Mark Dunk’s Blog

August 10-12 will probably be the best viewing opportunities for this year’s Perseid meteor shower.  Universe Today has a good article on this year’s light show.

Additional information can be found at the American Meteor Society website.   I recommend spending some time at this site.  You can even log your meteor sightings here, and see the record of sightings in various areas.

NASA maintains a listing of After School Astronomy Clubs if you are interested.

The XCOR Aerospace X-Racer Prototype was built for the Rocket Racing League and was flown at AirVenture 2008.  Universe Today released this article which includes two videos of the plane.

The first video is an on-board camera split screen. The second video is a music video of a typical operational day.

The final version of Texas’ new Science TEKS have been posted on the TEA website.  These TEKS take effect in the 2010-2011 school year. Click here to go to the TEA Science TEKS Website.

I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t Unklar a science teacher?”  I’m still interested in the other disciplines, though, and the social studies curriculum in Texas has been a hot topic lately.  Here is the link to the draft TEKS.

I started reading this book this morning, and I began having strong feelings of deja vu. The plot, the characters, and the story line seemed eerily familiar.  “Could I have already read this book?” I asked myself.  I walked over to the bookcase in the family room, and it didnt’ take me long to find this:

OK, I’ve already read the book. At least I only paid $5.58 for my second copy (on sale at Barnes and Noble). My wife makes fun of me not remembering movies that we’ve seen.  Maybe chronicling my reading on this blog will help me remember what books I have already read.

After reading Gladwell’s “blink” and “Outliers” and Lois Lowry’s “The Giver,” I think it’s high time for something totally different.  I remember buying Baldacci’s first book, “Absolute Power.” back in 1996.  No one had ever heard of him, and I decided to take a chance.  I haven’t kept up with all of his books, but I’m hoping that “Simple Genius” is my type of book.

Photo Credit: USGS

Scientists have agreed to name the plains (called planitia) on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, after planets from Frank Herbert’s literary series “Dune.”  More information here.

Picture credit: InterOrbital.com

Be the first on your block to own your own personal satellite. For only $8000 (PayPal accepted), you can put your own satellite into a self-decaying orbit.  More information can be found here. This opportunity is brought to you by the folks at Interorbital Systems in Mojave CA.

I use a smaller, hand-held vortex cannon in my physics instruction, but the students are always wanting to build a bigger one. This YouTube video might just inspire me to do just that this year.

Image from NASA TV

The most famous tool bag in history will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere on 8-3-2009.  More information here.