Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - 32

" I find that that's one of the beauties of the sound, actually, "
he says. Engaging with visuals can be a passive experience,
he explains. " They're only there on the screen, you
can look away, you can be distracted. But with the sound,
especially if you put headphones on, you really feel more
immersed in it. "
A Galaxy in the Palm of Your Hand
A spiral galaxy is probably the most quintessential galaxy
shape. Our own Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, as is the iconic
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) located next to the handle of the Big
Dipper, with the arms of its grand spiral wound around its
bright center.
But how do you explain a spiral galaxy to a student who
has never seen one?
Nicolas Bonne decided to 3D-print it.
As someone with a vision impairment, Bonne (University
of Portsmouth, UK) had found completing his PhD in astronomy
difficult. " If I could have made my images tactile, if I
could have felt those shapes instead of trying to look at them
and not being able to see them very well, that would have
actually made things way, way easier for me, " says Bonne.
This inspired him and his colleagues to create 3D-printed
educational materials for blind and visually impaired students
in the United Kingdom. Their first print was of the
Whirlpool Galaxy. It was a small, postcard-size plate with
raised dots, tracing hills and valleys that form the shape of
M51. Much like how a relief map demonstrates elevation on
Earth, these 3D prints demonstrate brightness: Brighter spots
create taller peaks, and dimmer areas are flatter.
" To actually feel that image was a real turning point for
me, " says Bonne. " It made me realize that yeah, this was
actually a legitimate way for me to access the kinds of stuff
that I'd really struggled with during my PhD - but also that
we probably had something really interesting that we were
going to be able to share with the public. "
Bonne and his team create written descriptions to go
along with their 3D-printed images to teach students about
astronomy. They visit classrooms all across the UK and, in
turn, learn from the students about how they interact with
the 3D images, making the process one of co-creation.
SUPERNOVA 1006 Top: This X-ray composite of 10 different
Chandra observations shows the debris created when a white dwarf
exploded as SN 1006. The optical image shows the surrounding star
field. Above: To enable people to explore the remnant without using
sight, a Chandra team created different 3D models. One presents the
whole, knobbly remnant (yellow), while the other comes in concentric
pieces: The inner piece (red) is the stellar ejecta, and the other piece
(blue) is the blast wave.
Download the 3D-printer files for these and other
objects: http://chandra.si.edu/3dprint.
32 MARCH 2024 * SKY & TELESCOPE
Touching Stellar Deathbeds
Co-creation efforts like these transform astronomy into a
more inclusive community. In 1984, Noreen Grice was working
at the Museum of Science in Boston as a planetarium
show director. One day, a group of blind students came into
the planetarium. Curious to see what their experience was
like, she asked the students what they thought of the show.
" They said it stunk. They didn't like the show and they
walked away, and I felt horrible. I felt like someone had just
thrown a brick at me, " says Grice. " If I hadn't been working
that day, it would have never occurred to me that the planetarium
was not accessible. "
In collaboration with scientists and NASA astronomers,
SUPERNOVA REMNANT: X-RAY: NASA / CXC / MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE / F.
WINKLER, OPTICAL: DSS; 3D MODEL: NASA / CXC / SAO / K. & C. ARCAND
http://chandra.si.edu/3dprint
Sky & Telescope - March 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - March 2024
