Supermoon this weekend!

This Saturday, May 5th, the largest full moon of the year will be visible!  May's full moon happens at the same time as the moon's perigee (when the moon is closest to earth). The moon will come within 221,802 miles from our planet, making for the biggest and brightest moon this year, nicknamed a SUPERMOON! To view this phenomenon look for it just as it rises (Approx:6:30am) or as it sets (Approx:8:00pm) when it is close to the horizon. If viewed behind buildings or trees it can be an optical illusion making the moon seem larger than it really is!

Did you know that the
moon's orbit is not 
a perfect circle
around the earth?

Over a dozen torandos touched down across the DFW area yesterday with major damage in Arlington, Lancaster and Forney Texas.

The United States plays host to around one thousand tornados each year making us the world's leader in tornado activity.  In fact three out of four tornados in the world occur in the U.S.  Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas make up tornado alley.  These states are likely to see tornados  in the spring and summer seasons.  Thunderstorms that are likely to spawn tornados are called super cells.

DID YOU KNOW?  A Tornado in Oklahoma once destroyed a whole motel. A few days later people found the motel’s sign in Arkansas!

Information courtesy of tornado-facts.com

Discovery Channel's Frozen Planet Sunday nights at 7:00pm.

    An icefall occurs in the arctic ocean at the beginning of the winter season.  Small starfish scatter as the ice tries to consume their lives. All pure water freezes at 32 degrees farenheight and 0 degrees celcius, but we know that oceans contain salt which makes the freezing point of ocean water.....

a.  the same freezing point as pure water

b.  higher than the freezing point of pure water

c.  lower than freezing point of pure water

d.  the same as the freezing point of pure water only in the summer months 

Which planet in our solar system has the most violent storms, often having hurricanes ten times stronger than the ones Earth produces?  Its surface is made up of water and is almost four times the size of earth!

Labapalooza Begins Tomorrow!

3/29/12-3/30/12 8:30am-1:40pm

Lynn Hale Elementary

Arlington,Tx

2 Days, 7 Hands On Science Labs!

Tickets and Prizes Awarded to Outstanding Students!

The Future of Space Travel comes to Dallas!

American astronauts could be going on missions to the moon, asteroids or even Mars in the next two years!  Space shuttle ORION is a considerably smaller spacecraft that will house up to four astronauts and is designed go beyond normal orbit levels of earth.  The space craft is making a cross country trip on its way to Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Dallas was one of its three stops!

The Largest Solar Storm since 2005 could disrupt communication on Earth!

1/23/12

Tomorrow marks the peak of the most powerful solar storm since the spring of 2005.  Over a three day span (1/22/12-1/24/12)  our universe will be showered by high levels of radiation. This massive three punch explosion from the sun could cause disruption in satellites, some types of plane communication and even effect out cellphones and ipods!  First the electro-magnetic radiation ejects itself from the sun followed by more radiation of protons; both propelling themselves into space at over 93 million miles per hour! Finally the coronal blast shoots pure solar plasma at a rate of one to two million miles per hour.  Although THIS storm is much stronger than ordinary solar storms...  Tomorrow's coronal explosion will travel at a rate of over four million miles per hour! No major threat has been know for humans but scientist are continually studying the effects of the sun as well as the "storms" it produces.

2nd NASA probe en route to moon on New Year’s Day - Chicago Sun-Times

Did you know that one side of the moon has many more hills than the other side? This leads some scientists to believe that our planet once had two moons which crashed together creating our lop-sided moon!
2nd NASA probe en route to moon on New Year’s Day - Chicago Sun-Times

Happy Holidays from Venus and Mr. Burris' Science Class!

2011 Winter Solstice is tonight at 11:30pm!

This is the shortest day/longest night of the year.  The earth is at its maximum tilt making the sun further south, in relation to earth, than any other time of the year!

Baby Cyclops shark found in the Sea of Cortez off the coast of California. July 2011

Worlds Largest Insect found in New Zealand 12/2/11. The giant Weta bug with a wing-span of seven inches and the weight of three mice.

Over $120,000 in space artifacts from NASA! Thermal Heat Tiles, Control Panels and more!

Field Trip to Natural Bridge Caverns and Cameron Park Zoo. 11/11/11

Class Pet Venus the Snake eating lunch 12/02/11

Two Headed Snake at the State Fair of Texas!

Welcome to Mr. Burris' Fifth grade Science Blog!