Picture of the Day =]

This photo is called "Moon Rise" and is really famous, it was taken during the Apollo Era. I think its really beautiful photography. We can all easily see the Moon from planet Earth, but photos like this one show us how magic the Earth looks from Lunar Orbit. Ironic that we call it Earth, when its clearly ocean?XD

Enjoy.

Dr Lucy Rogers

I came across a really good book online called "It's ONLY Rocket Science" by Lucy Rogers.
I ordered from Waterstones bookstore, and they had to source it through a really obscure publisher in London..so it might take a few weeks to arrive. The book was €30, if anybody is interested in getting it.
I wrote Dr. Rogers a few days ago, and she wrote back to me immediately! :) Her letter was fun of inspiration and encouraging me to keep following my dream. She also gave me a list of things to do and learn in order to help me become an astronaut. She advised me to learn Russian, scuba-diving, learn to fly....she also put a message out on her twitter for me! She tweeted "Yound lady from Cork wrote to me and she wants to be an astronaut...any advice for her please?"..


Nice huh? Im so glad I bought her book, because shes lovely :D
Its real good to know that someone who is really successful still has the time to reply to fan letters, and that she supported and encouraged me :P

I think I might frame her letter....to look at when I feel like giving up!

Debating Science Issues...

Ms McNamara (my Applied Maths and Physics teacher ) told my Ap.Maths class about a competition that the people at the Tyndall Institute sent herinfo about. Its a national competition that runs every year called "Debating Science Issues". The prizes are great; laptops for each team member, software and teaching packs for the school, science grants for our class, and €1500 worth of book vouchers!! It would be amazing, and look really good on college applications and CVs.
To enter, Ms Mc Namara has to find a team of 6 students, which is perfect because thats how small our Applied Maths class is (It isnt a very popular subject in Ireland! lol).

Without sounding cocky or anything...our team is pretty kickass :P
Niamh and Mags are the President and Vice President of the Debating Society, and both have entered the Young Scientist competition twice and both of them also got accepted into the CIT Programme....Kate has done debating and public speaking before and has straight A's in English and Science and she got picked for CIT too. Caroline is basically a genius, and also got A's in Science and English. Sinead got selected with me to do Work Experience and is really good at debating and public speaking! And then theres me and I did debating and public speaking in First and Second year, and Drama for 7 years (so I'm comfortable speaking in front of people), and I got picked for CIT and Tyndall, and get A's in Science and English! :) So basically, we're the Dream Team for this competition!!!

Cant wait to get started, pretty confident that we will do well in the competition!

CIT :(

Ms Bowen came and found me today at lunch break, and she had bad news! Funding has been cut for the Lab Technology Programme I got accepted into. I was reaaaaally looking forward to it...and to be honest I was in a pretty bad mood for a while. But I guess its no ones fault, so there's no point in being annoyed. There'll be plenty of other opportunities :D

C.I.T.- RESULTS

Ms Bowen came to talk to me today during lunch break to tell me if I was accepted for the Lab Technology Week in Cork Institute of Technology.


I GOT PICKED!!! :D

I was delighted when she told me, I'm really excited for the opportunity. Three of my friends also got selected, so the week should be even more fun with them there.

Ms Bowen said she was really impressed by my essay and enthusiasm, and is certain I will learn loads and benefit greatly from it...she also said she hopes I will enter the "Women in Engineering" programme in UCC.

The programme targets transition year and fifth year female students who study honours Mathematics and either honours Physics or honours Chemistry, in schools in Cork. The programme includes lectures and demonstrations from the Departments of Electrical and Electronic, Civil and Environmental, and Process Engineering, Physics and Chemistry, and the School of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

It is hoped that by exposing girls to these programmes that they will opt to continue with Maths, Chemistry and Physics at Leaving Certificate level and will apply to study programmes related to these subjects at third level.


I'm going to apply for it and fingers crossed I get selected for that too!

Bye for now...
Jess

How I got on at the Young Scientist!

When I arrived, I immediately went to see the Physics and Engineering section. There weren't many interesting projects in that area, I'll be honest. However, there were some cool attractions and stands for me to visit.

There was a "STEM" Module, which was parked outside and simulated rocket launches and demonstrated various experiments. There was also a "Astronomy Ireland" corner, which handed out back issues of different science magazines, and an ESA DVD on the Hubble telescope, a free astronomy starter kit and some stationary! I got loads of freebies :)

Another interesting thing to see was the John H. Rudolph Planetarium! You crawl into the inflated dome, and the guide shows you various planets, stars and constellations etc....in very high definition. The projectore in the dome makes it feel like you are actually in space, looking at all the different celestial objects :P I thought it was pretty cool

We also met Deirdre Clune, who is a TD ( for those who aren't from Ireland- that means a member of parliament). We also got a few pictures taken with her, which I have posted above. She spent a few minutes talking to us about what careers we will have, where we hope to study, what subjects we will be taking...questions like that. She seemed really nice, and genuine- unlike some other politicians!

Overall it was a really good day, and I can't wait to visit it again next year...

Chat Soon x

BTS Young Scientist!

Tommorow I'm travelling to Dublin to see the Young Scientist Exhibition with my Applied Maths class. The exhibition is hosted every year in the RDS, and showcases the scientific projects of hundreds of selected finalists from around the country. This year will be the 46th exhibition, and winners get thousands of euros and often, scholarships and offers of sponsorship from companies.
Every year, BT provides a number of attractions for visitors to the exhibition. This year's will include; robots, "bend it like beckham", "w5 amazing experiments", and "team extreme"....
As well as viewing projects, and attractions, visitors can stop by stands set up by various universities and colleges. This gives visitors an opportunity to talk to representatives from the colleges and get advice on courses, application, facilities etc.

I'm really excited to go to the exhibition...I can't wait to see everything! Especially the UCC stand and physics and space-related projects :)

I'll take plenty of pictures so you can all get an idea of what goes on there, and the excitement!


Blog Soon, Jess xo

Bitta Snow in Cork!

Kinda unrelated to this blog but....we had a snow day yesterday :) it NEVER snows in Ireland, and for once we had loads! It didnt stop snowing once all day. When I got up, there was snowing covering everything outside my window and it was still snowing when I turned off my light and went to bed! Here's a photo of my friend Emily and I while we were on a walk.

The snow on top of the hill was amazing, and we could see the whole city. You can see the snow falling in the photo :D

Wisdom

A nice quote I came across today, kinda inspires and motivates me! :)


Mark Twain:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.


Explore.Dream.Discover.....my new life motto! Explains everything perfectly

Pic of the Day!!

I've decided to find an unreal space-related photo everyday and post it so that everyone can see it too :)

Today, I'd like to share this picture of a shuttle launch with you guys- It's AMAZING photography, isn't it??

Comment if you like it

Cool eh?

A link to a pretty neat website I found....
I'm really interested in space colonisation and the terra-formation of Mars, it's one of the main reasons why I want to be an astronaut!

Check it out guys :)

http://spacelogistics.mit.edu/

Grrrr :(

So I was in class the other day, and the teacher asked if we had work experience sorted out yet or not- and if so, where were we going?
She went around the class asking everybody in turn what their plans were. When it came to me, I knew people would laugh when I said where I was planning on spending the two weeks.
I said it as casually as I could, trying not to sound like a swat or whatever. "I'm going to the Tyndall Centre...you know, the one next to Pres.?"....everyone nodded and assumed that it was just some random place I chose, simply because it's next to the boys' school- they had no idea what the centre actually was.
And then my teacher asked what the centre was for and why I picked it. Shit, I thought...I can't answer without sounding like a nerd. Ah well, they can laugh all they want....me and my friends think it's a cool place to go :)

"It's the National Institute of Science..."....a couple of sniggers and "pffft"s, mainly from the knackers. Everyone else in the class seemed pretty impressed that I'd landed such a good position for the week, so I didnt really mind a bit of laughter.

But then, my teacher HAD to go an ask why I wanted to go there, what I wanted to be when I was older...

"I wanna work for NASA or ESA after I finish university"....great. I'm gonna get the piss taken outta me now :P

A few more people sniggered and giggled. Whatever like.

I have a pretty big group of friends in school and they're all supporting me and encouraging me to do what I'm interested in! If a few girls think it's "funny" and "geeky" that I wanna do well and be successful in my career when I'm older, then fine- I'll just ignore them from now on.


It's like I said to Emily,

I'll be the one laughing at them when I'm earning a starting salary of $30,000 a year using rocket science and pushing the boundaries of science and building our future.....

and they're earning minimum wage stacking shelves and checking items in Tesco.

:D

Then they'll wish they tried harder and cared more at school. When I'm on tv walking to the shuttle or being interviewed, they'll go "omg she was in my class".....and then they'll be proud of me!

Until then, I guess there's always gonna be haters and people who are negative.

I'll just stick it out- No one's gonna stop me from dreaming :)

cheerio!
xo

Another cool opportunity for American Students =]

NASA has selected teams of middle school and high school students to test their science experiments in microgravity conditions that simulate the microgravity in space.
High school students will participate in "Dropping In a Microgravity Environment," and students in sixth through ninth grades in "What If No Gravity?".Students are challenged to design and build a microgravity science experiment that is tested in a 2.2 second drop tower at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. While in free fall, the students' experiments will experience microgravity conditions, as if they were on the International Space Station. These and other NASA educational programs help the agency attract and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, disciplines critical to space exploration.

NASA Launches "Summer of Innovation" Programme!

NASA has launched a program to use its out-of-this-world missions and technology programs to boost summer learning for students.NASA's Summer of Innovation supports President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign for excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Summer of Innovation program will work with thousands of middle school teachers and students during multi-week programs in the summer of 2010, to engage students in math and science-based education programs.

NASA's goal is to increase the number of future scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Exciting stuff eh? God, I wish I lived in the States! http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/summer_of_innovation.html

Competition- Fingers Crossed I get selected!!!

My Career Guidance teacher told me about a competition last Friday. The prize was to spend a week attending a "Lab Technology" workshop in Cork Institute of Technology. Me and two other friends, Kate and Niamh decided to put our names down. Ten places are available. In order to win, you must write an essay on why you should be picked, and how you will benefit from the experience. I was so excited about the opportunity that I submitted my paper within the hour:P Maybe I'll get extra credit for handing it in so early, and my teacher will be impressed by my enthusiasm and pick me for the week in CIT.

I'll let you know if I win.....Wish me luck! :D

Tyndall- the National Institute!

This is the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. I visited it with my class a few weeks ago for a Maths lecture.
The Institute is a new facility, owned by University College Cork- where I hope to get my degrees in Astrophysics and Aeronautical Engineering when I'm older. My Applied Mathematics teacher is organising some work experience for me here, later on this month. I'm really excited about it, should be really interesting! I'll have lots of news and pictures to share with you :) The lecturer a few weeks ago was really good. He made Maths waaay more interesting, and less scary and complicated. He said "Maths is really just a method of working things out using formulas and equations instead of doing loads of hard, long work- and that Maths is pretty much for lazy people ":P

First Blog Entry =]

Hi!
So I'm gonna start this blog by telling you my story.
My name's Jessica and I'm sixteen. My dream is to become an astronaut.
Ireland has never had an astronaut, so if I follow my dream, I can potentially become my country's ever person to go to space ..something which would be made even more special by the fact that I'm also a female.

I suppose I should start by saying why I'm sooo obsessed with space and NASA- I honestly have no idea! I first thought it might be an interesting job when I was 11, and my teacher showed my class the movie "Apollo 13".
The adventure, discovery, excitement....it seemed like the perfect career. Sure, it would involve a LOT of hard work, physical fitness, and bravery but I'm up to the challenge :)

For a few years, I forgot about space, Apollo 13 and NASA, and I thought I might like to be a doctor or lawyer. But last year while I was babysitting and there was NOTHING on TV, I switched over to the Discovery channel and started watching a program on "Space Colonisation".
It fascinated me.

Words like "Terra-formation" and "Ares and Orion shuttles" and "Constellation mission", began circling in my head, and now I just can't stop thinking about space.

My parents and classmates, and sometimes I think even my friends, don't really offer me support with this dream of mine so I'm going to turn to you to help me. They don't think I can do it- "You're not American, you can't", "That's too much hard work for you Jessica", "Are you sure this is something you wanna do when you're older? It doesn't seem like the job for you"......

I'm sick of all the negativity, of course I can't do it if everyone is gonna put me down before I've even started??

Hopefully, someone out there will believe in me and help me reach my goal and I can support them in whatever goals they might have.

Being an astronaut is all I want to do, I can't think of any other job that I would love.
And I'm going to keep learning and developing my skills until I reach my goal.

That's all for now,
Blog soon
xo