Editor's Note: Many thanks to Larry Lebofsky for sending this commentary and demonstrating the ability for enhanced communication between the science and science education community via electronic publishing.

Return-Path: <lebofsky@LPL.Arizona.EDU>
Date: Thu, 15 May 97 11:50:27 MST
From: lebofsky@LPL.Arizona.EDU (Larry Lebofsky)
To: jcannon@equinox.unr.edu
Subject: Comments on March Editorial
Cc: lebofsky@LPL.Arizona.EDU

I have just read the 3rd issue of the EJSE and felt that I needed to reply to you personally. This relates to your editorial in Vol 1, No.3. But first, some background so that you understand my situation.

1) My background is in Planetary Sciences (I am a Planetary Astronomer). I have no formal science education training, but my wife and I have been working in precollege inservice training for K-8 teachers since 1990 (Project ARTIST, Astronomy-Related Teacher Inservice Training, etc.).

2) I have been a member of AETS for several years, but did not read the EJSE until yesterday. Trying to keep up on science ed and my own field is not easy.

3) At the same time, I have been using my experiences (and the advice of classroom teachers) to refine the way our intro Planetary Sciences course for non-science majors is taught. We are writing a proposal now to NSF to try to revise the non-science courses at the U of Arizona, and are looking at EJSE as an effective mode of distribution of results and ideas.

4) While my expertise is in asteroids and comets, I would not consider myself an expert in the area of impacts on the Earth and their ultimate effects. Your editorial comments prompted me to rewatch "Asteroid" to re-evaluate its science content.

5) In your editorial, you made a very important comment about the movie and the ads getting the average person to "look up." I definitely concur in principle. However, I cannot agree with the conclusion that no major flaws were broadcast. Though I have tried not to nit-pick and there are many harsher critics in the astronomy community (c.f., Clark Chapman article, in the most recent Ad Astra, I think), I found a good number of science content errors in the movie:

a) Asteroids are few and far between in the ateroid belt and the gravitational pull of a comet (small size and mass) will not pull asteroids out of their orbits.

b) If a comet did deflect an asteroid the chances of hitting a moving target would be extremely small. let alone two asteroids one after the other. It would be almost impossible to determine the point of impact given the Earth is rotating and orbiting the Sun and the asteroid is in orbit around the Sun. The asteroids would have to be huge to be seen as disks in a telescope!

c) Yes, the asteroid might break up, but this would happen in the last few seconds before impact. Unless this came in like a Shuttle landing, it would not be seen by an observatory (and only with a fast-moving telescope).

d) The lasers defy Newton's Law "For every action ..." Real lasers would vaporize the surface or punch holes in such a large asteroid.

e) Anything that left a crater as big as the one in Dallas would not have buildings falling into it (there would be nothing left).

f) At the end, unless the comet was just outside the atmosphere, it would not move so fast. The tail should always point away from the Sun.

I know this sounds very detailed and I am aware that there needs to be "artistic license" in a movie, but I just felt that I needed to point out to you that the movie was less than perfect with respect to its science content. My concerns are with giving the average person bad or misleading science. Our different reactions to this film point out why it is necessary for scientists and science educators to work together when presenting future teachers (and the general public) with science content material. Science education is meant for all students and the general public not just for future scientists.

I hope that these personal reflections will lead to future dialog about the need for science educators and scientists to work in harmony.

Larry Lebofsky
Senior Research Scientist Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
1629 E. University Tucson, AZ 85721-0092
520-621-6947
520-621-4933 (FAX)