Looking up through hundreds of colored filters and spectral glasses, 526 people shattered the record for the Largest Astronomy Lesson. Under the Texas night sky, students were instructed on the lawn of the Long Center for the Performing Arts at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin on Sunday, March 10, 2013.
In the spirit of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition outreach at SXSW, NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and Northrop Grumman organized the record breaking event which was arbitrated by the Guinness World Records organization. In breaking this record, instructors aimed to shine light on the importance of astronomy with the full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope as their backdrop.
During the lesson, Frank Summers, an astrophysicist, and Dan McCallister, an education specialist, both from STScI, Baltimore, Md., demonstrated how astronomers use light and color to uncover the secrets of the cosmos. The lesson, prepared by STScI’s Office of Public Outreach, explained how astronomers use light and color to gain information about objects nearby like the moon and asteroids to young galaxies that are billions and billions of light-years away, and the importance of observing in wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum (the full range of light waves possible).
For more info, visit: http://www.nasa.gov
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