Hubble images in 3-D

[MargaritaMc]

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archiv ... s/2014/03/

Hubble Images Become Tactile 3-D Experience for the Blind
JANUARY 7, 2014:

Three-dimensional printers are transforming the business, medical, and consumer landscape by creating a vast variety of objects, including airplane parts, football cleats, lamps, jewelry, and even artificial human bones.

Now astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., are experimenting with the innovative technology to transform astronomy education by turning images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope into tactile 3-D pictures for people who cannot explore celestial wonders by sight. The 3-D print design is also useful and intriguing for sighted people who have different learning styles. In the 3-D representations, stars, filaments, gas, and dust shown in Hubble images of the bright star cluster NGC 602 have been transformed through 3-D printing into textures, appearing as raised open circles, lines, and dots in the 3-D printout. These features also have different heights to correspond with their brightness.

The Full Story is here: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archiv ... 4/03/full/

[MargaritaMc]

I thought this was a similar theme:

Electronic Book for Students with Visual Impairments Reaches for the Stars
A stunning Hubble Space Telescope image of the colorful 30 Doradus Nebula, a giant star-forming region, is the focal point of an eBook on stellar evolution aimed at children with visual impairments, ages 10 to 12. The book is called "Reach for the Stars: Touch, Look, Listen, Learn." Its developers have issued the first chapter, which is being previewed at the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society at National Harbor, Md. The ebook will available in Apple's iBook store to download for free on iPads in the near future.

"Reach for the Stars" is the inspiration of astronomer Elena Sabbi of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., the lead researcher on the latest Hubble image of 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula. Sabbi and her collaborators are producing the book through a Hubble education and public outreach grant.

Although "Reach for the Stars" is being designed for children with visual impairments, Sabbi said that anyone can view and enjoy the book. "We hope it will be an inspiration and attract people to science," she explained. "That's the main goal. We want to convince children that science is cool, is fun, and that anybody could be a scientist, if they want to." Sabbi and her STScI team are developing the book in partnership with SAS, a company based in Cary, N.C., that develops analytics software to help people analyze and visualize data. The company is working to make analytics and data visualization accessible to users of all abilities, including those with visual impairments.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archiv ... 14/02/full

Has any administrator got any idea why the BCC codes aren't working in this post?!

This is the URL - hopefully this will make a hyperlink!
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archiv ... 4/02/full/

M