Podcast: Making Data Beautiful
- By Sara Mitchell
- June 18, 2009
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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. … Continue Reading →
Podcast: A Tale of Three Telescopes
- By Sara Mitchell
- May 31, 2009
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Click to listen! (5MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) 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 … Continue Reading →
What’s in a Name?
- By Sara Mitchell
- May 18, 2009
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The scene: July 9, 2005, nearly midnight. A large conference room at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center full of assorted scientists, engineers, and support staff. This was the launch party for Astro-E2, a joint Japanese-American satellite mission strapped to a rocket thousands of miles away from Goddard at Uchinoura Space … Continue Reading →
Podcast: The C.O.L.B.E.R.T. Episode
- By Sara Mitchell
- May 18, 2009
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Click to listen! (9MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) NASA is famous for its acronyms and technical jargon. If you’ve ever watched a rocket launch or a spacewalk, you’ve heard some of them. Blueshift is produced by the ASD EPO team at NASA GSFC – that is, the Astrophysics Science … Continue Reading →
It’s All Relative
- By Sara Mitchell
- April 30, 2009
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Astronomers have a funny way of talking about things sometimes. Take temperature, for example. When scientists say something is “hot,” they aren’t talking about “hot” like the Sahara desert, or “hot” like the seat of your car on a summer day. No, they’re talking about an unimaginably high temperature beyond … Continue Reading →
Podcast: Stroll the Solar System
- By Sara Mitchell
- April 30, 2009
- 1 Comment
Click to listen! (10MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) Join Blueshift for a unique tour of the solar system, as we walk the B&A Trail’s Planet Walk in Maryland and talk to scientists along the way. Armed with hiking boots and a portable recorder, Francis Reddy brings you the sounds … Continue Reading →
Inventing 101
- By Sara Mitchell
- April 17, 2009
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Some people just have a knack for building things, or taking things apart to make them work better. My grandfather is one of these people – he looks at the stuff he uses everyday and tinkers with it to make it better suit his needs. As a kid, I laughed … Continue Reading →
Podcast: Professional Tinkering
- By Sara Mitchell
- April 17, 2009
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Click to listen! (9MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) In astrophysics, the development of innovative technology is crucial to answering scientific questions about the Universe around us. The types of technology invented are determined, at least in part, by the answers we are seeking. At the heart of this science-technology … Continue Reading →
Gearing Up for 100 Hours
- By Sara Mitchell
- March 18, 2009
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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 … Continue Reading →
Podcast: 400 Years, 100 Hours
- By Sara Mitchell
- March 18, 2009
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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 … Continue Reading →
