There's something very special about seeing your city from space, an experience which has in the past few decades gone from being the reserve of a select few to pretty much anyone.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That's what got Dr Brad Tucker, an astronomer at the Australian National University's Mt Stromlo Observatory, thinking about satellites.
Now, for National Science Week 2020, which kicked off on Saturday and was planned with the possibility Canberra could be in a COVID-19 strict lockdown in mind, Dr Tucker has arranged a satellite to fly over Canberra three times next week taking photographs.
It's being called the satellite selfie.
"The same reason that some people want to sit in the window seat of airplane, is the same reason you have this idea of using satellites to see what's going on in the world around you," Dr Tucker said.
"And satellite selfies is encapturing that desire and inherent curiosity, which is what science week is about."
Dr Tucker said he had the idea a few years ago, but a year disrupted by COVID-19 was the perfect time to do it.
"Sometimes you need a crisis to evaluate and introspect and see what things mean, and so you hope that in this world we can see what are the good things that came out of it, what are the best things, what are the things we actually needed to change but we didn't realise," he said.
"Hopefully we can use this time well as a retrospective time to improve the world, which is what we actually, I think, all want to do as humans."
Schools, national institutions and embassies have lined up to make themselves visible to the sky through the week, all part of a project even the toughest coronavirus lockdown could not have completely thwarted.
Governor-General David Hurley and his wife, Her Excellency Linda Hurley, have agreed to have their front lawn "stained" with the science week's distinctive light bulb logo.
Mr Hurley said science week normally brought hundreds of school students to Government House's lawns, participating in science experiments.
"They get taught the scientific method, they go through failure and learn how to rethink and so forth. So we're really just delighted to support that process. STEM in schools, of course, is the back bone of that," Mr Hurley said.
This year, COVID-19 put a stop to that, but participating in the satellite selfie was the next best option for the Governor General.
"I think [science is] just an exciting space. But what I love about this for children, particularly this week, is it's about being curious. It's all about not just accepting on face value, it's getting underneath and understanding why," Mr Hurley said.
Travel restrictions have served as a reminder of science's importance, with technology keeping the business of Government House running during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We do our job at the moment, because we can't travel interstate, we do our work through every virtual meeting app known to man. Whatever it is, we'll do it to link up with people," Mr Hurley said.
People who want to be seen in the satellite selfie are encouraged to be outside on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 10am and 11am. The least cloudy image captured by the Maxar satellite will be selected. The image will be made available online in early September.
ACT National Science Week committee co-chair Michelle Kothe said there was a large variety of events happening across the Canberra region, which had pivoted well to an online format.
"There are events for all ages and interests including at home science pub trivia, an online film screening, making rockets at home and hearing awe inspiring stories from local STEM role models," Ms Kothe said.
National Science Week runs until Sunday, August 23.
- For more information about National Science Week events, visit: www.scienceweek.net.au
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
