Brooklyn physics teacher to take flight on NASA’s high-flying observatory

Michael Maccarone, an upper-level teacher at the private Avenues: The World School in Manhattan, has been selected to do science research onboard NASA’s airborne observatory.

“As a science teacher, it’s incredibly interesting and fascinating to do anything with NASA. It’s a privilege and an honor,” said Maccarone, 30, who developed the science curriculum at the Avenues school and other institutions.

The Sunset Park resident will join engineers and scientists onboard the space agency’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy or SOFIA — a retrofitted Boeing aircraft that can fly up to 45,000 feet in the air, which is a few thousand feet higher than typical commercial airliners fly.

Maccarone and his colleague Elizabeth Rosenberger of Manhattan were the only two New York residents chosen out of 24 teachers nationwide to participate in the research program, which allows educators to shoot for the stars.

“Our job is really to observe and report,” said Maccarone, adding that he had to complete a 12-week graduate-level astronomy course to partake in the program. “We’re always trying to find ways to connect our students to real science and there’s no better way than to say ‘here’s the data we collected while we were on flight.’”

After training at the Ames Research Center in California starting Monday, Maccarone will take two 10- to 12-hour flights onboard the jumbo jet — which is equipped with an 8.2-foot-in-diameter telescope — once it launches on May 15 and May 16 from Ames.

Maccarone will have in-depth conversations with scientists onboard the flight about what they are looking for.

“They’re looking for new observations about the planets in our solar system and what we can learn through the infrared spectrum that we haven’t been able to see visibly with our land telescopes,” he said.

Maccarone plans on developing iBooks for kindergarten through high school students relating to his findings.

“We will use the experience to tell a bunch of different stories about many different levels of science from astronomy to the electromagnetic spectrum to parts of the atmosphere and everything in between,” he said.

Links to sources: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-physics-teacher-flight-nasa-high-flying-observatory-article-1.1786550