Seeing in the Dark, Timothy Ferris' high-definition television
spectacular on amateur astronomy and the wonders of the night sky,
returns to PBS on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at eight pm (check local
listings). Critics have called the show (which premiered last
September 19) "a rhapsodic sight-and-sound odyssey into the night sky"
(Associated Press) by "the greatest science writer of his generation"
(The New York Times).
"This is not your standard one-dimensional, expository science
documentary," wrote David Brody of Space.com. "Seeing in the Dark is
more like a reality show from inside a love affair." "The
high-definition astrophotography looks like something out of Star
Wars," wrote Joshua Zumbrun in the Washington Post. "Who remembered
that our real universe could look that way, too?"
Commenting on the new airdate, Ferris said he hoped that the second
national showing would continue to attract teachers and students to
the program website, http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark. Over a
million Americans have seen the film, and hundreds of thousands have
visited the website, taking advantage of its resources for teachers,
students, and families.
The website's most popular features include customizable star charts
for every visitor's time and location; astronomy activities that you
can download for use in classrooms, in summer camps, and with
families; and the Seeing in the Dark Internet Telescope. "The
Internet Telescope is available free of charge to all students and
teachers," Ferris noted. "Just request an object through the website
and we will shoot an image and email it back to you, usually within a
few days." During the summer, summer school and summer camp
instructors and students can also use the telescope.
The film -- based on Ferris' book Seeing in the Dark, named by The New
York Times as one of the ten best books published in 2002 -- shows how
amateur astronomers and casual stargazers are getting in touch with
nature on the largest scales. "I hope it will encourage viewers to
make stargazing part of their lives," Ferris said. "The website
provides them with most of the tools they need to get started. Using
its resources you can print out a star chart for your location, make a
red-light flashlight to preserve your night vision using materials
already around the house, and be outdoors learning the night skyall
within ten or fifteen minutes."
To capture the beauty and wonder of the night sky, the producers
assembled a world-class team including Hollywood cinematographer
Francis Kenny, veteran BBC natural history director Nigel Ashcroft,
the celebrated astronomical special-effects artist Don Davis, sound
designer Kate Hopkins (Planet Earth), and three-time Academy Award(R)
winner Walter Murch, who did the digital surround-sound mix. The film
features memorable deep-space images by some of the world's most
respected amateur astrophotographers. The film's original musical
score is by Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher, of Dire Straits fame.
The project's educational outreach director is astronomer and educator
Andrew Fraknoi, head of the astronomy department at Foothill College
near San Francisco.
Seeing in the Dark features amateur astronomers ranging from casual
stargazers to those who have made important scientific discoveries.
Among them:
- Former Minnesota Vikings star running back Robert Smith,
who today shows the wonders of the night sky to high school students
in Miami, Florida. - Barbara Wilson, a onetime Houston housewife who got a
telescope after her children were born and turned out to be one of the
most sharp-eyed visual observers on Earth. - Steven James O'Meara, who taught himself astronomy as a
boy and was given keys to Harvard College Observatory when he was 14
years old. - Ron Bissinger, who co-discovered a planet orbiting a star
150 light years from Earth from a backyard observatory he built
himself. - Rob Gendler, who takes deep-space photographs from his
driveway in suburban Connecticut that rival the work of professional
astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope.
Teaching resources are available at
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/for-teachers.
For family resources, visit http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/for-families.
The Seeing in the Dark film and website are made possible by the
National Science Foundation and PBS.