JMM Insights: The Wonders of Space in Maryland

This week’s JMM Insights, the last in our space-focused series celebrating the anniversary of the first moon landing, is all about Maryland.

Did you know the Space Telescope Science Institute was established in Baltimore? This community-focused science center was instrumental in the creation and launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.

You might be surprised to discover just how many Maryland connections there are to the exploration, discovery, and research of space. From the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt to the International Latitude Observatory in Gaithersburg, Marylanders are committed to the Wonders of Space!

Image: The Hubble Space Telescope, with Earth in the background, in a photo taken by the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 19, 2009. Courtesy of NASA. 


In case you missed it or want to share the experience with friends and family, here’s the recording of last week’s dive into all the questions, big and small, about How to Be Jewish in Space.

In case you missed it or want to share the experience with friends and family, here’s the recording of last week’s dive into all the questions, big and small, about How to Be Jewish in Space. And we’ll have the recording for last night’s ultimate behind-the-scenes event with Tracie Guy-Decker and Trillion Attwood up soon!

Most importantly: Keep your eyes on the calendar for the official opening of Jews in Space: Members of the Tribe in Orbit! This exciting exhibit will open for public visitation in September. We can’t wait to see you.


For this week’s hands-on feature, we want to build on your role as Citizen Scientists!

First, ask yourself: Why Do We Explore? Create your own explorer’s journal to capture your observations and adventures discovering the world and skies around you.

Then try the highlighted activities below focused on our own Maryland skies:

Bonus: Learn about space probes in this video from National Geographic, then try your hand at designing a probe of your own!

Exhibit Sneak Peek:

Don Engel and Marianne Cheportes were married in Baltimore on June 12, 2011.

“My wife and I (being physicists) made our ketubah together using deep space imagery. Our ketubah has an infinity in the foreground which the constellation Orion inside it and has the Orion nebula in the background. It’s tri-lingual because my wife is a Sephardic Jew from France, so we have English, French, and the traditional Aramaic.”

Ketubah, 2011. On loan from Don and Marianne Engel. JMM L2020.6.1.


A Name to Know:

“The Mother of Hubble,” astronomer Nancy Grace Roman (1925-2018), has strong Maryland ties: not only did she live in the DC suburbs as an adult, but she also attended Baltimore’s Western High School, graduating in 1943.

Roman was the first woman executive at NASA, serving as Chief of Astronomy in NASA’s Office of Space Science at Goddard, among other positions during her long career.

LEGO version of Nancy Grace Roman, with the Hubble Telescope and an image of a planetary nebula, 2017. On loan from the Church family. JMM L2020.3.2.


ESTHER’S PLACE: ONLINE!

Celebrate Maryland and Baltimore with a new book or some custom swag! All purchases help support the Museum.

Don’t see something you’re interested in at the online shop? Contact Shop Manager Chris Sniezek at csniezek@jewishmuseummd.org and let us know.


 

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jewish museum of maryland JMM Blog Past Exhibits

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