For lovers of both space exploration and music, ArtsRock’s Birth of the Universe event takes a journey into the secrets of our deep past — many light years ago. This innovative marriage of art, science and music presents images from the new James Webb Space Telescope, set to music by award-winning director and producer Elliott Forrest, with commentary by special guest scientists, Joseph DePasquale and Max Newman.
The show will be presented in Nyack at the old Nyack high school/BOCES theater this Thursday, April 20 at 8:00 pm
The James Webb Telescope, recently featured on 60 Minutes, is the newest and largest telescope ever launched into deep space. Its mission is to explore the origins of the universe, including the moment scientists call the ‘Big Bang’.
Launched on Christmas day in 2021, the super-powerful telescope has the ability to look farther back in time than any other telescope, observing distant stars as they appeared 13.5 billion years ago, not long after what is believed to be the beginning of the universe.
The first images from the James Webb telescope were released by NASA in July 2022. Since then, the telescope has captured 250 hours of visual exposures, showing thousands of previously unseen galaxies and other deep space phenomena. The Birth of the Universe program will feature many of these amazing images.
Program host Elliott Forrest created the sound track for this special program. Forrest is a Peabody award-winning broadcaster and producer, currently heard on New York Public Radio’s WQXR and WNYC. He was a host on A&E for 12 years and directed Considering Matthew Shepard on PBS. He is also Executive Producer of The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park on the Radio.
Joseph DePasquale is the Senior Data Imaging Developer in the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute. He uses art and aesthetics to prepare astronomical data for the creation of quality imagery in support of the Space Telescope Science Institute’s outreach activities.
Max Newman, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University, uses images from the James Webb Telescope to study resolved populations of stars in nearby galaxies. He also studies and uses images from the Hubble Space Telescope, coincidentally launched 33 years ago on April 20, 1990.
Tickets are $20 for general admission.
