Friday, December 10 12:32 pm
Fifty years from now, space exploration as we know it will be radically different. In this episode of SciCafe, Museum Curator Mike Shara of the Department of Astrophysics looks ahead to the next fifty years of Space Flight.
Recorded at the American Museum of Natural History on October 6, 2010.
Friday, October 15 9:00 am
When astrophysicists point their telescopes at the universe, iPhone and iPod touch users can now gaze with them using the Museum’s new app, Cosmic Discoveries. The app features nearly a thousand images of everything from the pockmarked surface of Mercury to the majestic Horsehead Nebula. Culled from the Museum’s archives and Science bulletins as well as dozens of space agencies and observatories around the world, the photos have been stitched together on the app’s opening screen to form a mosaic of the gas giant Saturn and its rings.
Users can pinch and zoom in on the mosaic to get a close-up look at images. Cosmic Discoveries also features in-depth stories about Comets, Galactic Clusters, Pulsars, X-Ray Galaxy Clusters, Protostars and Very Young Stars, Neutrino Bursts, Planetary Nebulae, and Planets in the Solar System. The stories chronicle how they were discovered, who discovered them, and other interesting facts.
Cosmic Discoveries was released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Museum’s Rose Center for Earth and Space and is available for free in the iTunes App Store.
Tuesday, October 05 12:44 pm
The results are in! We asked you to show us in a video how science has inspired you. Congratulations to Luke, whose video “LHC” won him a weekend for two in New York City to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Frederick Phineas & Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space!
Luke’s prize-winning video explains the purpose and promise of the Large Hadron Collider with a mix of humor and awe. “Science is and always will be a journey of discovery, inquiry, and curiosity,” Luke says in the narration to his video. “We get to ask the universe fundamental questions about itself, and we can only hope that it answers back.”
Also now available on YouTube are the first runner-up, “Space is Awesome,” a charming account of a two-year-old’s love for astronomy, and the second runner-up, “Robots,” based on the news that researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have taught robots how to deceive.
Join us this Sunday to celebrate the Rose Center’s anniversary at a day-long event featuring live concerts and performances, hands-on activities, presentations by Museum scientists, and a special appearance by NASA astronaut Michael Massimino—all this and more, free with Museum admission.
Stay on into the evening for a special Asimov Debate: Is Earth Unique?, moderated by Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson and a panel of experts who will consider whether other planets might have the unique conditions needed to support life. The discovery announced last week of Gliese 581 g, an extrasolar planet in the just-right-for-liquid-water “Goldilocks zone” in relation to its star, is sure to enliven the conversation, raise lots of questions, and maybe even inspire another video or two!
Wednesday, September 29 4:26 pm
Over the past decade, the Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space has brought the secrets of the universe down to Earth for over 30 million visitors. It has been and remains a place where people from around the world come to look upon the stars, discover their earliest origins, and be awed by the wonders of the universe. As beautiful as it is compelling, the Rose Center transformed Manhattan’s architectural landscape, and it continues to provide the public with exciting and groundbreaking astrophysical research and education.
Join us on Sunday, October 10, to celebrate a decade of discovery and exploration. To mark the Rose Center’s 10th anniversary, the Museum will host a number of terrific, family-friendly events, free with Museum admission, including special presentations by Museum scientists, live musical performances, hands-on activities, face-painting, storytelling, an appearance by NASA astronaut Michael Massimino, and much, much more.
The commemorative day concludes with a special Rose Center Anniversary Isaac Asimov Debate, hosted by astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson, dedicated to the probing question: is Earth unique? Tickets for the debate, which begins at 7:30 pm, are available here.
Learn more about the Rose Center for Earth and Space Anniversary Celebration here.
Rose Center for Earth and Space © AMNH/D. Finnin
Wednesday, September 22 11:21 am
The American Museum of Natural History’s popular monthly SciCafe series featuring cocktails, conversation, and cutting-edge science presented by experts, is back at the Museum this fall, following its debut season earlier this year.
Some of the SciCafe events presented last season included a look at the Congo river with Museum curator Melanie Stiassny, who shared her team’s adventures and discoveries in Africa’s waters; a discussion with evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss on human mating strategies in celebration of Valentine’s Day; and Professor Kristin Baldwin’s talk on the future of stem cell research and engineering replacement organs.
Last season concluded with a SciCafe featuring astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson. In this unique SciCafe, Neil answered questions from the audience for the duration of the program, which led to discussions on stars, planets, the universe, and beyond. Here now is the complete video of “SciCafe: Life, the Universe, and Everything,” recorded on June 2, 2010.
Make sure to check out the fall return of SciCafe on Wednesday, October 6, as Museum curator Mike Shara of the Department of Astrophysics helps celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Rose Center for Earth and Space with a conversation on the next 50 years of space flight.
For more information on upcoming SciCafes, visit amnh.org/scicafe.
