Stars 'r' Us! Exhibits
With our first exhibit, Seeing Stars, we illustrate how visible spectroscopy allows us to remotely detect atoms and molecules in stars. A series of stars, containing different elements can be viewed through a handheld spectroscope, using a series of spectra the public are then asked to identify which gas is in which star. In addition, we also have a plasma globe which can be viewed through the handheld spectroscope, allowing the viewer to see the distinct emission from the different atoms in the plasma.
Our second exhibit, Seeing the Invisible, compares images of a model interstellar cloud from a video camera seeing in the visible and a video camera looking in the infrared, to demonstrate how looking in the infrared allows us to see inside star-forming regions that appear opaque to the human eye.
Our third exhibit, Reproducing Space, is a simple static exhibit illustrating the type of experimental apparatus used in our laboratory based surface science studies.
Finally, with Life in a Bottle, we reproduce the classic Urey-Miller experiment allowing the public to observe the evolution of chemical complexity in the reaction mixture.