M. T. Adams, D. G. Finley, A. Gianopoulos, P. Smiley, W. Saxton, J. M. Uson (NRAO)
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has initiated an Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program to improve its capability to process radio-wavelength astronomical data into compelling visual imagery and to make such imagery readily accessible and widely available to scientists, students, teachers, the general public, the media, and EPO professionals. This imagery initiative is exploring radio data visualization techniques and developing recipes to assist NRAO users and scientific staff with the creation of composite imagery that incorporates astronomical data acquired at multiple wavelengths. Through this effort, the NRAO Image Gallery is being populated with high-quality images, and its information content, organization, and accessibility are being substantially improved. The Observatory is accelerating these Image Gallery improvements and fostering the widest possible dissemination of new results and images by inviting the astronomical user community to participate in a radio astronomy image contest. This contest is planned to be an annual event and should result in the generation and submission of numerous high-quality radio images to the NRAO that will supplement those already produced by the Observatory’s scientific staff and the astronomical community. Our EPO image program’s long-term goal is to establish the NRAO Image Gallery as the international location of choice for persons seeking radio astronomy imagery and to provide a showcase for a broad range of astronomical research and objects. The revitalized NRAO Image Gallery and in-house radio astronomy image production capability that we are creating promotes a clear understanding of the vital and exciting roles that radio telescopes, astronomers, and the NRAO play in modern astronomy. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.