Astronomy Decor and More

I’ve Got a Thing for Astronomy Decor

(and Accuracy)

I have lots of it. My office is full of astronomy books, which are a form of decor that also serve a useful purpose. And, I have a gorgeous set of black-and-white astronomy images taken in the 1960s at the Observatory Tautenberg that I have hanging here and there.

But, I also have some whimsical things, like this constellation lamp I found at Lowes Hardware a few days ago. I also have a Moon in My Room, which Mark gave me as a holiday gift.

I like it when astronomy gets used in products like this because they lend a nice, cheerful, “fun” air to the stars. And, when it comes to science, people sort of need to be “coaxed” into liking it. Our culture has this weird sort of disconnect about science: we use its technology and “ooh” and “aah” at the pretty pictures from Hubble Space Telescope, and even read in wonderment about things like the Human Genome Project or the latest advances in medical science. But, some people also make fun of science, and sometimes even discard it or dismiss it when it challenges long-held politico-religious beliefs or feelings. If you don’t believe me, look at the debates that sizzle around the edges of the global climate change and environmental issues of our day. (But don’t get me started on cre@tion “science.”)

What I don’t like are things purport to be “scientific” but really are not. There are trends in media for example (including advertising and movies) where science, if it gets mentioned at all, is either misquoted, misused, or just plain flat wrong. My friend Phil Plait, over at Bad Astronomy.com has made a career out of finding these mistakes and debunking silly rumors and pseudo-science.

A couple of examples of misuse of science come to mind. First, a catalog for makeup products that we get in the mail has taken to using the word “scientific” to sell soaps and creams. I read these things quite carefully, mostly because I know that no matter how much you pretty up the language to sell this stuff, it’s still just cream in a bottle. And, in this particular catalog, it’s olive oil in a bottle that sells for about four times the price of the same olive oil you can get in the grocery store. But, stick the words “scientifically formulated” on the sales material and suddenly it’s somehow more than just olive oil. Don’t get me started on the irony of using science to sell stuff to women, a population that (until a few decades ago) was largely excluded from science and still finds itself today fighting glass ceilings in research institutions. (Although, it is getting better…)

My second example comes from the mall. Specifically, a store that caters to selling expensive little baby clothes. This spring they’re selling toddler togs festooned with constellation patterns. Great, I think to myself, they’re getting kids started in astronomy early.

Well…. not so much, it turns out. It’s “astrology time” at the baby store, dressing the little ones up in their birth astrological symbols (which, if you don’t it by know, are keyed to positions of the Sun in the zodiac that aren’t the same as they were when astrology was first “devised” several thousand years ago, rendering the most essential aspects of astrology incorrect from the get-go).

Oh, the clothes ARE darling. But, they’re pushing a pseudo-science, not a science. About the only thing that astronomy has in common with astrology is a skyful of stars. So, for the folks who wanna know more about the difference between the two before you head out to the Mall, go to the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and read all about it.

Communicating Astronomy

Why I Do It

Talking and writing about astronomy is a fun gig. I’ve been doing it since the early 1980s, when I got to write a few things for The Denver Post. That was an exciting time. I started out there as an editorial assistant, but ended up writing things almost as soon as it occurred to me ask if I could. Several years later I decided it was time to head back to school and learn more astronomy. The fact that I ended up not only DOING astronomy but also getting a masters’ degree in science journalism is, in some measure, attributable to my love of both subjects.

If I could, I’d go back for that PhD in astrophysics (given enough time and money), but I have found a niche subject I like to write about and, thanks to a number of undergraduate and graduate classes in astronomy and planetary science, plus the chance to work first-hand with a couple of space missions, communicating astronomy is a full-time career. It has taken me from writing articles for newspapers to working as an editor and writer for Sky & Telescope; writing documentary scripts for planetarium shows to creating copy for an entire observatory full of exhibits (at Griffith Observatory). Lately, the rise of “new media” (podcasts, etc.) has taken me off in some new directions, creating podcasts (which you can see on my Video and ‘Casts page and also at Haystack Observatory.

I like to keep tabs on what’s new in astronomy communications–what they like to call “outreach” these days. Last fall I went to Athens, Greece for a meeting called “Communicating Astronomy to the Public.” It was an eclectic mix of people from around the world, all gathered to talk about how writers, producers, and astronomers can go about spreading the word about the sky and what we study in it.

Okay, so why communicate about astronomy? I’ve given that a lot of thought. In a time when there are so many things claiming our collective attention around the world (war, politics, religion, environmental concerns, and so on), it’s a fair question to ask. Sure, astronomy’s got a built-in “cool” factor that you can’t discount unless you’re a cost-cutting senator from a state that has no observatories. But, looking beyond that obvious fact, astronomy is also one of those sciences that gives you a toehold on a whole range of scientific interests. Want to know more about how stars work? Physics will get you started on the journey of discovery in stellar anatomy. Want to know about how planets form? You need some more physics. And geology–lots of geology. And chemistry, since planets (and stars) form out of mixtures of chemical elements in various states. What about life on other worlds? Put in a call to the astrobiologists (who combine biology, life sciences, and astrophysics for their work).

A distant version of the solar system? Astronomy tells us perhaps so.

courtesy KASI,CBNU; ARCSEC, ;NSF.

How to study all this? Well, you need to know something about how to build the instruments of science (telescopes, radio dishes, orbiting satellites, geological sensing equipment, and so forth). Just about any science has a backwards-compatible link to astronomy. This is why we often refer to astronomy as a gateway science. And, beyond the pretty pictures that make science communicators’ lives easier, there are some really compelling stories in astronomy that blow people away (once they hear them).

That’s why I communicate astronomy–to tell really excellent stories about the cool stuff in the universe, and the people who discover and explain them. And, like I said, it’s a fun gig!

The Old Alma Mater Does It Again

Dear Ol’ CU

It’s always nice to get good news from one’s alma mater (instead of the usual begging letters from the development foundation). Where I went to school (University of Colorado), astronomy, planetary science, and space sciences research have always been Big Things. I did my graduate studies while serving on a team that worked with an HST instrument (the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph), and also did some work on comet images under a Halley Watch grant. One of the folks who I overlapped with at CU is Alan Stern, now Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and an old friend. At CU he worked with the Center for Space and Geoscience Policy, before leaving to work at Southwest Research Institute. A number of other missions had CU relationships, including some involving other members of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (where I worked), Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (I worked there as an undergraduate), and a variety of other research institutes at CU.

Artist concepts of a Naval Observatory Proposalinvolving CU-Boulder to place a carpet-like radio telescope on the moon to probe the earliest structures in the universe. Image courtesy CU-Boulder, NRL

Suffice to say, I was pleased to see a press release today outlining a pair of projects that NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory has selected for further funding and development that both involve people and institutions at CU. The first is for a space observatory to find Earth-like planets in distant solar systems. The other is for a unique type of low-frequency radio telescope on the far side of the Moon. Astronomers would use it to look for some of the earliest structures in the universe. Both are very worthy projects and I’m pleased to see my home university continue its winning streak in astronomy and space science. (Read more details here.)

Both projects should give undergraduate and graduate students first-hand experience in designing instruments AND doing science, something that attracted me back to graduate school in the first place (lo these many years ago). While CU isn’t the only university that gets these grants and makes opportunities available, it has been a leader for many years in this area. I can’t think of Duane Physics tower or the LASP building or the JILA towers without remembering all the really smart, really great scientists who came out of those labs and who are making solid scientific contributions today. There are whole new generations of instruments and projects waiting for new generations of student scientists. And that’s good news for science and for old alums like me.