would like to enroll your child in summer camp call 407.514.2112.

24 July 2012
Posted in Crosby Observatory

A new planet has been discovered recently by researchers at the University of Central Florida.

The planet, named UCF-1.01, is 33 light-years away in the constellation Leo the Lion. While scientists have been able to confirm that more than 700 exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system) have been found since 1995, many of them have been much larger than Jupiter. This new planet, however, may only be 5,200 miles across – about two thirds the size of Earth.

The planet currently orbits a star called GJ 436, and researchers at UCF have spent the last year watching it to confirm that it was indeed a distant planet. UCF-1.01 is not quite a hospitable planet for humans, as researchers calculate that it whisks around its host star in 1.4 Earth days and at a distance of about 1.6 million miles; Earth is about 93 million miles from our sun. Temperatures more than likely exceed 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit which raises the probability that the surface of UCF-1.01 is molten (covered in lava) and any atmosphere would have been boiled away long ago.

Still, there are many things scientists don’t know about UCF-1.01 such as its mass and physical appearance, which are difficult to calculate due to its distance. As it stands, technology is a long ways away from determining the answers to these questions, so it may be "light-years" before we know more about this astonishing discovery.