We are Astronomers

My current project to spread awareness of astronomy is focused on children. One of International Year of Astronomy 2009’s flagship projects is UNAWE (Universe Awareness). UNAWE seeks to educate children from deprived backgrounds about the beauty and scale of the universe, and imbue a sense of global citizenship by way of the numerous contributions from different civilisations and nations to the history and development of astronomy. Fittingly, the project is running across the world, but the level of existing infrastructure (schools, technology, people etc.) varies considerably. In Kenya, for example, UNAWE worked hard to reach out to children whose lives were disrupted by post-electoral violence in 2008. In Britain we are fortunate that more people enjoy the right to a basic standard of living, but deprivation still exists, and children are missing out on an education that could empower them with a sense of purpose and responsibility that could guide them for life.

Today I visited the National Space Centre in Leicester. My aim was to find the mindset of a child that I have forgotten, to fully engage with my project. Like most attractions, there are lots and lots of things to do, always more than any individual could reasonably read, watch or play within the recommended visiting time. The centre radiates enthusiasm for astronomy and broader science by the sheer number of ways in which play is integrated with learning (fuelling water-powered rockets to see how high they can be launched was a personal and damp favourite). There were a large number of school children at the centre. It was disheartening to see a significant, disruptive minority dicking around, engaging solely with the play element but not the science behind it. Nevertheless, the National Space Centre does an admirable job to support UNAWE in Britain. A new Fulldome film for the 360° cinema by NSC Creative in support of UNAWE premiered tonight called We Are Astronomers, a title chosen because “it summed up everything we were trying to say about collaboration, democratisation of information, sharing and mashing up data, all things digital and connected.” Fortunately I can go back for free if I have the opportunity, to see more than the trailer: here. It’s narrated by David Tennant. I mention it because to some that’s an endorsement (particularly to Dr. Who-loving 10 year-olds).

p.s. I wonder if the people are meant to be Canadian?

Powers of Ten

The concept of humanity's place in the universe is an interesting one. Throughout history people have continually re-evaluated or resisted the evidence that, in a cosmological sense, has made us seem so insignificant. It is not surprising that the Earth was once considered to be the centre of the universe. It is very important to us: it is the cradle of life, and our only home. But then the process of revision began in earnest when Nicolaus Copernicus first proved that the geocentric model was wrong; the Earth orbits the sun and not the other way round. Later, spectroscopy was discovered. The chemical composition of stars could be studied by looking at the light they shone, which indicated that they were much like the sun but at incredibly great distances (so great that we measure their distances by the number of years it takes their light to reach the Earth). The next monumental change in perspective occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century. Until the 1920s it was widely believed that the extent of the Universe was our Milky Way galaxy. Edwin Hubble proved that the Andromeda nebula was in fact a distant spiral galaxy, and there many more galaxies, most of them moving away from us. The universe is expanding, continually, beyond already incomprehensible dimensions.

Charles and Ray Eames' documentary film Powers of Ten is a successful attempt to communicate the scale of the universe. Based on the graphic essay Cosmic View by Kees Broeke, the film explores the effect of 'adding another nought'. The view begins with a picnic viewed from 1m away. The camera then pulls back to 10m, 100m, 1000m etc. Using a logarithmic scale is a simple and elegant solution for allowing great distances to be travelled in a short time. Soon the entire earth is visible, then our sun and our Milky Way galaxy. It is applied not just to the macro universe, but the micro universe as well, right down to the nucleus of an atom. An awareness of what we are made of means that we consider our place in the universe more accurately. Human beings may seem small and trivial when the billions of stars and planets in the universe are considered, but we are probably the most complex and intricate entities that exist as a result of billions of years of evolution. I'd rather be me than a gigantic fiery ball of plasma.

Not quite an epitaph but getting there.

Where on Earth is Wally?

As I'm going to a Where's Wally fancy-dress party this evening, I thought a mention of Martin Handford's work would be appropriate. There is a stigma attached to the Wally books (or 'Waldo', as the character is bastardised in America). Disgruntled children who dislike reading in all its forms, and are forced to enter a library, will often immediately gravitate towards an available copy. In turn they will circle Wally with a black biro in every spread, ruining the fun for the rest of us. Therefore, there is a sense of them being refuges for the illiterate. Nevertheless, they are fine examples of illustration, and hold a strong nostalgic value for many people (including me). Handford would spend up to eight weeks drawing a scene. Although painstaking, this level of dedication is repaid by the level of scrutiny that people then give to his illustrations. Beyond searching for Wally there are visual jokes to be found and recurring characters to be discovered. Hopefully, the rewards for developing a keen eye encourage young people to be as equally observant about the world around them. If this is the case then this has to be Where's Wally's redeeming feature for being permitted in a library.

A Vancouver student spotted an opportunity to use Google Earth to pay homage to Wally, by painting a large-scale version of the character on a roof somewhere in the city. This would have been an excellent promotional device had it been utilised by Wally's publishers, carrying Hanford's playful spirit from the world of illustration over to an entirely new format. Because of its novelty, it had a viral quality, and received a lot of column inches from newspapers and webloggers. In March 2009, a similar idea was tried again when it was revealed that a man dressed as Wally was visible somewhere on Google Street View. As the message proliferated through the media, web-users trawled through countless street images of Britain's biggest cities. The announcement - perhaps unsurprisingly - came from Google. It served them well: free promotion for their new Google Maps feature and an incentive for people to familiarise themselves with it. In both cases the Wally brand will have benefitted from the free publicity as well; it's just nice to know that in a world that is increasingly moving to digital media and away from print, that Wally still has his place.

Fly me to the moons of Saturn

I am currently researching a design project to coincide with the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The IYA aims to spread awareness of astronomical science, and engage people worldwide in the study of astronomy with various projects and distributable media. The Technology, Entertainment and Design website (TED) – a ‘highbrow YouTube’ – is an excellent source of high-quality presentations on a wide variety of topics. In addressing the issue of how to introduce people to astronomy, I found much inspiration in a presentation given by NASA planetary scientist Carolyn Porco.

Porco’s talk focused on the photographic discoveries of the Cassini space probe, which studies the planet Saturn and its moons. She exhibits a clear understanding of how to make science approachable and engaging. Much like Carl Sagan, who was also a passionate astronomer and articulate speaker, she uses colourful metaphors to relate the alien environment of Saturn’s moon Titan, to the Earth. Porco talks of the hydrocarbon-rich environment as she imagined it before the mission, and being able to stand on the shores of lake Michigan brimming with paint thinner. She also speaks of an environment so cold that methane is a liquid, and can condense into clouds and rain down onto the surface, carving gullies and forming rivers, summarising: “methane is to Titan, what water is to the Earth”. Remarks like this hopefully communicate clearly to scientists and non-scientists, the similarities and differences between these two worlds, and so help people to better understand the relevance of planetary astronomy as means of realising our own place in the universe.

The driving force behind Porco’s presentation is the enthusiasm she radiates for her subject. She moves between relating scientific fact and personal emotion, at one point informing the audience of her goosebumps as she tells them about her belief in the Cassini mission’s significance: namely nations working together “in a colossal effort for good”, “to understand a planetary system that for all of human history had been unreachable”. Looking beyond what the mission has achieved so far, she ends her presentation by speculating about what the disovery of life would mean for humanity. She mentions the possibility of having discovered an environment, far from the sun an at Encyladus, where life could possibly survive. She relates the role of science to humanity's quest for understanding of our siginificance with a profound statement: If we could demonstrate that Genesis had occured not once, but twice, independently in our solar system, then that means by inference that it has occured a staggering number of times throughout the universe.

Click here to watch Carolyn Porco's 17-minute talk Fly me to the moons of Saturn.

Annie Hall

The other night I was skipping through Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s acclaimed romantic comedy. I didn’t want to stay up to watch the entire film, so I picked out my favourite parts instead (starting with the famous cocaine party scene). By accident I happened to watch two scenes close together in which Allen’s character (Alvy) comments on a word used by Annie, played by Diane Keaton. The first occasion occurs when Alvy visits Annie’s apartment for the first time, and their immediate friendship has just begun:

ANNIE
Right. Well, I don't know, I mean, uh,
some of her poems seem - neat, you know.

ALVY
Neat?

ANNIE
Neat, yeah.

ALVY
Uh, I hate to tell yuh, this is nineteen
seventy-five, you know that "neat" went
out, I would say, at the turn of the
century.
(Annie laughs)
Who-who are-who are those photos on
the wall?

At this point in their relationship, Annie is already attracted to Alvy. She respects his intellect and takes his ‘criticism’ of her use of language playfully, as it is intended. Alvy encourages Annie to get out of her flat: to pursue her singing career and broaden her mind with adult education. Their relationship grows in strength and romance blossoms. However, as time goes by, the relationship becomes increasingly strained. Alvy becomes paranoid about Annie’s change in character and the confidence he has helped her to find. Annie in turn becomes frustrated by Alvy’s neuroses, and her inability to change him and move their relationship on. In a seminal scene, Alvy vents his suspicions about Annie’s relationship with her Russian literature teacher. This is the second time he comments on Annie’s use of the word ‘neat’:

ANNIE
(Continuing to walk quickly)
We're not having an affair. He's married.
He just happens to think I'm neat.

ALVY
(Still walking next to her)
"Neat"! There's that- What are you-twelve
years old? That's one o' your Chippewa
Falls expressions! "He thinks I'm neat."

ANNIE
Who cares? Who cares?

This is the first point in the film where Alvy and Annie heatedly argue about the state of their relationship and threaten to go their separate ways. Allen marks this seminal moment by referring to a time in the audience’s mind when the couple had first met, juxtaposing two states in their relationship: past and present. By reproducing a familiar exchange with different overtones, Allen emphasises the changes in how the characters now respond to each other. Alvy’s neurotic nit-picking is no longer perceived or broadcasted in terms of affection, but frustration. In addition, Annie has become dismissive of Alvy’s opinions about her. This reflects the diverging goals of the couple. Alvy wants to further mould Annie into his image, whereas Annie wants to adopt her own course. Ultimately the couple split because they cannot reach a compromise about their future. Annie moves to California and Alvy stays in New York.

I did not notice this device on first viewing; it’s very subtle but works beautifully. Ultimately, what matters to me is the value of re-watching films and discovering things you hadn’t noticed before.

Larger than life

I like Bond films. I think that the series - particularly in the 1960s and 1970s - pushed at the boundaries of film-making and showcased the talents of some remarkable individuals. Of particular note to the success of the Bond films are Peter Hunt's editing, Maurice Binder's titles, John Barry's scores and Ken Adam's production design. Adam is responsible for helping to create the ulra-modern universe of the Bonds with huge and spectacular animated sets, and gadget-laden cars like the Aston Martin DB5 and the submarine-car Lotus Esprit.

For Goldfinger Adam produced the exterior and interiors of Fort Knox. As the inside of Fort Knox was top secret and no photographs existed, Adam relied on his imagination to communicate the sheer amount of gold that the villain intended to irradiate, a 'city of gold'. Adam stated that he felt it more important to portray what he thought a bank vault should look like rather than the reality; gold is never stacked very high because it is so heavy, and the lifts depicted in the film would not have functioned for this reason. Even so, the strength of Adams' design must lie in creating a believable fantasy, for the sheer number of people who accepted unquestioningly what they saw as the real Fort Knox gold depository.

During the recee for You Only Live Twice, Adam took the largest risk of his career by agreeing to build Blofeld's volcano lair for $1 million. So much was the stress at the prospect of such an expensive and experimental set that he broke out in eczema and was prescribed Valium. As no stage was large enough to accommodate the set, it was built free-standing and dismantled after production. Even though he considered this wasteful, Adam still believes that the decision to construct a set rather than a model was important for creating the right feel, having things happen for real such as a helicopter dscending into the set through the roof and landing on a heliplad, instead of using models.

Adam worked with director Lewis Gilbert again on his last two Bonds The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. The stories of these films demanded as similar a level of extravagance as Twice. For Spy Adam designed a villain's base that could rise out of the sea. The idea came from a trip to Okinawa where there was supposed to be an underwater structure that came out of the water, but it did not. Adam struggled to adapt its oil rig shape for his designs, until he threw it out and began to experiment with curves and created a spider-like structure. In contrast to the modern exterior, the villain Stromberg had a Renaissance-style interior with Botticelli paintings that rose into the ceiling revealing a shark tank behind them. Animated sets filled with surprises are a Ken Adam hallmark, as is the juxtaposition of the modern with the old. In Moonraker this idea is pushed even more with a shuttle-launching base hidden amongst Mayan ruins in the depths of the rainforest. Adam designed the interior rocks of the temple to appear artificial and glassy to demonstrate the engineering of the environment and the extent to which the villain Drax had gone to conceal himself.

Ken Adam deserves more recognition for his work on the Bond films. He has won two Oscars for his work on historical films Barry Lyndon and The Madness of King George that is not typical of his output. He has also received a high deal of acclaim from people like Spielberg, as well as a BAFTA, for his war-room set in Dr. Strangelove. Working alongside Kubrick, Adam designed a fantastic set, a humongous concrete bunker in which world leaders appeared to be playing a giant poker game for the future of the world across a round, flood-lit table. His design demonstrates the same level of innovation and consideration for the film as any of his Bond designs. It therefore seems that what prevented Adam from receiving an Oscar for any of his seven Bond films is snobbery about a series of big-budget and financially successful films. It should not be forgotten that part of their success - the larger-than-life universe of Bond - is attributable to Ken Adam.