In the context of the International Year of Light 2015 (IYL 2015), the Astrophysics Department-AIM Laboratory at CEA-IRFU, in collaboration with the Institute for Space Astrophysics Orsay (IAS), presents the exhibition "2015: A Light Odyssey" at the Museum of Science and Industry (Paris, France) from 17 March to 30 August 2015. The light is the main messenger for astronomy. The exhibition traces back the journey of two light particles, one MAX is emitted in the early Universe, the other SOHO comes from the center of the Sun. They reach both the Earth where they bring essential information on the mechanisms that gave rise to them and the spaces they have crossed.
- the exhibition poster (PDF)
- the exhibition website : www.odysseedelalumiere.fr
The Light journeys.
The exhibition "2015: a Light Odyssey" presents the travel of the light that comes from the cosmos in two paths that converge to Earth:
- the first originates from the sphere where the cosmic diffuse background was generated. The primordial light that bathed the universe was released under the effect of cosmic expansion and then cross the entire universe before reaching Earth.
- the second begins at the center of the Sun where the energy produced by the nuclear reactions is generated. It is then transported through the dense layers of the star and then emerges in the form of visible light at the surface of the Sun and travels through the interplanetary space before being deposited on the surface of the Earth.
For the visitor, the paths of these two essential lights is materialised by the trajectory of two light particles. Two photons whose progressions through time and cosmic space is followed, and illustrates the diversity of the different physical interactions of light with matter in the Universe.
To allow access to a wide audience, a very simple narrative structure is proposed, according to an imaginary scenario where the two particles of light are considered as characters whose visitor follows the progress. Each trip is divided into five major stages showing the similarity of the physical processes operating at the scale of the universe and across the stars.
The exhibition "2015: A Light Odyssey" also presents :
- "The Eddington Coelestat »: the instrument that proved the General Relativity in 1919
- "See me through you" : a direct experience of gravitational lensing
- The Planck satellite and HFI instrument models
- the GOLF instrument (SoHO satellite)
An immersive screening room and 3D fims.
A traveling version of the exhibition will be available in different languages as well as an associated webdocumentary.
The exhibition is aimed at the general public (families, school groups ...). It is developed according to a double structure : "physical" including videos and animations and "digital" when content and additional educational elements is organized in a web documentary, accessible by an enhanced navigation for mobile devices (tablets, laptops, .. ). It will also be declined as a traveling version in a reduced format.
A temporary exhibition proposed by the Astrophysics Department of the Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA) and the Institute for Space Astrophysics Orsay (IAS), supported by the Ile de France (IDF) the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Thales Alenia Space France, the Physique des 2 Infinis et des Origines (P2i0) laboratory, the institute for Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe (Irfu), the CASDEN bank and sponsored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the International Year of Light (IYL).
Contact : Jean-Marc BONNET-BIDAUD
see also - the exhibition website "www.odyseedelalumiere.fr"
- the website de la Cité des Sciences
- the International Year of Light IYL2015 website
- in the Année de la Lumière en France website
Redaction : J.M. Bonnet-Bidaud
