Public Talk, September 2, 2018, Cosmos and Canvas

Cosmos and Canvas: Using Art to Reveal Science in Astronomy Public Outreach Images

Dr. Jayanne English

Astotin Lake Ampitheatre

Elk Island National Park

FREE PUBLIC TALK at Milky Way Day Star Party

Time: 8pm

Seyfert Sextet Galaxy Group
NASA data/J. Charlton’s Research Project

Bold colour images from telescopes act as extraordinary ambassadors for astronomers

because they pique the public’s curiosity. But are they snapshots documenting physical
reality?  Or are we looking at artistic spacescapes created by digitally manipulating
astronomy images? This lecture provides a tour of how original black and white data from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as current cutting-edge observatories, are converted into striking colour images. It illuminates how practices from the art world are used to produce media friendly images which still retain scientific value.

Dr. Jayanne English presents the perspective of a professional astronomer who has coordinated the Hubble Heritage Project and also trained as a visual artist. Dr. English is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manitoba. Her research specialization is on the origin of structure within galaxies.