2017

Woman examining plate

Historical data: Hidden in the past

September 22, 2017

Attitudes towards archived data have changed in other fields, too. Astronomers used to look down on colleagues who analysed old data, says Alyssa Goodman, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were seen as “some sort of second-rate scientist who couldn't get telescope time”, says Goodman, who is also the founder of Astronomy Rewind, a citizen-science project to gather information from astronomy-journal images dating to the mid-1800s. “That is what has completely changed,” she says — astroinformatics, a field that involves analysing previously gathered data, has emerged in the astronomy community.... Read more about Historical data: Hidden in the past

The Dark Web of Star Formation, at Ithaca, NY, Monday, October 2, 2017

The Dark Web of Star Formation Title SlideCornell University, Department of Physics Colloquium - Salpeter Lecture

Abstract:  Stars form in the darkest regions of our Galaxy. Barnard’s deep, wide-field, photographs revealed web-like structures within these regions 100 years ago. But, somehow, it took a century--until roughly now-- for us to realize that the detailed structure of Barnard’s “dark webs” might hold astrophysical secrets.... Read more about The Dark Web of Star Formation

Freshman Seminar 27j: Prediction: From Ancient Omens to Modern Computer Simulations

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2017

We will discuss the variety of approaches humans have taken to predicting their own future. Early weeks will focus on Omens, Oracles, Religion and Prophecy. Next, we will move on to the so-called Scientific Revolution, exemplified by the work of Galileo, and the Age of Exploration, enabled by John Harrison's solution to finding longitude at sea. The last several weeks of the seminar will focus on predictive work in epidemiology, finance, and climate, and ultimately on work about the Universe's future. Students will conclude with a discussion of how computer models...

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(When) Are Filaments Fundamental?, at Department Seminar, Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna , Monday, April 3, 2017

Vienna Talk Title Page(When) Are Filaments Fundamental? (key, 572 MB), (pdf, 135 MB)

Abstract: As the resolution of imaging of the dense interstellar medium has improved, we have gone from a very blobby view, featuring interstellar “clouds" to a much more “stringy" view, featuring interstellar “filaments.” Some three-dimensional shapes in the ISM have a very limited set of possible origins: for example, disks... Read more about (When) Are Filaments Fundamental?

PredictionX: A Look at the Future (of Online Learning?), at Harvard University IT Summit, Cambridge, MA, Thursday, June 8, 2017

PredictionX Title PageHarvard University IT Summit, PredictionX: A Look at the Future (of Online Learning?) (key, 559 MB), (pdf, 103 MB)

Twenty-five faculty from across Harvard’s schools are working with each other, as well as with a handful of outside experts, to create an extensive collection of online resources (interview-style and demonstration videos, text, interactive visualizations,... Read more about PredictionX: A Look at the Future (of Online Learning?)

The Astonomy Rewind project aims to resurrect old astronomy figures, such as this 1905 image of the Orion Nebula.

Citizen scientists to rescue 150 years of cosmic images

March 24, 2017

‘Lost’ images from astronomy journals are being rediscovered through a citizen-science project that launched on 22 March — a potential boon to researchers looking for changes in the Universe. 'Astronomy Rewind' harnesses volunteers to digitize, map and make searchable observations featured in papers from journals of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) dating back to around 1850.

... Read more about Citizen scientists to rescue 150 years of cosmic images