The July collisions of fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with the planet Jupiter are a once-in-a-lifetime event and an extraordinary scientific opportunity. Much media coverage has been focused on this but the results of these impacts and interpreting them for the classroom cannot be done in the popular press.
The same is true of the first close-up pictures ever taken of asteroids. The Galileo spacecraft, enroute to Jupiter, has flown close by the asteroids Gaspra and Ida and returned high resolution images. New ground-based radar techniques have been used to image asteroids that have flown close to Earth.
Earth is impacted daily by small bits of cometary and asteroidal debris, periodically by vast swarms of material and, on rare occasions, by objects that result in cataclysmic changes in the evolution of life on Earth. All of these types of objects form a tapestry that adds to the richness and complexity of our solar system.
In view of these events, the NASA Education Division, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Public Education Office and the JPL Public Services Office cordially invite you to attend the COMETS, ASTEROIDS & METEORS EDUCATOR CONFERENCE. The conference is scheduled from 12:00 p.m. on Friday, August 12 to 12:00 noon on Sunday, August 14, 1994 and will include the following events:
Scientists will describe the Shoemaker-Levy 9 collisions and the early results of its effect on Jupiter. Project scientists and engineers will discuss the Galileo spacecraft's observations of the events and the data from the asteroid flybys. Astronomers will describe meteor showers and the contributions of all of these small objects to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system and Earth.
A special reception featuring a briefing on the Galileo mission to Jupiter will be held for all educators.
This workshop will provide information on applying comet, asteroid and meteor science in the classroom.
Special Notes:
For additional information and a registration packet, contact the Public
Services Office, Mail Stop 186-113, the Public Education Office, Mail Stop
CS-530, or e-mail David M. Seidel at d.m.seidel@jpl.nasa.gov
Comet Shoemaker-Levy Home Page