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Astronomy Professor Expects New Generation to be Inspired by New 'Cosmos' Series–As He was by the Original

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Released: 3/11/2014 4:00 PM EDT Source Newsroom: Ithaca College Expert Available Contact Information

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Newswise ITHACA, NY Seth McFarlane and Carl Sagan. Associating those two names may confuse folks familiar with the works of both men. McFarlane's Emmy Award-winning TV show "Family Guy" is an often brilliant but equally crude and over-the-top examination of popular culture, while the late Sagan was a world-renowned and respected astronomer.

Yet the two now share a place in TV history, as McFarlane is part of a team reviving Sagan's Cosmos television legacy and dusting it off for a new generation. The series will air on the Fox Network and National Geographic Channel.

The goal for the new iteration of the show is the same as Sagan's: make complex ideas accessible to a wide audience and nurture an interest in science. Another aim is to spur young viewers to pursue an education in the sciences, just as the original program did for Luke Keller, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ithaca College.

Keller, an associate professor of physics, has research interests in astrophysics, optics and physics education. He maintains research programs in imaging and spectroscopic instrumentation and in the astrophysics of star formation and planetary system formation. In addition to teaching and researching, Keller is a member of a team of scientists and engineers who produced an infrared camera for NASAs new airborne Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).

An avid viewer of the original "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Keller credits both the show and Sagan himself as significant influences to his personal and professional achievements. He thinks the new version, titled Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, and hosted by famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, will serve the same benefit.

"I think Cosmos will attract a younger generation since similar projects with Tyson have been popular. He is a dynamic presenter in any venue," Keller said. "McFarlane's association can only improve viewership and engagement of the public since he is well known as a producer of excellent and popular television.

Sagans original 13-episode series aired on the Public Broadcasting System in 1980 and explored the universe and the history of scientific discovery. Topics included the origin of life, space exploration and the danger of mankinds self-destruction from our own technology. As host and narrator, Sagan spoke in terms understandable to a broad audience and helped make the program the most widely watched series of its time.

Tyson, known for his gift of explaining complicated ideas in simple terms, will attempt to reinvent certain celebrated elements of the original. Fox hopes the successor will have the same cultural impact the original series delivered, and ICs Keller agrees thats a good thing.

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Astronomy Professor Expects New Generation to be Inspired by New 'Cosmos' Series--As He was by the Original

119M Investment to Open New Scientific Frontiers in Astronomy

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UK scientists, engineers and industries will be helping to design and build the worlds largest telescope. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) will manage the UK role in this exciting project which will be at the forefront of astronomy over the coming decade.Today STFC confirmed the release of 19M over the next 4 years to support the design of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, made up of a capital investment in Big Data of 11m, and a further 2M a year in the on-going core research program.The SKA will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world, stretching technology to its limits.In addition, speaking ahead of an event at Jodrell Bank Observatory today, the Science Minister David Willetts announced further funding of 100M for the SKA project as it moves towards construction from 2017. This support will build on the work the UK is already doing in leading the effort to design the computing and software for the project which will have a data processing capacity 1,000 times greater than currently available.The Minister declared, Investment in science is a crucial part of this governments long-term economic plan. Its about investing in our future, helping grow new industries and create more jobs -- and that will mean more financial security for people across the country.The SKA radio telescope project will produce around twenty times the current global traffic of the internet in its internal telecommunications system. In fact, to play back a single days worth of SKA data on an MP3 player would take 2 million years. Thanks to the investment being made in the design phase, British scientists and industry partners are already helping to develop the central computing and data handling systems which will read the huge volume of new data, meaning this project could lead to faster smartphones and increased internet speeds across the UK in the future. The global market for data analysis is also expected to be worth 31 billion by 2016. With the additional resources being announced today by the Minister, Britain will be in a prime position to dominate the market and exploit the spin out technologies and knowledge that will arise from tackling the huge technical challenge of the SKA.STFC Chief Executive Professor John Womersley said: For the SKA, todays announcement allows the UK astronomy research community the chance to address some of the fundamental questions in research on the origin and evolution of the universe. At the same time the technical innovations needed for the project will transform the capabilities of high-performance computing.Using a network of radio antennae around the globe SKA will advance radio astronomy in understanding how the universe evolved and challenging Einsteins theory of relativity. With receivers across Africa and Australia, its dishes and antennae will provide a large scale 3D structure of the entire Universe.Professor Phil Diamond, Director General of the SKA Organisation, said: This is a really exciting announcement for the SKA and a solid proof that the project is now really underway. With such a major investment secured there is no stopping it.The UK expertise is such that it has played key roles in developing the SKA project through to the detailed design phase currently underway and being supported through the grants being announced, won work packages in these vital data handling areas and most significantly, currently host the project office at the Jodrell Bank Observatory near Manchester for this global, billion Euro project.The 19M from STFC will consist of funding to the consortium of institutes involved in the global consortia designing the project. These include the Universities of Cambridge, Manchester and Oxford, University College London and the University of Southampton, and support for STFCs national laboratories at RAL, Daresbury and the UK Astronomy Technology Center. The support will keep the UK at the forefront of the design activities in the SKA project, in the design of computing and software systems, data transportation and processing, novel antenna designs and the approach to controlling such a huge network of telescope infrastructure.The science done by SKA will help us understand some of the strangest questions in astronomy, and a whole generation of astronomers will be able to use this inspiring facility to transform the way we understand the universe.Contacts:Wendy EllisonSTFC Press Officer+44(0)1925 603232, cell: +44(0)7912 177935wendy.ellison@stfc.ac.ukCorinne MoseseSTFC Press Officer+44(0)1793 442870, cell: +44(0)7557 317200corinne.mosese@stfc.ac.ukUK

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nvolvement in SKA* The University of Manchester is a member of five of the SKA consortia: Signal and Data Transport (SaDT), Science Data Processor (SDP), Central Signal Processor (CSP), Low Frequency Aperture Array (LFAA), and Mid Frequency Aperture Array (MFAA), one of which (SaDT) it leads. The Group is led by Dr. Keith Grainge.* The University of Oxford is taking a major role in the development of the Low-Frequency Aperture Array and in the Central Signal Processing and Science Data Processor consortia. Oxford is also one of the key universities involved in preparation for the scientific exploitation of the SKA, with members on several of the SKA Science Working Groups. The Oxford SKA team is based in Department of Physics and the Oxford e-Research Center, led by Professors Mike Jones and David De Roure respectively.* The University of Cambridge is leading the global Science Data Processor (SDP) consortium. The SDP work involves designing the hardware and software for the massive scale of data processing required for SKA Phase 1, building on decades of local expertise. The universitys High Performance Computing service will house a laboratory for testing computer implementations and to test scalability of architectures to the enormous proportions needed for SKA. Professor Paul Alexander leads the work. Cambridge also leads the work developing the low frequency antennas and system design for SKA1, for the Low Frequency Aperture Array consortium.* Engineers at STFCs Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are involved in the Central Signal Processor work package.* Expertise and infrastructure access at STFCs Scientific Computing Department and the Hartree Center at STFCs Daresbury Laboratory are playing a key role in the Science Data Processor activity.* The UK Astronomy Technology Center (UKATC), part of STFC and the UKs national center for astronomical technology, will lead one of the critical elements of the Telescope Manager activity. This builds on more than a decade of experience in developing software for observation preparation, telescope control and operation, most recently for the ALMA telescope array in Chile. Members of the Systems Engineering group at the UKATC are involved in the Central Signal Processor work package.SKA website:http://www.skatelescope.orgSKA images:https://www.skatelescope.org/multimedia/image/Amazing facts on the SKA:https://www.skatelescope.org/newsandmedia/outreachandeducation/amazingfacts/The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC,http://www.stfc.ac.uk) is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security. The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar. STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including in the UK the ISIS pulsed neutron source, the Central Laser Facility, and LOFAR, and is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd. It enables UK researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). STFC is one of seven publicly-funded research councils. It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

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119M Investment to Open New Scientific Frontiers in Astronomy

Santa Cruz Astronomy Club guest speaker talks constellations, mythology

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SANTA CRUZ -- The Santa Cruz Astronomy Club will be host to an adventure in astrology, myth and ancient history on Thursday.

The club has invited a guest speaker, Don Cerow, who is a researcher in ancient mythology and astrology. He has recently published his first book, "When the Dragon Wore the Crown," which theorizes why dragons are so ubiquitous across many ancient cultures. Cerow lived in Bonny Doon for eight years before moving out in June to tour the nation to promote his book.

Cerow said he believes that the constellation Draco, the dragon, played a central role. One of the stars in Draco, Thuban, used to hold the position of "north star," and as such was critical to the safe passage of ancient travelers.

"Everything pivoted around that star, all of creation," Cerow said.

Sooner or later, according to Cerow, someone probably saw a dragon in that particular group of stars. The idea spread as merchants and mariners traveled to the "cultures next door," and soon enough the dragon was a mythological figure in cultures across Europe and Asia.

Cerow will present this and more on astrology at his talk on at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Scout House in Harvey West Park. The house is between Evergreen Street and Harvey West Boulevard in Santa Cruz.

Jeff Gose, the club president, is hopeful that the allure of astrology will draw more people into the science of astronomy.

The Santa Cruz Astronomy Club was established in the 1970s and has seen bursts of activity throughout the years, Gose said. Some members are students at Cabrillo College and others have been in the club since its inception. Gose said that the club is always looking for more members.

"We're big on family participation, so if younger folks want to get involved, our membership is real affordable. A lot of hobbies the most expensive thing is our valuable time, but if you're willing to set some time aside it's a wonderful thing to spend your time with."

Gose, who is retired from the Air Force, has been the president of the Astronomy Club for the past 18 months. He said that the club offers to loan telescopes to members in good standing with the club, but that many members are willing to lend their personal equipment to other members who want to practice stargazing outside of club meetings.

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Santa Cruz Astronomy Club guest speaker talks constellations, mythology

Irish skies lit up by extremely bright fireball

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A fireball which burned up over Russia last February generated shockwaves which circled the globe twice. Photograph: http://www.chelyabinsk.ru/Reuters

An extremely bright fireball was seen streaking across Irish skies on Saturday night before breaking up, Astronomy Ireland has said.

The organisation received lots of reports of sightings of the meteor which lit up the sky shortly after 9.30pm.

Fireballs are seen quite rarely, but when they appear on a clear evening when people are travelling from work we often get inundated with reports, said astronomy Ireland chairman David Moore.

Reports from the public help to determine the fireballs path through the sky and find out if it is likely to have ended up on land or in the sea,Mr Moore said.

Fireballs are very bright meteors caused by larger particles of debris from space, Astronomy Ireland said. They can seem close but occur very high up in the atmosphere, approximately 70km and above, it said.

They disintegrate at altitudes over 50km and occasionally fragments survive and fall to earth, it said.

It urged anyone who saw the fireball to report sightings at astronomy.ie

In February last year a fireball burned up over Russia and generated shockwaves which circled the globe twice.

The asteroid on February 15th broke up above the city of Chelyabinsk about 1,500km east of Moscow leaving more than 1,000 people injured. The events shockwaves blew out windows and damaged buildings in several cities.

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Irish skies lit up by extremely bright fireball

Going beyond the dome

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Pine-Richland High School's planetarium, with a 24-foot dome, seven-screen panoramic projector and sound system, is used not only for astronomy courses, but as part of the navigation curriculum for the school's Air Force Junior ROTC.

Woodland Hills High School does not have a planetarium, but instead a domed observatory. An observatory is a building with a built-in telescope, while a planetarium is a room where images are projected onto the ceiling. Superintendent Alan Johnson said the high school's rooftop observatory has received minimal use for almost two years because of a broken telescope. The school recently received an $8,000 grant to replace the 10-inch refractor telescope, after which he said the school hopes to open the observatory to the community.

North Hills High School used its planetarium for an interactive lesson for Black History Month, studying the folk song "Follow the Drinking Gourd," which many escaped slaves used in reference to the Big Dipper, a star formation that points north.

North Hills chemistry and astronomy teacher Susan Batson said the planetarium helps bring "boring textbook lessons to life," which is why the astronomy club sponsors special programs and presentations for the community in the planetarium throughout the year. Astronomy club members set up gift shops after each program as a fundraiser for the club.

"I love being able to see the different constellations in our planetarium," North Hills junior and astronomy club member Brandon Clem said. "They're very appealing to look at, and knowing the science behind them makes it even better."

At least four schools in the county -- North Hills, Pine-Richland, Gateway Senior High School and Woodland Hills -- have planetariums.

Some, such as Gateway's, are decades old. Others, like Pine-Richland's, are newer.

In Upper St. Clair, Fort Couch Middle School's planetarium was turned into academic space years ago.

While upkeep and equipment are expensive, Martin Ratcliffe, former director of the Buhl Planetarium at Carnegie Science Center, said school planetariums are a worthwhile investment.

Mr. Ratcliffe, director of professional development at Sky-Skan, a company that produces digital planetariums, said they help engage students in science, technology, math and engineering and give them a better understanding of complex information through visuals.

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Going beyond the dome

Astronomy Forecast – Close encounter Asteroids (2014 EC & 2014 EF) and fireballs – Video

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Astronomy Forecast - Close encounter Asteroids (2014 EC 2014 EF) and fireballs
March 6, 2014 2014 EF 0.0011 AU 0.4 LD 95542 miles SIze 3-9m Close Approach 3:17 a.m. UT 2014 DO7 0.0704 AU 27.4 LD Size 48-110m Close Approach 4:34 a.m. UT...

By: Sarah Hockensmith

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Astronomy Forecast - Close encounter Asteroids (2014 EC & 2014 EF) and fireballs - Video


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