Unseen images of deep space unveiled at King Library
Dominique Dumadaug
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: News
According to a Dr. Martin Luther King Library news release, King Library is one of two Bay Area locations that will publicly display the images.
"The reason we're here is to celebrate the birth of modern astronomy some 400 years ago, when the great Florentine physicist Galileo first turned a simple combination of lenses on the cosmos," Kaufman said in his speech. "When he did so, he ushered in the scientific revolution and the imminence of modern astronomy."
Kaufman also explained the life cycle of the lights and stars in the images to the audience.
"To fully understand this confluence, you must first understand the light captured in these images generated by a menagerie of objects including black holes, young star clusters, merging pulsars, dust clouds and up-close stars left the center of our galaxy 26,000 years ago," Kaufman said. "To put a bit of perspective on where 26,000 years ago is, that's about the same time the Neanderthals were disappearing from the planet, vanquished or assimilated by our Cro-magnate ancestors.
"Only when the light captured here traveled 98-and-a-half percent of the distance from the center of our galaxy, to here, did Galileo first point a telescope to the sky."
After his speech, Kaufman answered questions from audience members and curious spectators.
"I appreciate the fact that the man stuck around to answer questions," said Robert Apgar, a library patron. "I'm a very curious person (when it) comes to the cosmos."
"The reason we're here is to celebrate the birth of modern astronomy some 400 years ago, when the great Florentine physicist Galileo first turned a simple combination of lenses on the cosmos," Kaufman said in his speech. "When he did so, he ushered in the scientific revolution and the imminence of modern astronomy."
Kaufman also explained the life cycle of the lights and stars in the images to the audience.
"To fully understand this confluence, you must first understand the light captured in these images generated by a menagerie of objects including black holes, young star clusters, merging pulsars, dust clouds and up-close stars left the center of our galaxy 26,000 years ago," Kaufman said. "To put a bit of perspective on where 26,000 years ago is, that's about the same time the Neanderthals were disappearing from the planet, vanquished or assimilated by our Cro-magnate ancestors.
"Only when the light captured here traveled 98-and-a-half percent of the distance from the center of our galaxy, to here, did Galileo first point a telescope to the sky."
After his speech, Kaufman answered questions from audience members and curious spectators.
"I appreciate the fact that the man stuck around to answer questions," said Robert Apgar, a library patron. "I'm a very curious person (when it) comes to the cosmos."
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