May 15, 2012
Saturn has many moons - 53 that have been discovered and named, nine more "provisional moons" which have been detected but only assigned a number until more is known about them.
Today’s "Cool Photo of the Week" is of two of Saturn’s moons. The small one is one of Enceladus, ice-covered and just 300 miles (483 kilometers) wide, and covered by ice. It is dwarfed by one of the big Saturnian moons, the 3,200 mile (5,150 kilometer) wide Titan. The streak across the middle of the photograph is one of the planet’s giant rings.
Cool photo, don’t you think? It was taken by the Cassini orbiter, an unmanned spacecraft which continues to help us learn more about this gas giant.
Photo: NASA/JPL/SSI/J. Major
An updated version of Seymour Simon’s SATURN, with the latest information from the Cassini mission, will be published for Amazon’s Kindle Fire this September.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 14, 2012
I have been working on a new book called SEYMOUR SIMON’S EXTREME OCEANS. In the chapter called "Big Waves and Giant Tides" I write about places along the coasts of Hawaii, California and Australia where huge waves are regularly whipped up by strong winds blowing at sea.
One of those places is Nazare, off the coast of Portugal. Recently, a 44-year-old Hawaiian surfer broke the world record for riding the biggest wave ever recorded. Garrett McNamara, who started surfing when he was 11 years old, successfully surfed a 78-foot (23.8 meter) wave. His ride beat the previous 2008 record by more than a foot, and is now in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Click on the "play" button below to see this awesome ride on a magnificent wave!
I think I might take a shot at the record. What do you think? Can I make it into the Guinness Book of World Records as a surfer?!
Video © Billabong XXL, courtesy Telegraph.co.uk
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 11, 2012
I Skyped with fourth and fifth graders in Maryland this afternoon. I love meeting classes this way! These students were well-prepared with good questions about my books and about writing. We had a great time!
At the end of the Skype, I picked up my webcam and showed them the scene outside the window where I write. I love to get outdoors and photograph, or just watch the animals, sky, trees, insects and flowers all around me. I asked the kids to go out with a camera, take a photograph of a nature scene that they love, write 100 words about it and send it to me here.
Would you like to do that, too? I would love to see photos and writing from any of my readers who love the outdoors like I do!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 10, 2012
Seymour Simon receives many letters from students (and sometimes teachers) asking questions about his books, his life, and his experiences with animals, space, photography, etc.
In fact, he gets so many letters that there is not enough time for him to answer them (this is a man who has written 250 books, and is working on five new ones as we speak!).
So, today we have introduced a new section on his website called FAQ. This is a common Internet term that stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
So now, when you are writing a book report or doing an author study about Seymour Simon, make your first stop the FAQ page on his website. You will find it underneath the "About Seymour Simon" label at the top of every page on his website. I guarantee you that you will learn things about Seymour that you have never known before!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
May 9, 2012
Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to do your own research, and explain what is happening in the photograph below.
The Facts:
It is spring, and all over the world, bees like this one are drinking nectar from apple blossoms and other spring flowers. When a bee travels from flower to flower, it is moving pollen from one flower to another.
Your Assignment: Working with a partner or several of your classmates, find out about bees, how they help to pollinate flowers, and why that is important for us who eventually eat the fruits and vegetables that come from these flowers. You can use books in your library or sources on the Internet to do your research. Then, write a paragraph explaining pollination and post it here by clicking on the yellow "Comments" button below.
Happy writing!
Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday is designed to use in support of CCSS Anchor Standard W.7. Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
May 7, 2012
Many of our readers feel strongly about protecting endangered animals. You write about it often, and many of you expressed your desire to save endangered species like the sea turtles in your recent Earth Day Promises.
I would like you to meet a 7-year-old British girl named Olivia Binfield. Like you, Olivia feels strongly about protecting endangered animals. And she found a very unusual way to express it, on the television show Britain’s Got Talent. Click on the "Play" button below to see her amazing performance!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
May 4, 2012
Occasionally we receive such a strong piece of Writing Wednesday work that we publish it for everyone to read. This excellent piece of research and writing was done by Miss Kyle’s 4th Grade Class at Shoemaker Elementary school in Macungie, PA. Terrific work, everybody!
All of the creatures in this picture are alive and exist in a symbiotic relationship. Being close to the same color helps the coral and the goby fish to work together. The coral reproduces among itself and is always creating a new habitat, as well as food, for the sea creatures, The coral becomes shelter for the fish and at the same time provides protection from predators. These predators might include; dolphins, whales, sharks, larger fish, jelly fish and crabs. The sea anemone hiding inside the coral is poisonous to other fish and makes predators stay away from the goby’s hiding place. In summary, these creatures all depend on one another to be able to survive in the ocean.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 3, 2012
Brazilian scientists have been studying a small fishing community in Laguna, Brazil, where fishermen work together with dolphins to catch their fish.
This friendly pod of dolphins works together, herding groups of mullet (a local fish) toward the fisherman who are waiting in boats or standing in the water. Then the dolphins slap their heads or tails on the water to show the fishermen where to throw their nets. Both groups, the fishermen and the dolphins, catch all the fish they need by working together in this way.
What is most surprising is that It is one special group of about twenty dolphins that work with the fishermen, and they have been doing it for more than fifteen years. The men recognize them by their markings, and have even given some of them names like "Scooby" and "Caroba." There are plenty of other dolphins in the waters around Laguna. The others do not cooperate with humans, going off to fish on their own.
The cooperation behavior is probably passed down from mother dolphin to her calves, and that is how it is learned by the humans, as well. Elders in the community teach the younger fishermen how to work with the dolphins.
Photo: Fábio Daura-Jorge
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 2, 2012
Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog.
This week, we are asking you to describe the scene in this photograph, using what you know or what you can learn about life on Coral Reefs.
The Facts: The fish in this photograph are Yellownose gobies, and one is peeking out from its hiding spot inside the folds of a brain coral.
Your assignment: Write a paragraph explaining the relationship between the animals. Which one needs the other to provide camouflage? What predators is it being protected from?
How to make your writing powerful: Coral reefs are like underwater cities, teeming with life. Use descriptive details to make this ocean world come alive for your reader.
When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing.
Photo: Todd Minthz
Posted by: Liz Nealon
May 1, 2012
NASA has released this photograph of a flaming meteor that unleashed a powerful sonic boom last week, rattling houses in California and Nevada. The meteor broke up as it traveled through our atmosphere, releasing the same amount of energy as if there had been a 5-kiloton explosion!
A sonic boom is an explosive sound caused by the shock wave of an object traveling faster than the speed of sound. The explosion was big enough to rattle windows, causes many Californians to think they had had an earthquake.
"An event of this size might happen about once a year," said Don Yeomans from NASA. "But most of them occur over the ocean or an uninhabited area, so getting to see one is something special."
Who can tell me why most of these meteor explosions happen over the ocean, rather than over land where we can see them? Hint: Think about the big, blue ball that is our Earth…...
Answer: Brian B., one of our readers, was onto the right idea. Most meteors explode over the ocean because oceans make up 71% of Earth’s surface. That means that most atmospheric events are likely to happen over the ocean, simply because there is so much of it.
Photo: Lisa Warren / NASA-JPL via AP
Posted by: Seymour Simon
