Science Friday was Fabulous
Walking Cactus pic by Soul Amp
I didn’t get around to writing the astronomy post I wanted to today. But in a last minute attempt to avoid having to swallow a live goldfish as I promised I’d do if I didn’t write something (hey it’s not midnight yet!), I did want to turn you on to the excellent show Ira Flatow did on NPR’s Science Friday.
Science Friday was broadcast live from the Phoenix Mars Science Operations Center at the University of Arizona in Tuscon. The first segment was a great update about the latest adventures of grizzled Mars prospectors known the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers, the view from the eye in the sky as seen from the terrific HiRise camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as well as the latest scientific puzzles trying to be solved by the Phoenix Mars Lander. Flatow’s guests were Peter Smith, Benevolent Mars Phoenix Overlord, Alfred McEwen, Chief Peeping Tom of the HiRise Camera on MRO, Steve Squyres, father of 2 Martian toddlers, and native Pittsburgher, planetary scientist and space artist William Hartmann, who has a very “foolish” hi tech planetarium show produced by my old planetarium in Pittsburgh based on his book A Traveler’s Guide to Mars. Dr. Hartmann recalls his childhood visits to the Buhl Planetarium:
I grew up in New Kensington, Pa., and my parents used to take me to shows at the Buhl, which was then located in a mid-sized building with an enticing dome protruding from the top on the city’s North Side. Among the Buhl’s exhibits was another-worldly scale with a big round dial that looked a lot like the old-fashioned scales that stood in public arcades in the ’40s—where you could get “your weight for a nickel.” But this scale gave you your weight on other planets for free.
Little Bill—or “Billy,” as my mother insisted on calling me until I was about 14—always used to step on that scale; and I’d check out my weight on Mars.
A year or so ago I arrived back at Buhl Planetarium, now in the high-tech Carnegie Science Center building, to work on the first planetarium show at the new Buhl Digital Dome. There, on the second floor near the door to the revamped planetarium, was “my” old scale—the same one! I stood in Billy’s footprints on the scale and got my weight on Mars (for some reason, it was a lot higher). I had come home again!
Listen to the show here by clicking on the play button:
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The second part of Science Friday was all about looking at the night sky, and how Arizona is just a fantastic place to do it. Arizona’s Kitt Peak has stunning observing with some of the country’s best telescopes, and it’s available to the general public! There are even programs where you can take your honey and cozy up to a few stars and galaxies with the help of your very own celestial gondola driver astronomer for the evening. Flatow’s guests were Adam Block from the Mount Lemon Sky Center, and Doug Isbell, Associate Director, Public Affairs & Educational Outreach for the NOAO.
Listen to Part 2 of Science Friday here:
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My goldfish has bubbled a sigh of relief. Enjoy your Saturn Day!
