Daily Archives: April 3, 2009

400 Years of the Telescope

While this isn’t exactly a Space-Elevator related post, it ranks pretty high on my cool-o-meter and I thought I would pass it along to my readers…

One week from today, on April 10th, your local PBS outlet should be showing a documentary entitled “400 Years of the Telescope“.  From the Press Release:

400 YEARS OF THE TELESCOPE, a beautiful new film airing on PBS April 10 (local airdates may vary), is the first PBS documentary to be filmed on 35mm RED technology. Recorded at 4520 X 2540 pixels per frame, the output is RAW format, over five times the resolution of HD. This visually stunning 60 minute film takes viewers on a breathtaking journey back to Galileo’s momentous discoveries, through the leaps of knowledge since then, and into the future of colossal telescopes both here on earth, and floating in the cosmos. The cinematography is extraordinary, as we travel across five continents and through space to view the world’s leading observatories and the majestic visions of space they capture. Leading astrophysicists describe, with warmth and humor, their startling breakthroughs and near failures. With narration by Neil deGrasse Tyson and a musical score by the London Symphony Orchestra, the film makes accessible the exciting future ahead of us.

The show is tied to the International Year of Astronomy 2009, with events worldwide celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first look at the heavens. The airdate specifically coincides with 100 Hours of Astronomy in early April. Astronomy clubs, planetariums and observatories around the world will be hosting star gazing events, with the hope that everyone will take a moment to look up and see what Galileo saw.

If you visit the website, you’ll see a very neat trailer of the show.  This sounds way-cool and I will certainly have my DVR programmed to record this.  As they say, check your local listings…