Blueshift - August 31, 2009: The Science of Pretty Pictures

Earlier this summer, Nobel Laureate Dr. John Mather told us that data are beautiful when they have meaning. Astronomical images communicate information about the way the universe works and how we know what we know. But can a pretty picture be just as lovely even if you don't know what it's about? We interviewed Dr. Randall Smith of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a collaborator on the Aesthetics and Astronomy project that is looking into how the public perceives multi-wavelength astronomical imagery. A team of scientists, educators, and psychologists are examining the intersection of science and art in the processing of astronomical data. In this conclusion to our summer series on data, Dr. Smith shares some surprising early results from the project that may change the way we communicate with images.