A new book of majestic images, taken by NASA’s Hubble
\nSpace Telescope (HST), brings the wonders of our universe to
\nthe fingertips of the visually impaired.<\/p>\n
\nThe 64-page book, titled “Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille
\nBook of Astronomy,” presents color images of planets,
\nnebulae, stars, and galaxies. Each image is embossed with
\nlines, bumps, and other textures. The raised patterns
\ntranslate colors, shapes, and other intricate details of the
\ncosmic objects, allowing visually impaired people to feel
\nwhat they cannot see. The book incorporates Braille and
\nlarge-print descriptions, for each of the book’s 14
\nphotographs, so it is accessible to readers of most visual
\nabilities.<\/p>\n
\n“I think this book will help the blind community to better
\nunderstand the variety of objects in space,” explains the
\nbook’s author, Noreen Grice, operations coordinator for the
\nCharles Hayden Planetarium at the Boston Museum of Science.
\n“This book brings amazing celestial objects, seen with the
\nHubble Space Telescope, to the fingertips of the visually
\nimpaired, where they can better understand the universe and
\ntheir place within it.”<\/p>\n
\nNASA, which helped fund the book, and the publisher, the
\nJoseph Henry Press, trade imprint of the National Academies
\nPress (publisher for the National Academy of Sciences), will
\npublicly release “Touch the Universe” on Thursday, Nov. 21,
\nat events at both the National Federation of the Blind in
\nBaltimore, and at DePaul University in Chicago.<\/p>\n
“For the last 12 years, Hubble discoveries have not only
\nrewritten the science textbooks, the stunning images from HST
\nhave also become a part of American culture. But while these
\nimages have wowed the world, until now, there was still one
\ngroup – the blind – who could not share in this marvel,” said
\nEd Weiler, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Space Science.
\n“Now thanks to this extraordinary new book, Hubble images are
\nliterally in the hands of those who could not experience the
\nbeauty of the cosmos before,” he said.<\/p>\n
\n“Touch the Universe” takes the reader on a cosmic journey. It
\nbegins with an image of the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting
\nEarth, and then travels outward into the universe, showing
\nobjects such as Jupiter, the Ring Nebula, and the Hubble Deep
\nStar Field North.<\/p>\n
\nGrice collaborated with Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, an astronomer
\nat DePaul University in Chicago, to develop the book with a
\n$10,000 Hubble Space Telescope grant for educational
\noutreach. In 1990, Grice published, “Touch the Stars,” an
\nastronomy book containing tactile line drawings of objects
\nsuch as constellations, planets, and galaxies.<\/p>\n
\n“I thought that Noreen’s book, ‘Touch the Stars,’ was a
\nwonderful idea, especially because astronomy is thought of as
\na visual science,” Beck-Winchatz explains. “At the same time,
\nwhen I saw the book and her sketches, I thought there was so
\nmuch more we could do. There are so many wonderful images
\nthat are used in classrooms around the world as a hook to get
\nkids interested in science, and I wanted children with visual
\nimpairments to also benefit from these amazing pictures,” he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\nThe pair began working on the book after Beck-Winchatz
\nreceived the Hubble grant. Grice wrote the text and
\ntranslated the images; Beck-Winchatz served as science
\nadvisor. Working in her kitchen, Grice made prototypes of the
\nHubble images by tracing them on plastic sheets, using
\nspecial tools to create raised details. Grice not only tried
\nto represent the outlines of stars, planets, and galaxies,
\nshe also used consistent patterns to denote color and matter.
\nRaised lines, for example, represent blue. Rings are
\nillustrated with dotted lines, and wavy ones signify gas
\ncurrents.<\/p>\n
\nStudents at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in
\nColorado Springs evaluated each image for clarity and
\nprovided suggestions for improvement. Grice traced the final
\nillustrations onto metal plates and placed them in a heat
\nvacuum machine to create multiple copies of molded plastic
\npages. The pages became the first prototypes of her book.<\/p>\n