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To kick off our special summer series about data, we interviewed 2006 Nobel Laureate John Mather about the importance of imagery in communicating science and sharing data with the public. More than just “pretty pictures,” data can be used to tell a story and explain the mysteries of the cosmos. Not every piece of data would be considered a work of art, but the information contained is at the very heart of NASA science.
Working with COBE and the James Webb Space Telescope, Dr. Mather is no stranger to the power of data and the importance of scientific imagery. We got the scoop on how data is used in communication and why every bit of data is beautiful in its own way.
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The telescope on everyone’s mind during this month’s Space Shuttle flight was certainly the Hubble Space Telescope, as astronauts inspected, repaired, and upgraded the satellite for years of additional scientific observations. But two additional telescopes were aboard Atlantis for this historic flight – a museum-quality replica of one of Galileo’s telescopes, and a 200-year-old telescope built by master craftsman Jesse Ramsden.
To give you the scoop about these telescopes, we interviewed Marvin Bolt of the Adler Planetarium. Hubble may be NASA’s best-known telescope, but it wouldn’t be here without 400 years of innovation.
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If you look at a calendar, it seems like every day is a holiday somewhere in the world. Today is Flag Day in Aruba. It’s also celebrated as the Pillsbury Doughboy’s birthday. And tomorrow is National Chocolate Caramel Day… I’m not kidding. It also seems like every year is the “year of” something. Some of these have cultural or mythological significance. Others are decreed by national or international governments. 2009 has been chosen as the International Year of Astronomy by the International Astronomical Union and endorsed by the United Nations. So it’s official, but what does it mean? Why should we care?
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Click to listen! (7MB MP3, right-click to save)
Transcript (Text, PDF)
2009 has been chosen as the International Year of Astronomy because it marks the 400th anniversary of a big event in astronomical history – the first recorded observations of the night sky with a telescope. Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope at the Moon, the stars, and Jupiter, and changed our perceptions of the Universe forever. In celebration, there will be a variety of special events throughout 2009. The first big global event will be the 100 Hours of Astronomy, held April 2-5, 2009.
In honor of this special year, we decided to interview Galileo himself about what he did and why it was important to astronomy. We hope you’ll look into 100 Hours of Astronomy events in your own area, and perhaps take a look through a telescope yourself.
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Podcasts | Sara Mitchell | 
June 18, 2009 7:54 pm | 
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