Creating the "Pillars": Multiple meanings of a Hubble image

Public Understanding of Science

Volumn 13, Issue 1, 2004, Pages 83-95

  Greenberg, Joshua M ^a  

^a Department of Obstetrics Gynecology   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 2442673882     PISSN: 09636625     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0963662504042693     Document Type: Article

References (45)

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2. For the former, see S. Jasanoff, "Civilization and madness: the great BSE scare of 1996," Public Understanding of Science 6, no. 3 (1997): 221; Brian Wynne, "Misunderstood misunderstandings: social identities and public uptake of science," in Misunderstanding Science?: The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). For the latter, see Mike Michael, "Ignoring science: discourses of ignorance in the public understanding of science," in Misunderstanding Science?: The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
3. For the former, see S. Jasanoff, "Civilization and madness: the great BSE scare of 1996," Public Understanding of Science 6, no. 3 (1997): 221; Brian Wynne, "Misunderstood misunderstandings: social identities and public uptake of science," in Misunderstanding Science?: The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). For the latter, see Mike Michael, "Ignoring science: discourses of ignorance in the public understanding of science," in Misunderstanding Science?: The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
4. For the former, see S. Jasanoff, "Civilization and madness: the great BSE scare of 1996," Public Understanding of Science 6, no. 3 (1997): 221; Brian Wynne, "Misunderstood misunderstandings: social identities and public uptake of science," in Misunderstanding Science?: The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). For the latter, see Mike Michael, "Ignoring science: discourses of ignorance in the public understanding of science," in Misunderstanding Science?: The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology, eds Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
5. Marilee Long and Jocelyn Steinke, "The thrill of everyday science: images of science and scientists on children's educational science programs in the United States," Public Understanding of Science 5, no. 2 (1996): 101-120;
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7. Dorothy Nelkin and M. Susan Lindee, The DNA Mystique: The Gene as a Cultural Icon (New York: Freeman, 1995).
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9. Greg Myers, "Every picture tells a story: illustrations in E. O. Wilson's Sociobiology," in Representation in Scientific Practice, eds Michael Lynch and Steve Woolgar (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990);
10. Michael Lynch, "The externalized retina: selection and mathematization in the visual documentation of objects in the life sciences," in Representation in Scientific Practice, eds Michael Lynch and Steve Woolgar (1990).
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12. Joel Achenbach, "A beautiful illusion," The Washington Post (13 July 1997), 12-17, 29-31.
13. To be precise, the astronomers originally saw three separate images, each measuring the emission from a different atomic element. The images were combined to form the vibrantly colored image that was made public.
14. John Holliman, Hubble captures stellar birthplace (Atlanta, GA: Cable News Network, 1995), television news live report.
15. Lou Waters, Astronomer explains what's learned from Hubble photos (Atlanta, GA: Cable News Network, 1995), television news interview.
16. Caption-"Pillars of Creation in a Star Forming Region" (Space Telescope Science Institute, 2 November 1995 [cited 10 November 10]) (http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/gif/M16Full.txt).
17. Achenbach, "A beautiful illusion" (cit. no. 6).
18. I b i d.
19. Press Release No. Stsci-Pr95-44, "Embryonic Stars Emerge from Interstellar 'Eggs"' (Space Telescope Science Institute, November 2 1995 [cited November 10 1998]) (http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/press-releases/95-44.txt).
20. I b i d.
21. As Nelkin describes, one reason for this close adherence to the language of press releases by science journalists is that journalists who defer to scientific experts are particularly wary of reporting incorrect scientific or technical details (and thus altering or contaminating their account), and thus adhere as closely as possible to the official signal embodied by the scientific press release. See Dorothy Nelkin, Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science and Technology (New York: W. H. Freeman, 1987).
22. Press Release No. Stsci-Pr95-44, "Embryonic Stars Emerge from Interstellar 'Eggs"' (cit. no. 13).
23. Kathy Sawyer, "Hubble sends images of unborn stars," The Washington Post (3 November 1995), A1, A10.
24. John Noble Wilford, "A stunning view inside an incubator for stars," The New York Times (2 November 1995), 19.
25. Deborah Zabarenko, "New stars hatch from eggs and 'Elephant Trunks'," Reuters North American Wire (2 November 1995).
26. Sawyer, "Hubble Sends Images of Unborn Stars" (cit. no. 17), Wilford, "A Stunning View inside an Incubator for Stars" (cit. no. 18).
27. Sawyer, "Hubble Sends Images of Unborn Stars" (cit. no. 17), Wilford, "A Stunning View inside an Incubator for Stars" (cit. no. 18).
28. Jerry Adler, "Witness at the Creation," Newsweek (3 November 1995), 70-71;
29. Michael D. Lemonick, "Cosmic Close-Ups," Time, 20 November 1995, 90-99.
30. John Holliman, Hubble telescope produces first fruits with photos (Atlanta, GA: Cable News Network, 1995), television news live report.
31. It's worth noting that the sheer existence of such video footage, created by NASA and included with press materials, is an indication of the level of press coverage they hoped to receive. Without this footage, it's likely that the television coverage of the "Pillars" would have been markedly shorter (if they made the newscasts at all).
32. On discourses of ignorance, see Michael, "Ignoring Science: Discourses of Ignorance in the Public Understanding of Science" (cit. no. 2)
33. Waters, Astronomer explains what's learned from Hubble photos (cit. no. 9).
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37. Ronald L. Numbers, The Creationists, 1st edn (New York: A. A. Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1992), Christopher P. Toumey, God's Own Scientists: Creationists in a Secular World (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994).
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41. Lynch, "The Externalized Retina: Selection and Mathematization in the Visual Documentation of Objects in the Life Sciences" (cit. no. 4).
42. Cramer, A Sign in the Heavens (cit. no. 30).
43. Chris Mastrangelo, This is the most important picture you will ever see! [Web page] (2 June 1997 [cited 23 November 1998]) (http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/-gcmastra/truth01.html).
44. I b i d.
45. Chris Mastrangelo, What do you see? [Web page] (28 January 1998 [cited 23 November 1998]) (http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/-gcmastra/truth07.html).