Tech Tip by Juliet Frey: Understanding Depth of Field.
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Visualizing Hubble’s Colorful Universe with Zolt Levay
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been exploring the cosmos for nearly 30 years. In that time it has revolutionized astronomy with numerous groundbreaking discoveries. But Hubble has also enabled us to re-imagine our perception of the universe through a wealth of spectacular, dramatic views of space in unprecedented detail; the clearest views of the deep universe that humans have ever seen. Many of these images have become familiar throughout the world, distributed through print, television, and online. Why is Hubble so powerful? How do the images come to be? Are the colors real? What do the colors mean? What makes Hubble images so compelling? I will describe some of the most powerful images in Hubble's gallery and show how science data can be translated into colorful pictures. These images may not be so different from photographs of dramatic earth-bound landscapes and show us that nature extends to the most distant reaches of the universe.
Zolt Levay has been pursuing astronomy and photography most of his life. As far back as high school he was observing the sky and taking photographs through a home-built telescope and processing photographs in a home darkroom. Zolt earned university degrees in astronomy and worked with several space science missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. For over 35 years he was professionally involved with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope mission at the Space Telescope Science Institute. For most of that time he was responsible for translating science data into images and graphics that illustrate Hubble’s discoveries for the public, balancing science content with aesthetics. He produced some of the most remarkable, profound, and widely distributed Hubble images and has described this work in public talks, magazine articles, books and documentaries. Zolt has also pursued a wide range of photographic interests, exhibited in galleries and won awards in photography competitions. Current, ongoing personal photography projects include seeking out dark, clear skies to explore the relationships between landscapes, the night sky, and the cosmos.
Cameras and Beer
We will get together after the meeting for some social time at the Atlas Ballroom, 209 South College Avenue. All are welcome!