With Sonification for the Blind
April 10 and 11, 18:00 to 20:00 UT
LIVE from NASA, join a special deep space journey through a robotic telescope
The Deep Space Live Web Cast is a global effort coordinated simultaneously by different organisations around the world. The program provides a unique opportunity for educators, students, amateur astronomers and outreach promoters, as well as the general public, to observe and appreciate our deep space universe using all of our senses. NASA's deep space will be a virtual journey through a telescope with musical representation (sonification) for the sight-impaired, turning light into sound. Using the robotic telescope of Bareket Observatory in Israel, special musical image sonifications for those who are sight-impaired created by Marty Quinn of Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab in New Hampshire, USA and astronomer Mark Hammergren of Adler Planetarium in Chicago, USA providing live explanations, everyone will be able to enjoy a special, private journey through space and time. The public is encouraged to submit "Ask the astronomer" questions before or during the live event.
Individuals, museums and schools are invited to watch and listen to the webcast and ask questions during the live webcast scheduled for two days during Global Astronomy Month on April 10th and 11th from 18:00 to 20:00 UT. Information related to how the images become polyphonic, musical audio will be available on the Bareket and DRSRL websites one week in advance of the program.
Live images seen will include objects such as nebulae, galaxies, asteroids, distant quasars, extrasolar planets and more.
This is the second international webcast featuring live and/or pre-recorded image sonification using Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab methods to convey color, brightness and pixel location of image content through musical encoding. Color is translated into one of nine instruments and brightness is translated into one of 43 pitches on six octaves of various musical scales. A set of images and corresponding music from the first webcast in 2009 can be viewed at http://www.bareket-astro.com/planet-earth-moon-sun-star/dso-live-deep-space-objects-music-for-the-blind.html
(use the upper-left flag on the above page, in order to translate the content into your preferred language)
This event is an initiative of the following :
- Dr. Robert Starr, NASA LEARN Project Manager (Learning Environments and Research Network), NASA Langley Research Center, VA
- Dr.Mark Hammergren, astronomer at Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago
- Marty Quinn, founder of Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab: music sonification for the sight impaired
- Audrey Fischer, program coordinator, One Star at a Time / Global StarPark Network co-chair, StarPals founder, IDA board member
- Astronomers Without Borders: "Global Astronomy Month" , " Astronomy without Barriers" and "Dark Sky Awareness" programs
- Ido Bareket, Internet robotic telescope of Bareket observatory, Israel
For more information go to the Deep Space Live Web Cast program page.
