Podcaster: Nancy Alima Ali
Title: Cultural Astronomy – Newgrange & Winter Solstice
Organization: Multiverse, Space Sciences Lab, University of California at Berkeley
Links: http://multiverse.ssl.berkeley.edu/, http://www.astroalima.com
Description: For a few minutes each winter solstice, a shaft of sunlight shines through the entrance to the Neolithic tomb of Newgrange in Ireland to illuminate the chamber within. Nancy Alima Ali from UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Lab talks with Dr. Claire Raftery, a solar physicist who grew up nearby Newgrange, to explore the meaning of this solar alignment in Irish history, folklore and culture.
Bio: Nancy Alima Ali, M.Ed., is a Coordinator of Public Programs at Multiverse at the Space Sciences Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. For over 15 years, Ms. Ali has been active in both formal and informal education as a classroom teacher, college instructor, museum educator, curriculum developer and program manager. Ms. Ali has a particular interest in exploring the ways in which multiple worldviews contribute to our understanding of the cosmos. She blogs about the intersection of astronomy and culture at www.astroalima.com.
Guest Bio: Dr. Claire Raftery is a space physicist and science educator at SSL. She received her Doctoral Degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and has been working as a research scientist and education specialist at UC Berkeley since then. She is the Communications Lead for the upcoming NASA ICON mission, and was the Project Manager for the Mars orbiter – MAVEN. She is also focused on providing research opportunities for students in engineering and science and, as the SSL Undergraduate Coordinator, runs the undergraduate internship program at the Space Sciences Laboratory.
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365 Days of Astronomy
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