This course studies how bioart blurs distinctions between science and art through the combination of artistic and scientific processes, creating wide public debate. It explores the history of biotechnology as well as social implications of this science.
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This week we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn about space, stars, and meteorites from our guest lecturer Dr. Santiago Torres. To be honest, I don't really know that much about stars and space. I believe that when I was younger I used to be a bit more interested, but as I grew up I had become more interested in biological topics on the microscopic level in contrast to space, which is on the macroscopic level.
Reflection:
For this week’s class, we had the incredible opportunity to visit the small planetarium on campus alongside Santiago Torres. It was a truly awe-inspiring experience, as we delved into the mysteries of the universe and its vastness. As we embarked on this extraordinary journey, I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer magnitude of the cosmos. The universe, an enigmatic expanse of uncharted realms, has always held a profound fascination for humanity.
The visit to the planetarium on Wednesday was probably my favorite experience that I’ve had in this class so far! I’ve been meaning to go to the weekly planetarium shows on Wednesday since I heard about them last year but I’ve always forgotten to go, so I’m really grateful that we got the chance to go as a class.
This week, we had an amazing presentation by astrophysicist, Santiago Torres, about astronomy, cosmos, and the Alien Stardust project. Though I learned so much from all of the speakers in the past, this class inspired me the most.
This week's investigation of the cosmos and Alien Star Dust made me reflect on how provincial the human outlook is on the universe. It has become abundantly clear that humans have viewed themselves and their position within the universe at the center for centuries.
This week we visited the planetarium on top of Boelter with our guest Astrophysicist, Santiago Torres, and participated in a short meditation excise with this theme. It really put our civilization into the perspective of the universe. How grand the universe is to us that we can only gaze into its past. What I am concerned about is how we interact with this grandness.
This past week's visit to the planetarium with Santiago Torres was incredible! I have actually been to the planetarium once before; I attended one of their weekly shows on Wednesday nights last year where an astronomy graduate student walked us through the sky that night, pointed out constellations, and told us some really interesting history and legends behind what we were looking at.
Here is a photo I took while we were there (this is what the sky looks like with all of LA's pollution):
This week's topic of astronomy and the planetarium sparked an interest in me. We now have astonishing technology and knowledge about astronomy and how to study the stars and observe things human eyes are incapable of seeing. However, what did our ancestors use before us to fuel this curiosity?
While walking to the UCLA Planetarium with astrophysicist Santiago Torres last Wednesday, we were instructed to listen to the audio file “Cosmic Nomad Walk: North to South -- Alien Star Dust meets Plankton”, created by Patricia Cadavid, Anna Nacher, Ivana Dama, Clarissa Ribeiro and Victoria Vesna.
Lecture Summary
The planetarium experience led by Dr. Santiago Torres was a breathtaking experience! Actually, during my 4 years at UCLA (a year and a half being remote due to COVID), I’ve always wanted to visit the planetarium, so I was very glad to hear that we could visit! I didn’t expect we would be watching the cool exhibition, so it was a fantastic experience for me. I never knew that UCLA offered free shows every Wednesday night at 8 pm!
This week we listened to layers of sound that started with underwater plankton and eventually others that were collected from NASA, Columbia, and even Covid data. The data collected from Covid cases were turned into sound files which I thought was super interesting. I loved the overall message of the sound file as it is true, in our daily lives we are constantly bombarded with complex problems and sometimes it is hard to slow down.
UCLA Planetarium (Image Credit: Roberto Cardenas)
Planetarium, Alien Star Dust, and Meteorite Gallery
I enjoyed the planetarium experience this week. As a physics major and space enthusiast, being able to see the result of thousands of years of work, from precivilization to now, was very mesmerizing and also a bit meditative.