With Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson & Ann Druyan

On 13^th and 14^th February 2014, Scobbers Danny and Kin Guan were invited by National Geographic Channel to follow Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson around in Singapore.

Yes, you heard it right. The sexiest astrophysicist in the world, the guy who made many kids cry by demoting Pluto to a dwarf planet, the frequent guest on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and the meme immortalized online.

Image Credit: knowyourmeme.com

He came to Singapore to promote his newest TV documentary series COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey. This 13-part series, combining drama, fantasy and stunning natural reality, is the follow-up of Carl Sagan’s classic COSMOS: A Personal Voyage produced thirty years ago. Covering a wide range of scientific topics such as the origin of life and the universe, Sagan did a terrific job in communicating science to a wide public audience. The programme has been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

It was such a precious legacy left by Sagan to us. Since his death in 1996, his widow Ann Druyan has been trying to create a new version of the series. Together with Dr Tyson and Seth MacFarlane (yes, the Family Guy), she managed to secure funding and TV channel (Fox TV) for the show.

In Southeast Asia, the first episode “Standing Up In the Milky Way” will premiere on simulcast across National Geographic Channel (NGC), NGC HD, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People, as well as FOX, FX, and FOXCRIME.  Danny and Kin Guan, along with other media representatives, had the privilege to watch it during the press conference and media preview on Thursday (13^th February) held at ArtScience Museum.

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Free from the shackles of time and space, Neil tells us the story of humankind and universe in his signature Ship of the Imagination. We were all amazed by the stunning visual effects and the splendorous views. The concept of compressing the whole history of the universe into one year opens up our eyes and mind – Human is so insignificant when placed in such a long scale of time. This is what Neil calls a “Cosmic Year”. For example, in the last second of the Cosmic Year (31 December, 23:59:59), human firstly observed the Moon in telescope and landed on it (which spans 400 years in real time)!

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Ann Druyan pointed out that the major differences between the old and new series are the cinematic experience and elements of skepticism. She mentioned that one 9-minute scene where the viewers are plunged into the heart of Titan, Saturn’s largest Moon. She believes that this new addition to the series will surely amaze the generations and beyond.

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

When asked how the rise of social media affects the science education for young generation, Neil was not worried over the phenomenon. Being an avid user of Twitter having 1.6 million followers, he found that the social media is not distraction at all. On the contrary, the power of visual splendour and storytelling bestowed by social media is staggeringly huge and provides an uplifting force to the society.

The last question asked was on his wrestling stint in Harvard: If he chose the road not taken and became a wrestler, what would be his ring name? The answer, of course, is related to astronomy. One very special property about the Moon is that it always faces the Earth with the same side. This effect, called “tidal locking”, can be true in the other way too! When the Earth faces the Moon with the same side, the phenomenon is called “double tidal lock”. Voilà, that’s Neil’s ring name and signature move.

What a menacing move from Neil the wrestler! "Double Tidal Lock"
Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

For a more detailed Q & A, please check out the blog post (link) on Science Centre website written by Danny!

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey premieres on 15th March, 10pm (SG time), on the National Geographic Channel (SingTel mio TV Ch. 201 & StarHub TV Ch. 411). Don’t miss it!

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Halloween Special: Spirits in Space

It's a spooky halloween! Pictured above is an eerie nebula (SH2-136) that is
located about 1,200 light years away from us.
Photo credit: Adam Block, NOAO, AURA, NSF

If you have watched the recent sci-fi space movie, ‘Gravity’ (starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock), you would have realised the extremely risky nature of space expeditions. When things go seriously wrong up there, death is almost inevitable.

For the Celtic people who lived 2000 years ago, Halloween falls on the eve of their new year, which happens on 1 November. On Halloween (31 October), it is believed that the boundary between this world and the next becomes unclear. This is when the ghosts of the dead start to return to earth.  As we prepare to dress up in our spookiest costumes this Halloween night, let us take the time to remember the heroes who have sacrificed their lives up in space...

Before Neil Armstrong became the first human to conquer the moon, there had been hundreds of animals that were sacrificed in the name of space exploration. Animals such as monkeys, chimpanzees, dogs, mice and other animals were used as test subjects in space to analyse the effects of space environment such as microgravity and radiation exposure on human during spaceflight.

Laika, the space dog, was the first animal in space. Unfortunately,
she never return as a re-entry plan had not been worked out.
Photo credit: NASA

Unfortunately, the earlier designs for spacecraft construction were still in the experimental phase. As a result, many animals that were sent for spaceflights died from starvation or dehydration during flight and in explosions while on board the shuttle. In some cases, the spacecraft in which the animals flew in were never recovered. This has led to speculations of abandoned ships that might be drifting in orbit together with their animal astronauts.

It is not just animal deaths that happened during space travels. In 1971, three Soviet crew members of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft, Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav had died in space as a result of space decompression during preparations for re-entry. Technically speaking, these are the only human fatalities that occurred in space (100km above sea level) so far.

The unfortunate crew members (from left to right: Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volko)
of Soyuz 11 were the first men to occupy the world's first space station.
Photo credit: Joachim Becker/ SpaceFacts

Thanks to the sacrifices of these animals, astronomers are now able to better understand the requirements of bringing a living being into space and also what lies in the universe out there. So the next time you wish upon a shooting star or wonder what that mysterious looking object in the night sky may be, remember that there is more than meets the eye...