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Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see.
There’s something about space that captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike. Just ask astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astronomer Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May, guitarist of Queen). In their new book Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, they turn flat images of the galaxies to three dimensional spacescapes that leap off the page.
Host Flora Lichtman talks with Ward-Thompson and May about the enchanting nature of space and the collision of art and astronomy. And yes, they get into the music.
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Segment Guests
Brian May
Dr. Brian May is an astronomer and the guitarist of Queen.
Derek Ward-Thompson
Dr. Derek Ward-Thompson is an astrophysicist at the University of Lancashire in England.
Segment Transcript
The transcript is being processed. It will be available 2-3 days after this story’s publication date.
Meet the Producers and Host
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.
About Rasha Aridi
Rasha Aridi is a producer for Science Friday and the inaugural Outrider/Burroughs Wellcome Fund Fellow. She loves stories about weird critters, science adventures, and the intersection of science and history.