Astrophysics

A while ago we met up with Professor Martin Hendry who's based at the School of Physics and Astronomy at Glasgow University. www.astro.gla.ac.uk/~martin


His main areas of interest are gravitational wave astrophysics and cosmology and is part of the international group of scientists leading efforts to detect 'ripples in spacetime' predicted by Einstein i.e. gravitational waves. He is also enthusiastic about public engagement in science and is currently leading an international programme of outreach with schools and the public.


We enjoyed a wide ranging discussion with him touching on how art can engage people with science, the psychology of peoples interest in and connection to space, how embedded narratives can contribute to engagement and understanding. 


It was interesting to us to be reminded that the actual astronomy that can take place in the Dark Skies Park is limited by the available optical instruments (telescopes, binoculars) - and if none are available - the limits of the human eye. The development of astronomy now is based on different ways of 'seeing' the universe, radio waves for example. 


Some interesting websites/ initiatives that Professor Hendry indicated:


www.planethunters.org You can try to spot an as yet undiscovered extra solar planet "NASA's Kepler spacecraft is one of the most powerful tools in the hunt for extrasolar planets. The Kepler team's computers are sifting through the data, but we at Planet Hunters are betting that there will be planets which can only be found via the remarkable human ability for pattern recognition"


www.blackholehunter.org  
A game linked to the study of gravitational waves


www.curiousdirective.com/past/exoplanets
Curious Directive are a theatre company that produced a work combining music, video and dance to explore new knowledge into extra- solar planets.


www.gravitycentre.com.au/leaning-tower-of-gingin
The Gravity Centre in Perth, Australia, has a leaning tower where people can test Galileo's experiments to test whether  everything falls at the same speed.They have done work linking aboriginal culture to ways of making sense of the universe.

We hope to be able to continue discussions with Professor Hendry about ways to engage people with science through art.