A dozen years in the past, two ingenious minds bought collectively and launched the Starmus Pageant, an inside celebration of science and music. Its creators, astronomer Garik Israelian and astronomer/musician Brian Could, envisioned per week through which anybody may simply attend talks by a number of the best minds on the planet, touching all of the sciences, and likewise some good enjoyable with rock ‘n’ roll.
“It’s a must to use each halves of your thoughts,” Could, the founding guitarist of the rock group Queen, likes to say.
We’ve simply completed the sixth incarnation of Starmus, which typically occurs each different 12 months. Our group has been to the Canary Islands, to Norway, to Switzerland, and now to Armenia, ancestral homeland of the director, Garik. Some years in the past Garik and Brian initiated me into the Starmus Board, and I used to be considerably astonished this 12 months after they named me President of the Board. Together with Brian, Garik, and me, the board consists of Richard Dawkins, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jill Tarter, Peter Gabriel, Tony Fadell, and Robert Williams.
The second day, September 5, was additionally a brief day in contrast with these to come back. I commenced by giving the primary of 4 talks I might current across the metropolis, composed of concepts from my 2020 book Galaxies, and different audio system additionally offered these sorts of talks. We visited some faculties and particular studying academies, in addition to a facility or two for the general public, and unfold the love for Starmus and our enthusiasm for science.
The night of that day then cranked up the momentum considerably when our area actually stuffed up with the primary Starmus attendees, roughly 5,000, and we offered a multimedia present, talks, and live performance centered on the Stephen Hawking Medals for Science Communication. Backed by a superlative group that included the good Rick Wakeman, the best keyboard participant within the historical past of rock, and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, we additionally featured tunes by Serj Tankian, and by the supergroup Sons of Apollo, consisting of Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Derek Sherinian, Jeff Scott Soto, Mike Portnoy, and Billy Sheehan.
Tuesday, September 6 noticed the primary Starmus talks begin in earnest. Our Board member and pal Tony Fadell, inventor of the iPod and co-inventor of the iPhone, bought us began with a high-energy chat about how applied sciences on Earth and in space are linked. One other fellow board member and a Nobel Prize laureate, Emmanuelle Charpentier, then described to the viewers her gene remedy strategies, recognized collectively as CRISPR know-how. It’s a breakthrough, on her watch, that will one day lengthen all of our lives.
Additional, we heard a wide range of talks that opened the thoughts to new and unique strains of pondering. The previous director-general of the European House Company, Jean-Jacques Dordain, walked us by means of an ingenious exploration of Earth as a planet and the way we people had higher take note of lots of the issues happening now with our house. The sensible authority on synthetic intelligence, Bernhard Schölkopf of the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen, delivered an enchanting “state-of-the-union” glimpse at the place synthetic intelligence is in our world. And to prime it off, a favourite pal, London science comedian David Zambuka, delivered a festive spherical of audience-participation skits, bolstered with a dose of magic, “Are You a Martian?”
It was an unbelievable day of dynamic talks. And it wasn’t over but. The that means of Starmus started to crystallize solidly: bringing unbelievable scientific data about our world along with music, that which permits us to really feel the human spirit.
To say that the live performance to come back that night was a mind-blower kinda sells it a bit brief. Queen’s Brian Could was joined by a pal, Graham Gouldman, the co-founder, bassist, and singer of the group 10cc. Their all-star band additionally included Derek Sherinian, Bumblefoot Thal, Simon Phillips, and Ric Fierabracci. The band wowed the viewers with Queen’s “The Present Should Go On,” 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love,” a blazing model of the basic “Smoke on the Water,” and far more. Considerably, they performed a brand new tune, “Floating in Heaven,” produced as a collaboration between Brian and Graham this 12 months. Furthermore, early within the present, the Kids’s Choir of the Archdiocese of Tavish, Armenia, joined the orchestra to sing a medley of Queen songs. With a synced video of Freddie Mercury within the background, the children knocked out songs together with “We’re the Champions,” resulting in fairly a quantity I noticed round me tearing up.
The night periods had been simply as enthralling. The world’s main skilled on black holes, Caltech’s Kip Thorne, walked us by means of a presentation demonstrating the warped aspect of the universe, aided by the fantastic drawings made by his collaborator, artist Lia Halloran. Diane Ackerman, one in all our Hawking Medal recipients, described for us her reflections about life on Earth and the that means of the cosmos. Our good pal Mark Boslough, a Starmus common and physicist at Sandia Nationwide Labs, instructed us concerning the threats by impacts from space, previous and current.
After which we had a extremely fantastic expertise. Many Starmus contributors traveled a substantial distance outdoors Yerevan to the positioning of Garni Temple, a 1,900-year-old Greco-Roman construction, the place we had a powerful star celebration. Good pal Scott Roberts, CEO of Discover Scientific, introduced a dozen giant telescopes to Armenia for the occasion, and we had blissful crowds spying the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and some deep-sky objects, some getting their first-ever look by means of a telescope.
As soon as once more, Garik Israelian had pulled off the unimaginable. We had been coated with unbelievable recollections of nice, eye-opening talks, very good musical moments that appeared like goals, and new acquaintances and friendships that appeared as if they gave us new visions of the cosmos.
I actually would have gotten nowhere with all I needed to do, with the press conferences, internet hosting, talks off-site, backstage craziness, and all the things else, with out the help of the volunteer who drew my task, Sama Shamyar. I ended up giving a number of talks at varied faculties across the Yerevan space, typically accompanied by Michael Bakich and Scott Hubbard, in addition to holding an preliminary press convention concerning the Pageant and a press convention with Garik Israelian and Jim Bagian at Yerevan State College. A number of of us additionally appeared earlier than the Armenian Parliament to replace the federal government on the Starmus plans. Whew.
Starmus left its 5,000 attendees fairly blissful and looking out ahead to infinite prospects of the longer term. We must see the place Starmus goes subsequent, and once we could make it occur. However one factor is for certain: Starmus will keep on, and can have a good time the wedding of science and music as soon as once more.
The ace guitarist Bumblefoot Thal of the Sons of Apollo scorches a solo in entrance of an admiring Brian Could throughout a Starmus live performance evening.
This 12 months Starmus celebrated its first star celebration at Garni Temple, outdoors of Yerevan, a 1,900-year-old Greco-Roman construction that was a superlative backdrop for solar system and deep-sky observing.
Graham Gouldman of 10cc and Brian Could knock out a number of tunes collectively, supported by an all-star backing band, together with their new tune “Floating in Heaven.”
Astronomy journal Contributing Editor Michael Bakich hosts the Starmus Pageant on a number of days, protecting the viewers energetic with tales and anecdotes.
On the outset of Starmus, Board President David Eicher held a press convention to foreshadow the assembly, assisted by astronaut Garrett Reisman, Nobel Prize laureates Emmanuelle Charpentier and Michel Mayor, and multitalented scientist Chris Rapley.
The Starmus audio system gathered for a collective portrait following the primary live performance evening.
An emotional live performance second arrived for a lot of when the Kids’s Choir of the Archdiocese of Tavish, Armenia, sang a medley of Queen songs. They had been synched with a video of Freddie Mercury looming over them, and when all belted out “We Are the Champions,” it melted the viewers.
Garik Israelian, Starmus Director and Co-founder, opens the Pageant with an outline of all of the superb occasions to come back.
Planetary scientist David Grinspoon is likely one of the world’s main consultants on Venus, and right here he entertained the viewers with a take a look at local weather change on Earth, Mars, and Venus.
This was our view as a number of Starmus Board members testified earlier than the Armenian Parliament, describing the Pageant and the way it was set, because it was largely funded by the Armenian authorities.
The Historical past Museum of Armenia exhibits the trendy structure of the central space of Yerevan, combining classical appears with a contemporary metropolis.
A Starmus Board member and technical genius, Tony Fadell will get the group excited on the primary evening, previewing the motion to come back. Fadell is the inventor of the iPod and the co-inventor of the iPhone.
Rick Wakeman, the best keyboard participant within the historical past of rock, legendary from his days with Sure, opens the live performance festivities and entertains the Starmus crowd of 5,000.
At all times well-liked, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is likely one of the nicest guys on this planet and wows the group by singing his rendition of “House Oddity.”
Starmus Board member and Nobel Prize winner Emmanuelle Charpentier, celebrated for her gene remedy work with CRISPR know-how, describes the place genetics can be moving into future occasions.
One of many world’s main consultants on synthetic intelligence, Bernhard Schölkopf describes the variations between our notion and the realities of what’s coming on this planet of AI.
London-based science comic and illusionist David Zambuka gives an important spotlight of levity in his comedian routine, “Are You a Martian?”
Starmus Board member and Queen founding guitarist Brian Could warms up the Pink Particular throughout a pre-concert soundcheck.
Stanford physicist and former director of NASA’s Ames Analysis Middle, Scott Hubbard is an skilled and proficient planetary researcher, and described the current and coming eras of Mars exploration.
Nobel Prize successful astrophysicist Michel Mayor, a Swiss researcher, is widely known for locating the primary extrasolar planet orbiting a sunlike star. Right here he describes the state of the union in exoplanet research.
Intelligent, witty, and unpredictable, Lisa Kaltenegger is Director of the Carl Sagan Middle at Cornell College and delivered an excellent lecture on alien Earths.
At a late-night, post-concert dinner, Brian Could chats with Apollo royalty, Charlie Duke and his spouse Dottie, who had enjoyable recounting Charlie’s Apollo 16 experiences.
The world’s main skilled on black holes, Kip Thorne, describes these bizarre entities and their warping of space, assisted by his artist and undertaking companion Lia Halloran.
pal to Starmus and main skilled on impacts, Mark Boslough of Sandia Nationwide Labs describes the good collisions Earth has skilled previous and current, and what could come sooner or later.
The legendary Jane Goodall accepts her Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication in a video that was so considerate it introduced many within the viewers to tears.
Among the many excursions we took throughout Starmus was a journey to Erebuni Fortress, a mountaintop stronghold at Yerevan based in 782 BC.
The native organizers of Starmus in Yerevan stunned Astronomy Journal Editor David Eicher on the fortieth anniversary of his employment on the journal, providing a cake and a bottle of gin known as “Astronomer.”
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