ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

I hope you're all recovering from your 100 Hours of Astronomy events! Below
is an announcement for another wonderful astronomy resource you may be
interested in taking advantage of. It's due for national broadcast on 4/10,
but dates will vary across the country. I hope you'll consider contacting
your local astronomy club (http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/club-map.cfm is a
great place to find one if you don't already have a connection) and/or PBS
station to plan a special event around this wonderful new astronomy resource. 

Suzy Gurton
Education Manager
Astronomical Society of the Pacific

A sweeping film celebrating four centuries of astronomical discoveries will
make its debut on PBS when 400 Years of the Telescope airs in April
(scheduled air date: Friday, April 10, 10pm Pacific/Eastern, 9pm Central,
check local listings). In 400 Years of the Telescope, viewers take a
visually stunning journey from Galileo’s first look at the cosmos in 1609,
to today’s thrilling quests to discover new worlds and glimpse the formation
of the first stars after the Big Bang.  Emmy® award-winning writer and
producer Kris Koenig and the Interstellar Studios production team traveled
the globe, interviewing leading astronomers and cosmologists against a
backdrop of the world’s greatest observatories, to create a vivid film that
presents the human quest of the past 400 years to understand the structure
and nature of the universe. 400 Years of the Telescope is narrated by
astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (host of NOVA ScienceNow), features a
lush score performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, and is an official
product of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 

The film is the first PBS documentary to be filmed on 35mm RED technology.
The output is RAW format, over five times the resolution of HD. From
reenactments of Galileo’s invention and early pen drawings of the moons of
Jupiter, to vivid multi-colored nebulae captured by the Hubble Space
Telescope, 400 Years of the Telescope takes viewers from their armchairs
into the wonders of space exploration. With warmth and humor, the planet’s
top astrophysicists enthusiastically discuss momentous discoveries, and
define dark energy – the mysterious vacuum energy that is accelerating the
expansion of the universe. Looking into the future, viewers will learn of
emergent telescopes the size of stadiums, and a massive radio telescope
array that will be perched on one of the highest plateaus on the planet -
enormous new instruments that may detect life outside our solar system and
allow humans to view the initial moments of the Big Bang. Like Galileo’s
first telescopic observations, these new technologies will reshape our
entire perception of the universe.
 
Please tune into your local PBS station and view this beautiful new film.
For more information, visit www.400years.org
 
    

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]