Author Archives: davidvblack

About davidvblack

I teach courses in multimedia, 3D animation, Earth science, physics, biology, 8th grade science, chemistry, astronomy, engineering design, STEAM, and computer science in Utah schools. I've won numerous awards as an educator and am a frequent presenter at state and national educator conferences. I am part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program through the U.S. Department of State and traveled to Indonesia in the summer of 2017 as an education ambassador. I am passionate about STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics); science history; photography; graphic design; 3D animation; and video production. My Spaced-Out Classroom blog is for sharing lessons and activities my students have done in astronomy. The Elements Unearthed project (http://elementsunearthed.com) combines my interests to document the discovery, history, sources, uses, mining, refining, and hazards of the chemical elements. My third blog site, https://science-creativity.com is to provide resources for teaching creativity through student-created digital media projects in STEM classes.

My Flight on SOFIA Part 2: Westward Leg

Posted on August 12, 2013 by davidvblack

In my previous post, I wrote about the first half of our flight aboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, on the evening of June 25-26, 2013. We took off from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility near Palmdale, CA … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beta pegasi, chopping and nodding, dryden aircraft operations center, ds9, fits file, FORCAST, grism, h-II region, hyperbolic mirror, infrared telescope, interstellar medium, m16, messier 16, nasa data formats, ngc 7538, nod and chop, pah, palmdale california, parabolic mirror, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, proto-star, proto-stellar jet, protostar, sheat, SOFIA, star formation, star jet, stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy, vignetting, young stellar object, yso | Leave a comment

Flying on SOFIA Part 1: Briefing, Take-Off, and Eastward Leg

Posted on July 25, 2013 by davidvblack

As stated in previous posts, I was chosen along with Carolyn Bushman of Wendover Jr/Sr. High School to fly on SOFIA as Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors. On the evening of June 25-26, 2013 our dreams and preparation finally paid off as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 747sp, airborne astronomy ambassadors, alpha bootes, arcturus, calibration, cepheus a, daof, dryden aircraft operations facility, flight path, FORCAST, grism, infrared astronomy, ngc 7129, palmdale california, SOFIA, stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy, tania australis | 1 Comment

SOFIA Instruments and Operations

Posted on July 1, 2013 by davidvblack

In order to be on vampire time for tonight’s flight, we were encouraged to stay up as late as possible last night and sleep in this morning. I got up to eat breakfast about 7:00, then went back to sleep … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged astronomy, bolometer, coating mirrors, daof, dryden aircraft operations facility, exes, fifi-ls, flitecam, FORCAST, german receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies, hawc, hipo, infrared, SOFIA, stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy, vapor deposition | Leave a comment

Meeting SOFIA

Posted on June 28, 2013 by davidvblack

Today I got to finally meet SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. I was selected as an Airborne Astronomy Ambassador (AAA) for SOFIA in January, 2012, and this week I will be at Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DAOF) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged daof, dryden aircraft operations facility, egress, FORCAST, interstellar medium, pah, polycyclic aromatic hydrocabons, SOFIA, stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy | Leave a comment

Astrobiology at the Great Salt Lake

Posted on June 23, 2013 by davidvblack

This week I had the opportunity to visit one of the strangest, most alien landscapes on Earth. And it’s right in my neighborhood: The Great Salt Lake in Utah. I was at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge near Brigham … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archaea, bacteria, bear river, brine shrimp, carotenoid, conditions for life, extremophile, great salt lake, halite, halophile, ice age, lake bonneville, migratory bird refuge, promontory point, robert smithson, salado, salt mine, spiral jetty, thermophile, winogradsky | Leave a comment

Preparations for SOFIA

Posted on June 20, 2013 by davidvblack

Next week I will be in Palmdale, California getting ready to fly aboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. I am working with Carolyn Bushman, who teaches math and other classes at Wendover Jr./Sr. High School in Wendover, Utah. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 3d animation, aeronautical engineering, airborne astronomy ambassador, carolyn bushman, david black, dryden flight research center, infrared astronomy, nasa education, SOFIA, stem education, stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy | Leave a comment

Aerospace Education at the NSTA Conference

Posted on June 17, 2013 by davidvblack

The next two weeks will be very active on this blog as I report on my preparations and flights aboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. I will be traveling to Dryden Flight Research Center a week from today … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aerospace education, aesp, airborne astronomy ambassador, art and science, art and stem, i2i, ice core, inspire to inquire, nsta, san antonio, science education, SOFIA, solar system educator program, stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy | Leave a comment

The Nearby Stars

Posted on May 5, 2013 by davidvblack

It would seem that I’ve been neglecting this blog lately, as I have not posted or made changes for over two months. This isn’t because I’ve being lazy or forgetful, it’s simply that I’ve been extremely busy doing other things. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 3D model of stars, alpha centauri, astronomy, astronomy activity, binary star, brown dwarf, close stars, crosscutting concepts, declination, exoplanet, light year, nearby stars, next generation science standards, nsta, red dwarf, right ascension, scale and proportion of the galaxy, scale model of stars, sirius, space science, stars, stars within 15 light years, stellar coordinates | 1 Comment

The Parallax Method

Posted on December 7, 2012 by davidvblack

On New Year’s Eve last year I applied to the “What if?” Prize, a competition for teachers to submit lesson plans on astronomy or space science. I knew the odds were probably low given it was an international competition, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged astrometrics, astronomy lesson plan, distance to star, light year, mit blossoms, nearby star, parallax, parsec, tangent, what if prize | Leave a comment

Why Spend Money on NASA?

Posted on December 3, 2012 by davidvblack

In my Earth Systems class we recently wrapped up our discussion on cosmology. Student groups presented information on one of the four major pieces of evidence supporting the Big Bang, or how we know the age and expansion of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged apollo program, astrobiology, cell phone, climate change, digital camera, environment, james webb telescope, jpl, nasa benefits, nasa budget, sea ice, sequestration, space exploration, space mining, space probes, spin offs, technology transfer, weather satellite | Leave a comment