Jacques van Oene
December 3rd 05, 10:49 AM
Nancy Neal Jones
November 29, 2005
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Phone: (301) 286-0039
RELEASE: 05-51
NASA HELPS VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 'TOUCH THE SUN'
A new book entitled "Touch the Sun" allows blind and visually impaired
students to experience images of the sun and solar activity by feeling
transparent raised textures bonded to the pictures.
On Dec. 2 at the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in Baltimore, Md.,
will host an interactive opportunity for pre-selected blind students to
explore the sun through this new and exciting solar book.
The book features engaging images from the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO) and the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE)
spacecraft, as well as a close-up of a sunspot from the National Solar
Observatory at Sacramento Peak in the Lincoln National Forest, N.M.
"Invisible magnetic fields rule the violent solar activity that generates
space weather," said Dr. Joseph Gurman, the U.S. project scientist for SOHO
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "We are all blind to
magnetic fields, so the visually impaired can be just as successful as the
sighted in solar science," he said. Gurman collaborated with Steele Hill,
the SOHO imaging specialist at Goddard, to select the images and edit the
scientific content.
The book was written by Noreen Grice, author of two other books featuring
textured celestial images for the visually impaired: "Touch the Universe"
and "Touch the Stars." "Touch the Sun" was funded by a partnership between
NASA, the Lockheed Martin Corporation's Advanced Technology Center in Palo
Alto, Calif., and the Stanford Solar Center, Stanford University, Stanford,
Calif.
Approximately 2,500 copies will be printed. The majority will be distributed
free to blind and visually impaired students, with the assistance of the
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a division of the NFB.
The remainder will be available for public purchase.
"'Touch the Sun' brings exciting new discoveries in solar science to those
who otherwise might not have a chance to participate," said Dr. Richard
Fisher, Acting Director of Earth-Sun Systems at NASA Headquarters,
Washington. "This is an integral part of what NASA hopes to accomplish with
the new Vision for Space Exploration - to share the thrill of exploring
space with everyone," he explained.
"Our bright yellow star appears unchanging but in fact is an active,
violent place that directly affects our home planet," Grice said. "'Touch
the Sun' is a universally designed book for readers of all visual abilities.
You can explore the sun with embossed color pictures of swirling gas
currents, dark sunspots, curving magnetic fields and explosive eruptions,"
she said.
Raised patterns embossed over the colorful images in "Touch the Sun"
translate shapes, places of solar and magnetic activity and other details of
the sun and space weather, allowing visually impaired people to see with
their fingertips what they cannot see with their eyes. It incorporates
braille and large-print descriptions for each of the book's 16 photographs,
so it is accessible to readers of all visual abilities.
Students at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs,
Colo., evaluated each image for clarity and provided suggestions for
improvement.
Gurman initiated "Touch the Sun" after he saw "Touch the Universe" presented
at the June 2002 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in
Albuquerque, N.M. "I realized solar science was a natural fit for a book
like this, and our partners did as well. This was one of those rare projects
where there was no resistance to the idea. Everyone who heard about it was
enthusiastic," Gurman said.
"Touch the Sun" is published by the Joseph Henry Press, trade imprint of the
National Academies Press (publisher for the National Academy of Sciences).
To view images from "Touch the Sun" on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/touch_sun.html
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
- end -
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
November 29, 2005
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Phone: (301) 286-0039
RELEASE: 05-51
NASA HELPS VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS 'TOUCH THE SUN'
A new book entitled "Touch the Sun" allows blind and visually impaired
students to experience images of the sun and solar activity by feeling
transparent raised textures bonded to the pictures.
On Dec. 2 at the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in Baltimore, Md.,
will host an interactive opportunity for pre-selected blind students to
explore the sun through this new and exciting solar book.
The book features engaging images from the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO) and the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE)
spacecraft, as well as a close-up of a sunspot from the National Solar
Observatory at Sacramento Peak in the Lincoln National Forest, N.M.
"Invisible magnetic fields rule the violent solar activity that generates
space weather," said Dr. Joseph Gurman, the U.S. project scientist for SOHO
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "We are all blind to
magnetic fields, so the visually impaired can be just as successful as the
sighted in solar science," he said. Gurman collaborated with Steele Hill,
the SOHO imaging specialist at Goddard, to select the images and edit the
scientific content.
The book was written by Noreen Grice, author of two other books featuring
textured celestial images for the visually impaired: "Touch the Universe"
and "Touch the Stars." "Touch the Sun" was funded by a partnership between
NASA, the Lockheed Martin Corporation's Advanced Technology Center in Palo
Alto, Calif., and the Stanford Solar Center, Stanford University, Stanford,
Calif.
Approximately 2,500 copies will be printed. The majority will be distributed
free to blind and visually impaired students, with the assistance of the
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a division of the NFB.
The remainder will be available for public purchase.
"'Touch the Sun' brings exciting new discoveries in solar science to those
who otherwise might not have a chance to participate," said Dr. Richard
Fisher, Acting Director of Earth-Sun Systems at NASA Headquarters,
Washington. "This is an integral part of what NASA hopes to accomplish with
the new Vision for Space Exploration - to share the thrill of exploring
space with everyone," he explained.
"Our bright yellow star appears unchanging but in fact is an active,
violent place that directly affects our home planet," Grice said. "'Touch
the Sun' is a universally designed book for readers of all visual abilities.
You can explore the sun with embossed color pictures of swirling gas
currents, dark sunspots, curving magnetic fields and explosive eruptions,"
she said.
Raised patterns embossed over the colorful images in "Touch the Sun"
translate shapes, places of solar and magnetic activity and other details of
the sun and space weather, allowing visually impaired people to see with
their fingertips what they cannot see with their eyes. It incorporates
braille and large-print descriptions for each of the book's 16 photographs,
so it is accessible to readers of all visual abilities.
Students at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs,
Colo., evaluated each image for clarity and provided suggestions for
improvement.
Gurman initiated "Touch the Sun" after he saw "Touch the Universe" presented
at the June 2002 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in
Albuquerque, N.M. "I realized solar science was a natural fit for a book
like this, and our partners did as well. This was one of those rare projects
where there was no resistance to the idea. Everyone who heard about it was
enthusiastic," Gurman said.
"Touch the Sun" is published by the Joseph Henry Press, trade imprint of the
National Academies Press (publisher for the National Academy of Sciences).
To view images from "Touch the Sun" on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/touch_sun.html
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
- end -
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info