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The Hubble telescope, arguably the greatest success we have had in space since the first landing on the moon, is one of the most important instruments we have been able to scientifically come up with since Galileo’s original creation of the telescope. Here in Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science, the IMAX showing of Hubble, takes the audience through a magnificent journey that opens their minds to the possibilities in space. By opening the minds of the audience, the people are able to see the possibilities offered by the artifact, in this particular case the artifact being the Hubble Space Telescope. Since the Hubble is in fact a human creation, and it is also intended to communicate, it can be seen as a cultural artifact. It is intended to communicate, not only through its many findings, but also by influencing humanity to achieve greatness by going above and beyond.
Apart from being a crucial tool of communication, the Hubble, is also a Rhetorical Artifact because of its cultural significance. Not only in the United States, does the Hubble telescope look to induce change in the minds and behaviors of humanity, but it does so all around the world. This vital tool, through the work of many has been able to offer us something Galileo never even dreamed was possible. Upon building on his creation, we have come across several intriguing findings. We are able to better understand the mysteries of the black holes in space and we are also able to see stars forming in the “pillars of creation” which is one of the most acclaimed images taken in the Eagle Nebula. However, as successful as the Hubble may seem to appear right now, it is important to include that it wasn’t always this way and only through the hard work of many American Heroes was it able to become this engineering marvel of culture and communication.
Upon first launching the Hubble, over twenty years ago problems seemed to appear almost instantaneously. Some of the technical problems involving lens issues and computer glitches were not letting the Hubble to operate to its full capacity. Since then, there have been multiple missions to space visiting the telescope, trying to correct what is wrong with it. While every mission has been able to bring back positive results, there is always something that can be fixed or enhanced, which provoke these new missions. The astronauts who embark on these missions are perceived as American Heroes. Astronauts are professionally trained individuals whom are trained carefully and satisfactorily in human spaceflight. They are extremely smart and very diligent in their work. We perceive them as American Heroes because they are putting their lives on the line and plunging into the unknown willingly. They are going on these missions for humanity, to find new theories, explore new territories, or fix existing problems, thus we acknowledge this and are grateful for it.
The IMAX showing of the Hubble telescope is perhaps the most interesting view and analysis of the object there has been thus far, allowing viewers much like myself who are not really interested in science a chance to look deeper and find out how marvelous this creation really is. It is through this showing that I gained interest in the Hubble Telescope, and now behold it not only as a revolutionary science instrument, but also as a masterpiece of art. Much like any other cultural artifact, such as a famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, or a sculpture by Pablo Picasso, Galileo’s telescope has been able to influence mankind and change perceptions of the world. In the IMAX film we see how much there is about our vast universe that we don’t know, and realize how much we could learn. Leonardo Di Caprio, a famous actor most of us have seen in big Hollywood pictures, narrates the IMAX viewing on Hubble. By getting someone with the status of Leo to narrate, this film is sending the message that popular culture should be more involved in this matter, as opposed to leaving NASA and all the science nerds to take care of this aspect in society. Through, IMAX’s viewing of Hubble, our eyes are opened to the endless possibilities in space, as well as the importance of the Hubble Space telescope, and we are extended an invitation to engage in this movement.
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