Coachello

https://starlightstarbright.study/

https://youtu.be/iYXAl5Mj7fg

Welcome to the Star Light, Star Bright website, inspired by the NASA Space Apps 2022 Challenge, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. The challenge was to develop a tool to teach about variable stars and how and why stars twinkle in the night sky. Starlightstarbright.study aims to bring the research of scientists into one place to educate everyone about the amazing brilliance of our night sky. Star Light, Star Bright currently has three area tabs of study, an area for educators to use the five senses to teach the subject, and a resources section.

The journey begins with the basic reason why stars appear to twinkle to the naked eye. The website aims to explain the optical illusion created by the atmosphere but then uses stories and folklore to video links from NASA and Space.com to explain the variability of stars. As educators, we also wanted to ensure that history was included in the lessons.  

The topic of variable stars is exceptional in that the website only touches on the most common at this time. The focus is on the differences between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Variable Stars. The website explores a couple of examples of each with explanations and videos.  

Star Light, Star Bright attempts to solve the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star challenge by bringing together informational sites into one place for the public and educators. An entire section of the website links teachers to a NASA educational platform for curriculum for all grade levels. All the resources are included so the public can easily find further information on the topics most enjoyed.  

In the future, the site hopes to continue adding content and branching out to include more examples.

https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/cataclysmic_variables.html

https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/cepheids.html

https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/timing1.html

https://archive.stsci.edu/missions-and-data/kepler

https://sci.esa.int/web/hubble/-/variable-stars-in-hubble-s-sky

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/most/

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/brite/

Our Journey to NASA Space Apps began in June when we met Randi Neff at the Gear Up Educational Summit in Asheville, NC. Our new non-profit, Full STEAM Ahead Carolinas, brought three teams to PARI. Our team focused on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We are the coaches of several robotics teams, and education is our passion, so the challenge was a good fit.

We had a wonderful time working together on a project most of us knew little about but now feel we are experts on a few variable stars. Our brainstorming began by exploring the topic and deciding how to teach the topic. We chose to create a website. We also gained experience in navigating NASA educational websites and website design. The sheer vastness of the topic was overwhelming at first so we conquered that challenge by choosing broader topics and those we could link to NASA information. We also struggled with the website design as we were not as experienced as we would have liked.

Our team was composed of members with Computer Science, Librarian, Nursing/Piano teacher, and Artistic/Pottery backgrounds. We are science lovers with extremely nerdy children also participating in Space Apps.  

We would like to thank Randi Neff for getting us involved in the NASA Space Apps program, PARI observatory and Tim, Melanie, Alex, Matt, and Sarah for all the advice and guidance, and our wonderful, geeky children who remained engaged in their own projects for the entire weekend so the adults could also play!

https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/cataclysmic_variables.html

https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/cepheids.html

https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/timing1.html

https://archive.stsci.edu/missions-and-data/kepler

https://sci.esa.int/web/hubble/-/variable-stars-in-hubble-s-sky

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/most/

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/brite/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_star

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Light_curve_of_binary_star_Kepler-16.jpg#/media/File:Light_curve_of_binary_star_Kepler-16.jpg

https://twitter.com/i/status/1384948862377414661

https://www.space.com/38789-variable-stars-aboriginal-australians-traditions.html

https://www.space.com/15396-variable-stars.html

https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/educators/lifecycles/stars.html

https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question26.html#:~:text=The%20movement%20of%20air%20(sometimes,some%20gets%20bent%20slightly%20away

https://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/workx/superwasp-variable-stars/Rotating.html

https://www.astronomytrek.com/10-interesting-facts-about-variable-stars/

https://www.discovery.com/space/stars-kiss

https://youtu.be/a8mKIDIGXq0

https://images.app.goo.gl/6AxKPBFg8deVSWtVA

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