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Cambridge astronomer adds cosmic dimension to music festival
25 July 2008
Cambridge University astronomer Dr Carolin Crawford will be adding a cosmic dimension to the Secret Garden Party, one of the hippest small festivals on the summer calendar, held this weekend in the grounds of Abbots Ripton Hall, near Huntingdon.
Dr Crawford is one of several Cambridge scientists who will be giving talks in the festival's Guerilla Science Tent. Others are Professor David Mackay and Dr Paul Young, and PhD students Kate Marvel, Rosie Robinson and Mark Rosin.
Using a screen and sound system, Dr Crawford will be bending the minds of festival-goers from all over the country with
her aural tour of the universe, which combines stunning images with sounds.
Some are radio signals transcribed to be audible; others are real sounds of space speeded up to bring them into the range of
human hearing.
In the quintessentially English setting of parkland and a boating lake, Dr Crawford will wow her audience with the signals from neutron stars rotating hundreds of times per second, the heartbeat of stars, and show how sound waves are crucial to the formation of all the structures we see in the Universe.
Passionate about communicating science to the public, Dr Crawford draws on the visual and auditory aspects of astronomy and space science to engage audiences. "One of the reasons I got into astronomy is that it is so beautiful - audiences of all ages and backgrounds are captivated by the latest images of our cosmos," she said.
"It's also fun to explore the sounds of space. People tend to think that there are no sounds in space. It's true that in a vacuum, no sound can be heard. But space is rarely a complete vacuum, and even a thin atmosphere can transmit astronomical sounds."
Dr Crawford is the Outreach Officer at the Institute of Astronomy where she runs an imaginative programme for schools, families and the general public. Her talks, which are offered on a range of levels, include "The science and beauty of Nebula" and "Black holes for beginners".
Regular public Open Nights at the Institute of Astronomy on Madingley Road re-commence on Wednesday, October 8. For
details of all Outreach Activities at the Institute visit the link at the sidebar.
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