Light and shadow - Our perception of the Universe

This project will look at how we are able to see other planets, and mountain formations on some planets, such as Mars.

Using webcams and other simple instruments, along with models made from everyday items, students will recreate the conditions under which planetary objects have been seen. From this, students will be able to appreciate just how deceiving a single image can be and how important it is to collect many images to confirm what has been observed.

Consequently, it will become clear that to create a complete image of the Universe, we must gather as much information as possible about each object. 

Simulating Saturn

This part of the project involves building a scaled model of Saturn and its rings, using a ping pong ball and piece of cardboard. In a darkened room the model can be illuminated from different angles to simulate the appearance of Saturn. The webcam will be carefully positioned to recreate similar conditions to those experienced when observing Saturn from Earth. As it is not possible to directly replicate the Earth's atmosphere and the blurring effect it has, the webcam can simply be defocused before the images are collected.

These observations can then be compared to how Saturn is seen in reality; it is interesting to see how they can differ. This helps us to understand how astronomers in the 17th century saw and tried to understand Saturn.

Face on Mars

A mountain on the surface of Mars was imaged by the Viking 1 space probe in 1976 and seemingly resembled a face. Many people were quick to assume Martians had built this, and took its presence as a sign of alien life on Mars. Could this be true?

In 1998 and 2001 the Mars Global Surveyor space probe observed the same region and measured the height of different parts of the 'face'. Using this data we can recreate a scaled version of the mountain and can illuminate it to recreate the conditions present when Viking 1 saw the 'face'. These conditions can be derived directly from the Viking image. Using a webcam students can collect an image and see how well it resembles a face. It is possible to change the angle of the Sun and see what effects this has on the view of the mountain.

Participants are then able to investigate how easy it is to create the face on Mars. They will use a mask, to see how well the shadows created resemble a face. 

This experiment will help students to understand that in reality, things are often not what they seem to be at first.

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