MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A projected map cuts through the semidarkness of North Medford High Schools planetarium and shimmers into focus on the domes curved ceiling. <\/p>\n
Its a flight path, showing planned liftoffs from Palmdale, Calif., on Wednesday and Thursday that will soar over Oregon, Washington, parts of Canada, Iowa and Idaho before returning to base; two 10-hour jaunts with no planned landings. <\/p>\n
Sunset to sunrise, well fly all night, says Robert Black, North Medfords astronomy teacher and planetarium director. <\/p>\n
But the route isnt for a typical airplane flight, the kind with a cramped seat and a bag of stale crackers. <\/p>\n
Black, 50, along with friend and fellow amateur astronomer Dave Bloomsness, 61, of Southern Oregon Skywatchers, will fly aboard SOFIA - NASAs Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - the worlds largest flying telescope. They are among 24 educators who were selected from across the country for SOFIAs Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program. <\/p>\n
Working alongside astronomers and other scientists, they will collect infrared images and data pertaining to the study of interstellar gases, star formation and destruction, and black holes - all at 45,000 feet in the Earths stratosphere, about twice the height for a domestic plane flight. When they return, they will implement classroom lessons and public outreach events based on their experiences. <\/p>\n
Its a huge opportunity. Im really excited, Bloomsness says. <\/p>\n
Educators have been taking similar flights since the Ambassadors program began in 2010. <\/p>\n
Black says his mentor, Gary Sprague, took a flight in the 1980s aboard the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, a modified C141A military cargo plane that ran research and observation flights from 1975 until its retirement in the 1990s. SOFIA took over in 2010. <\/p>\n
Thats one of the high points of his career, Black says of Spragues flight. He volunteered to fly. Somebody got sick. It was an accident for him, serendipity. <\/p>\n
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The rest is here:<\/p>\n
Southern Oregon astronomers taking NASA flight<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A projected map cuts through the semidarkness of North Medford High Schools planetarium and shimmers into focus on the domes curved ceiling. Continue reading