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Wouldn’t it be exciting to do astronomy in the Amazon, surrounded by the wild plants and animals of the rainforest? In January, visitors to the AstroZone event in Washington, DC, got to do something like that – they met dozens of astronomy professionals at the National Zoo’s Amazonia exhibit! AstroZone is a special public event that’s offered in conjunction with each meeting of the American Astronomical Society (the major professional organization for astronomers). For one afternoon, astronomers share their passion for the Universe with the local public with hands-on activities, goodies, and other special opportunities.
We talked to some of the exhibitors at the event in DC, and we wanted to share their exciting science with you. The next AstroZone event is this weekend in Miami, Florida – if that’s your hometown, come check it out at the Miami Dade Main Public Library on May 22nd!
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The evening of November 2, 2009 was the world premiere of “Cosmic Reflection,” an orchestral composition inspired by one of NASA’s satellites, in Washington, DC. This opus began as a simple prelude inspired by (and performed by a brass quintet at) the launch of the GLAST mission. To celebrate the first birthday of this satellite (since renamed Fermi), composer Dr. Nolan Gasser wrote a symphony which uses music to aurally portray the history of the universe.
We were able to go backstage at the Kennedy Center on the day of the performance to speak to a few of the people involved in this project, including the composer, the producer, a NASA scientist, and the “voice” of Cosmic Reflection.
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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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Podcasts | Sara Mitchell | 
May 20, 2010 10:01 pm | 
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