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Deep Space Images Unveiled in San Jose
A crowd of 200, including a class of sixth graders from a nearby school, filled the lobby of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library (San Jose) on a recent weekday morning for the unveiling of unique, multi-wavelength images of the Milky Way. One view represents a composite of images captured by NASA's three Great Observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Chandra X-Ray Observatory. A companion poster illustrates what each view looks like separately. None of them would have been visible to the naked eye. Dr. Michael Kaufman - professor of Physics and Astronomy at San Jose State University - delivered a brief talk, followed by a lively Q&A engaging participants of all ages. The King Library was one of only two locations in the San Francisco Bay Area chosen to host an unveiling event marking the close of the International Year of Astronomy, held in recognition of the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first celestial observations.
Related activities scheduled the following weekend significantly increased visits to the library's Children's Room. Visitors included a junior scout troop that took advantage of the opportunity to earn their astronomy badge. Lectures on varying aspects of space exploration delivered by Kaufman and his colleagues were also popular. They demonstrate the unique benefit enjoyed by San Jose as a result of the collaboration between the City of San Jose and San Jose State University in co-managing the King Library. The day's programming represented the combined efforts of public and university library staff, together with SJSU Physics and Astronomy Department.
NASA's images remain on view in the Fourth Street Lobby of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library throughout 2010. The library is located at 150 E. San Fernando at S. Fourth Street in downtown San Jose. Parking at the nearby Fourth Street Garage is free weekends before 6 p.m. For exhibit information, call (408) 808-2397.
A duplicate set of images is on display at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. Visit the following site for resources to develop your own space exploration programming: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/iya/.
Submitted to California Libraries by:
Lorraine Oback
San Jose Public Library
The San Jose Public Library is an Institutional Member of CLA and directly supports our advocacy programs. Click here for more information on Institutional Membership.
Posted on January 21, 2010 9:47 AM | Permalink