Solar
Eclipse, Science
Editor’s note: A total solar eclipse will be visible across the
U.S. on Monday, August 21. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium
at Michigan State University, explains why and how it happens, and what we can
learn from an eclipse.
"How do we know when an eclipse is going to happen? How do we know
in advance where it will be visible?
Solar eclipses happen when our view of the sun is blocked by the
moon. When the moon lines up between the sun and Earth, the moon will cast a
shadow onto Earth. This is what we on the ground observe as a solar eclipse.
We know when they’ll
happen because over
centuries astronomers
have measured very precisely the motions of the Earth, moon and sun, including their
orbital shapes, how the orbits precess and
other parameters. With those data about the moon – and similar information
about the Earth’s orbit
around the sun – we can make
mathematical models of their movements in relation to each other. Using those
equations, we can calculate
tables of data that can predict what we will see on Earth, depending on location, during an eclipse as
well as when they will happen and how long they last. (The next major solar eclipses over the U.S. will be in 2023 and
2024.)"
Tech,
Women, Afghanistan
Small
Towns, Infrastructure
"Successful implementation of Complete Streets requires much more than a
one-size-fits-all approach. Rural and small towns often face distinct
challenges from urban areas when it comes to improving the conditions for
people walking and bicycling. The National Complete Streets Coalition recently
spoke with Andrea Clinkscales, Senior Planner at Alta, to learn about some of
the obstacles smaller communities may face, along with potential solutions to
implementing Complete Streets."
Alta Planning +
Design is a partner of the National Complete Streets Coalition
and promotes active transportation by making streets more comfortable and
attractive for all ages and abilities.
Education, Nature
HARI SREENIVASAN: But first: A movement to get kids out of classrooms with
walls and into the great outdoors is picking up steam. Across the U.S., nature
preschools are seeing a surge.
Jeffrey
Brown traveled to Midland, Michigan, to find out why for our weekly education
segment, Making the Grade.
STUDENT: There’s a spider in my net.
JEFFREY BROWN: Hunting for bugs, jumping off logs, dipping for frogs,
it’s what kids do, right? In fact, no, many don’t, certainly not as part of
their education.
But
in the age of testing, screens, and, some would say, excessively coddled
children, a new movement of nature preschools is growing and pushing kids
outdoors.
Jenn Kirts, a biologist by training, oversees educational
programs at the nonprofit Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan, 1,200
acres of woodlands, wetlands, ponds and meadows.
JENN KIRTS,
Director of Programs, Chippewa Nature Center: In a classroom, a lot of the
things that you have are static and were designed to be played with in one
particular way. The natural environment changes every single day. The weather
changes, the humidity. There’s scat left behind. There’s new footprints.
There’s leaves that are chewed today that weren’t chewed yesterday.
And so there’s just a natural curiosity that happens there.
And it’s something that people have spent time in for generations and
generations. All of our existence, kids have grown up outdoors. That has
changed in these current generations.
Careers,
Advancement
"Want to boost your
performance at work?
Pick out a colleague
who is really good in an area where you want to improve—and move your desk next
to him or her.
Proximity to high
achievers can lift people’s performance in various jobs, via inspiration, peer
pressure or new learning, a growing body of research shows. The findings offer
a silver lining to anyone annoyed at the current fad of flexible office-seating
arrangements; employees can use them to their advantage.
Simply sitting next to
a high achiever can improve someone’s performance by 3%
to 16%, according to a two-year Northwestern University study of 2,452
help-desk and other client-service workers at a technology company."
