The Real Stars of the Show

On October 19th, President Obama opened the White House lawn to host an event for thousands of stars. These stars were not celebrities, however, but those actual giant balls of gas and dust found throughout our Milky Way galaxy. The event, dubbed the White House Astronomy Night, was intended to help promote the president's commitment to advancing the United States' position in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (commonly referred to as STEM). Dozens of satellite events were held around the country, each allowing members of the public to connect, for free, with the stars above and the universe beyond. On the White House lawn, October 19, 2015. Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky Astronomy is arguably the most enticing portal to the greater constellation of STEM, particularly for the young and the curious. The notion of black holes and dark matter, and the discovery of new planets or the potential for life on Mars, not only quicken the pulse and fuel the imagination, but also incorporate a variety of related disciplines including math, physics, chemistry, geology, and more. There is, however, an even more powerful scientific concept that not only informs every area of STEM, including astronomy, but allows us to see well beyond those twinkling balls of gas in the night sky. That concept is light. Light is the language through which the universe speaks to us. With the rare exceptions of sending rovers to Mars or a probe to collect dust around a passing com...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news