Thursday is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first space satellite. Sputnik blasted off from the Soviet Union on October 4th, 1957. The Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium in Fort Myers is marking the date with speakers and activities…and if the weather’s right a little satellite gazing. Executive Director Sanders Lewallen told WGCU’s Valerie Alker that it’s an anniversary well-worth remembering.

A congresswoman joined marine scientists recently for an educational broadcast from the world’s only permanent working undersea laboratory in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

A small, wheeled robot designed to test a toddler’s exposure to contaminants and allergens in homes will soon be put to a slightly different use...as part of an ongoing study into the effects of red tide toxins on humans. WGCU's Mike Kiniry has more.

The picture of Florida’s pre-history is being reshaped by artifacts archeologists are removing from Little Salt Springs in North Port. Last week they found a piece of wood believed to be nine thousand years old. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez has more.

RENOWNED PHYSICIST STEPHEN HAWKING NOW HAS SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH NASA ASTRONAUTS. HE EXPERIENCED WEIGHTLESSNESS DURING A JET FLIGHT FROM THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER THAT WAS SPONSORED BY A SPACE TOURISM COMPANY. THE MAIN GOALS WERE TO RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY AND TO RAISE THE CENTER’S PROFILE AS A VENUE FOR SPACE TOURISM. PAT DUGGINS OF REPORTS…

Saturday night (02-10-07) the sixth planet in our solar system – Saturn – will be closer to the earth than it’s been in decades. And some local folks will be taking a look.

The earth travels around the sun once a year. It takes Saturn about thirty times that long. Tomorrow night their orbits coincide, bringing Saturn, the Earth and the Sun into alignment…and that means the “ringed planet” will be as close as it ever gets to the earth - and as close as it’ll be again until 2029.

Carol Holmberg is Deputy Director of the Planetarium at the Calusa Nature Center in Fort Myers. She says this alignment means Saturn appears larger and brighter than when normally viewed …and is higher in the sky.

“They call that a favorable opposition. It happens with Mars every 14 to 17 years…people get really excited. It happens with Saturn ever 25 to 30 years. So Saturn will be a little bit brighter and a little bit closer than it will be in the next few decades.”

Holmberg says while it is a bit brighter…barring clouds, Saturn is always visible to the naked eye.

Right now it’s visible all night – with its peak at midnight. Members of the Southwest Florida Astronomical Society will be taking their telescopes to Caloosahatchee Regional Park in North Fort Myers tomorrow night. The public is welcome. Please arrive before dark.

Low concentrations of red tide have once again been reported in the Gulf from Sarasota to Collier counties. WGCU's Christine Buckley got an update on the latest research into the problem at a workshop organized by the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center in Naples.

Visitors to the Florida Keys now have a way to experience the underwater ecosystem without getting wet. The six million-dollar Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center opened Saturday. The 6,400-square-foot center showcases the underwater and upland habitats that characterize the Keys, with an emphasis on North America's only living contiguous barrier coral reef that parallels the island chain.
James Connaughton is the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and keynote speaker at the opening.

“The eco discovery center is one of the most important ways to introduce the public to some of the nation’s treasures including the Florida keys. By educating the public before they access the resource they can appreciate the resource and assure it’s conservation and availability for future generations.”

Through interactive and touch-screen modules, text and audio/video components, visitors to the center can explore the Keys' hardwood hammock, mangrove, patch reef, seagrass, deep shelf and Dry Tortugas environments.

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The Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center is now open, allowing visitors to experience the underwater ecosystem without getting wet.
The 6,400-square-foot, 6 million dollar center showcases the habitats that characterize the Keys, especially North America's only living contiguous barrier coral reef. Scenes playing on an underwater video camera, allow guests to emulate the work of marine biologists observing the annual coral spawn and monitoring the health of a coral reef. James Connaughton is the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and he was keynote speaker at the opening.

“The beauty of the eco-discovery center is you can get under the water without getting wet but it’s going to be an inspiration so that when you do get to the water you’re going to treat it in a sensible way and again make it available for future generations.”

Exhibition highlights include a walk-through version of the Aquarius Undersea Lab, a manned underwater research laboratory located off Key Largo. Visitors can hear actual recordings from the lab, take interactive video tours of the Keys' undersea world and view indigenous fish and sea creatures through video screens shaped like portholes.

The National Hurricane Center gets a new director next week. Bill Proenza is capping off a thirty year career with the National Weather Service with the move to South Florida. He says partnerships will remain key to Center’s mission of saving lives and protecting property.

The incoming director of the National Hurricane Center says being able to better predict the intensity of approaching tropical systems will be a priority.

In August 2004 Hurricane Charley intensified from a category two hurricane – to a very destructive category 4 – in a matter of about two hours. The increase took everyone by surprise. Incoming National Hurricane Center director Bill Proenza says in the future forecasts will include information on intensity as well as the storm’s projected path.

“we’re seeing more and more science being developed that will help us do that. We still need to monitor all of the parcels of air so to speak in three dimensions around the storm so that we get a better handle on how they’re all behaving, the energy that’s in them, and in so doing we should get a better handle on forecasting intensity changes.

Proenza starts his new job January 3rd. He takes over for Max Mayfield who lead the National Hurricane Center since 2000.

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The National Hurricane Center gets a new director next week. Bill Proenza is capping off a thirty year career with the National Weather Service with the move to South Florida. He says partnerships will remain key to the Center’s mission of saving lives and protecting property.

“We have an important partnership with emergency managers and local government and state government. That is, when we issue a forecast and a warning there has been a lot of preparatory work already in reaching some level of readiness for all of the coastal areas that may be threatened. And in turn we also have an important partnership with the media.”

Proenza says under his direction the center work at being able to better predict changes in intensity of approaching tropical systems. He takes over leadership from Max Mayfield who’s retiring after leading the National Hurricane Center since 2000.