December 12, 2016 10:36 pm

Tuesday, Explore the Intersection of Science and Fashion with the StarTalk All-Stars

Before you dismiss tomorrow night’s episode about the growing trend of putting space images on clothing as merely frivolous, think about what our hosts, astrophysicists Emily Rice and Summer Ash, tell their co-host Chuck Nice: it turns out that cosmic clothing is a great science outreach tool.

When someone asks if that’s a real galaxy on your dress, or comments on how colorful that tie with the Horsehead Nebula is, that’s an opportunity to start a conversation about science. And if you think people aren’t noticing, all you have to do is think about StarTalk Radio show host Neil deGrasse Tyson’s famous collection of vests. They’ve become iconic – when the comic book creators at DC Comics wanted to put Neil in an issue of Superman, they depicted him in his familiar black and gold vest with stars and moons on it. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just google “Neil deGrasse Tyson vest” and you’ll see what I mean.)

But tomorrow’s episode of StarTalk All-Stars isn’t just about cosmic clothing. It’s also about how we get the images that end up on leggings, jeggings, jewelry, dresses and ties. You’ll learn how we take ultraviolet, infrared, and x-ray data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray observatory, and more and turn it into the breathtakingly beautiful images that we can see with our own eyes. You’ll find out about he Deep Space Network that connects satellites of all nations with us here on Earth. And you’ll even discover the unexpected impact that stellar styles are having on scientists of all genders.

Please join us for Science Gets Fabulous, with Summer Ash and Emily Rice – StarTalk All-Stars on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7pm EDT right here on our website, as well as on iTunes Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. StarTalk All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this episode commercial free, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Jeffrey Simons