DESERT EXPOSURE
NOVEMBER 2015 • 29
Michael Shinabery with the FORCAST instrument attached to the 17 ton telescope aboard the SOFIA aircraft. The FORCAST instrument is cooled to a temperature of 4.2 Kelvin. (Photo by Jeff Killebrew)
SUBORBITAL • MICHAEL SHINABERY
Educators Take Flight
Alamogordo Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors fly to stratosphere
A
stronomy has been a passion of mine since high school. In 1973 I dragged myself out of bed in the wee hours of an Ohio morning to view Comet Kahoutek. Jeff Killebrew, the science teacher at the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is equally enthusiastic. A telescope in his classroom stands ready for any opportunity to observe. So, when the prospect of getting closer to the stars arose, it was an offer Jeff and I couldn’t refuse. In December 2014, Dave Dooling, NMMSH education director, prepared an application to participate in the educational mission of NASA’s SOFIA program. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy flies above 90 percent of Earth’s atmosphere to view the universe’s infrared emissions. Our atmosphere and water droplets absorb infrared light, making Earth-based viewing impossible. Thus NASA’s SOFIA telescope flies regularly to the stratosphere, where different instruments can view various light frequencies. Competition for acceptance to SOFIA is fierce. The program requires a formal science teacher to partner with an informal educator. I believe what brought favorable attention to our application are Jeff’s successes at NMSBVI. In addition, he is a United States patent holder
for a device that assists the visually impaired in conceptualizing spatial concepts. “I won the 2009 Louis Braille Prize for Innovation touch of genius from the National Braille Press,” Jeff said. “I won again the next year for another device I created, so I’m the only two-time winner in the nation.” In January, NASA’s Coral Clark telephoned with the news that we’d been named Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors, the first ever from New Mexico. Preparation began with a 12-week master’s level, online Astronomy course, after which NASA assigned us mission dates of Sept. 15 and 17. On Sept. 13 we boarded a plane out of El Paso, and the adventure was underway. Clark picked us up at Los Angeles International Airport, along with April Whitt and Susan Oltman, two teachers from Atlanta, Georgia, and Jo Dodds, an Idaho educator. While this was our first time to meet in person, for months we had interacted as part of the astronomy course’s discussion board. After an enjoyable afternoon playing tourists, which included the LaBrea Tar Pits, and the Los Angeles County Park Vasquez Rocks where Star Trek’s Captain Kirk fought the Gorn, we arrived at Palmdale. On Monday we were
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SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors pose with the SOFIA aircraft before boarding for a night of infrared astronomy. From left to right are: Jeff Killebrew, April Whitt, Michael Shinabery, Susan Oltman, Jo Dodds. (Photo courtesy of NASA)