Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias (IAC)
e-mail: cpv@.iac.es
Falling into a black hole is one of the best-described
horrors in science fiction literature. Whoever falls into a black hole and
survives to tell the tale can resurface in some other part of space and at
another moment in time.
But one day astronomers discovered that black holes
are not merely fantasy, and that the peculiar physics concerning these
astronomical bodies were of great scientific interest. This interest has been
echoed in the news media, where there are frequent reports of the confirmation,
or otherwise, of the existence of black holes.
Investigators at the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias (IAC) have figured prominently on various occasions in discoveries
concerning these mysterious objects in the Universe, and their work has been
reported in major international journals such as Nature and Science.
The detection of the invisible
Black holes have been matter of continuous
speculations. The first idea was suggested in the XVIII century and almost
simultaneously by the
astronomer John Michell and the physicist Pierre-Simon Laplace: if you
combine a big mass with a small radius it is possible to obtain an object from
which light can no longer escape.
Today we know that the density of this object is so
extraordinary that space is completely distorted. The properties of the region
around a black hole are against our common experience.
Furthermore, it is very difficult
to observe something which you cannot see by definition, although it is
possible to find them through their gravitational influence. So, we have to search for black
holes by searching binary systems to observe anomalous behaviour of the
normal star, such as the acceleration and the loss of matter at high velocity. When gas
from a star falls into the black hole it emits a huge quantity of matter of
energy in the form of X rays before being absorbed. We can observe this
radiation, but out of the atmosphere, with artificial satellites. Also we can try to measure with
earth-based detectors the gravitational waves produced by the distorted space.
Astronomy
is a science with its own language, which has been exported to other, quite
different, contexts, and with a terminology still to be settled in Spanish, for
instance.
The name “black hole” has become
historic in connexion with the horrible catastrophe in 1756 at the black hole of
the barracks in Fort William, Calcutta, into which 146 Europeans were thrust
for a whole night, of whom only 23 survived till the morning (O.E.D.
1989).
John Archibald Wheeler coined “black hole” as an astrophysical term in 1967
to replace: “dark stars” (used by Michell), “spherical singularities” (used by
Schwarzschild and also by Einstein in 1939 to deny the existence of these
objects), “frozen stars” (used in ex Soviet Union) and “collapsed stars” (used
by western physicists) (Thorne 1995).
About the suitability of “black
hole”, Stephen Hawking said: “The word black hole was
itself a stroke of genius. It warranted the entry of black holes into the
mythology of science fiction. It also stimulated scientific investigation to
provide a definitive term for something which previously lacked a satisfactory
title” (Hawking 1994).
Wheeler himself said: “The
adoption in 1967 of the expression black hole was terminologically trivial,
but of great psychological importance. After this term was introduced, more and
more astronomers began to realize that black holes might not only be an
invention of the imagination, but also astronomical objects the research of
which warranted the effort of spending time and money” (Wheeler 1994).
However, the magic of black holes
can be lost in the complexity of their nomenclature. The names come in two parts: the
first one is the source of X rays; the second one represents of its optical
counterpart. These are some examples: X1956+350 or Cyg X-1, GRO J1655-40 or
Nova Sco 91, GS 2023+338 or V404 Cyg, GS 2000+25 or QZ Vul,
GRO J1655-40 or Nova Sco 91,…
The
detailed study of specific cases of astronomical terms coined during the XX
century such as “ black hole” (del Puerto 2000), together with their histories,
and their frequencies of occurrence in the Spanish press, make it manifestly
clear that their success depends to a large degree on their power of attraction
and communication rather than on their strict scientific appropriateness.
Also scientific disagreements exist
over the term “black hole”. Some astronomers do not want to accept the existence of these cosmic
objects as a proven fact and they are still using the expression “candidate”
for a black hole. Other astronomers restrict the expression “candidates” for
objects which are under investigation. They will use the term “black holes” for
those for which the dynamical properties are well established. The mass media do not discriminate between
black holes and candidates.
The mass
media are increasingly interested in science and technology. However, the
situation is far from satisfactory. According to Vladimir de Semir: “Beyond the dominance of political news in
press, radio and television, the scale of values in our society between
knowledge and capacity has altered substantially with the inclusion of science
and technology and with increasing civic participation in political decisions.”
(de Semir 1988)[1].
The society
of the future will need to discuss scientific items in a democratic way. For
that, the investigators must facilitate the popularisation of their knowledge
and their institutions (centres of research and universities) are the best
vehicle for that purpose. In this context, the role of the journalists must act
as a driving belt for such knowledge.
A high
percentage of science news published in the mass media has been generated by
press offices in universities and centres of research. The IAC is a vital
source of scientific information especially for the Spanish media, both for the
news related with its Observatories –Teide Observatory and Roque de los
Muchachos Observatory- and for its astrophysical research and its technological
developments –a very large telescope among them-, as well as its educational
and cultural activities.
The
presence of the IAC in Spanish mass media is well known: 20% of the
astronomical information published between 1976 and 1995 in El País –the
Spanish newspaper distributed nationally with the largest circulation- is
related with the IAC and its Observatories (del Puerto 2000).
It is
evident that the ever-growing presence in the media of astronomy and its
related disciplines. The Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) have had
much to do with this burgeoning news coverage of astronomy, as is reflected in
press headlines.
The IAC is one such research centre and is also involved in
the popularization of science and is itself a generator of science journalism,
particularly within its most immediate geographical environment.
Science journalism is a very recent development in Spain
(the first science and technology supplements in the Spanish press appeared in
the eighties) and is even more of a newcomer as an academic discipline (only
recently incorporated, as an optional subject in most cases, in the programmes
of some Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication).
There is, however, a need for specialization within
journalism, above all in the fields of science and technology. Science
journalism fulfils a social function in spreading the scientific knowledge that
has become such a ubiquitous feature of our end-of-millenium society. It is a
specialization with its own set of problems, not unrelated to the new
information technologies, and that will carry more and more weight in the media
of the XXI century (del Puerto 2000).
Procedure for communicating a scientific discovery at the IAC
Science (and
technology) is an important facet of culture. Since its origins, the IAC has
endeavoured to popularise it, to make it more accessible to the general public.
The procedure for communicating a
scientific discovery at the IAC starts identifying topics of interest to be continued
with the timing: communication opportunities
for a piece of research, perhaps prompt publication in a scientific journal.
Then we write a draft report. Some astronomers are brilliant
communicators, but some are not and after interviewing we need to work together
to prepare a press release. To delivery it we use conventional means of
transmission (fax, telephone) and new ones.
One of the most significant
activities is the outreach through the web pages. Particular emphasis is given
to the diffusion and supply of documentation, both written and graphical, via
Internet, a fundamental tool for any research centre aspiring to become a
useful source of scientific information for the news media, In our
web site (http://www.iac.es; http://www.iac.es/gabinete/noticias/noticias.htm), text,
images and links are available.
In 1999 a new channel of information by
e-mail was created at the IAC. To communicate scientific results we use
“periastros”, the IAC list of e-mail addresses of specialist
scientific journalists. The name of this list is taken from periastron, that
means “the point of closest approach of the two objects, in orbital motion”.
Also we pay personal attention to subsequent media inquiries, and a scientific advisor for the media is always available.
The most important scientific
highlights and the main activities of the IAC are finally, published in our
magazine IAC Noticias and other literature on-line or in CD-rom.
Newspapers, magazines and radio always thank the efforts of the IAC giving full satisfaction to their inquiries. The IAC provides them information and graphic material as well as permanent consulting.
However, until a few years ago, the situation was different with the TV media. They found serious difficulties to illustrate the news generated by the IAC, even in spite of the rich set of beautiful images coming from Astronomy and the Observatories.
Since 1999 the IAC is currently handling the news requirements of audiovisual media with personal and economic endeavours. So we also offer to the media videos for TV, with images and animations in betacam format that have been prepared by a technician specialist in informatic design. These images have been created expressly to illustrate the scientific concepts of the news, sometimes even with a proposal for the script.
The
“embargo”, a Spanish
word!
In
relation to the imposition of embargoes by journals, we have to alert the media
before releasing news. But several problems arise. First, because of the local time and the deadlines it is
difficult for us to respect the embargoes. We cannot force the media to respect
them. Besides, often we must provide background information concerning a press
release to ensure that it correctly focussed for the Spanish press.
V404 Cyg and the
impact on the mass media
The best candidate for a black hole was
discovered in August 1991 by Jorge Casares (IAC), Phil Charles (RGO) and Tim Naylor
(U. Keele), in the system V404 Cygni in our galaxy, with the 4,2m
William Herschel Telescope (Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma). The
discovery was published in Nature in 13 February 1992. In this case, the
press release by the IAC was in time to fill in important questions of detail
in the press releases of scientific journals.
The highlight was reported on the Spanish mass media
and also on international newspapers and scientific journals. These are some of
the headlines: “A Spanish scientist presents the more convincing evidence of a black
hole” (El País)[2]; “A
Spanish scientist discovers the first black hole” (ABC)[3]; “The IAC discovers ‘the first
definitive black hole’” (Diario de Avisos)[4],
“Astronomers say unseen object orbited by star is best evidence of black hole”
(The Houston Post), “New black hole in our Galaxy” (Science).
The first evidence of a supernova origin for a black hole
was another discovery concerning these enigmatic objects. This result was
obtained by Garik Israelian (IAC), Rafael Rebolo (IAC/CSIC), Jorge Casares
(IAC) and astronomers of the University of California, with the 10m Keck
Telescope, Hawai. The detection of the remains of a thermonuclear explosion in
a star which is orbiting around a black hole (the system GRO J1655-40 or Nova
Scorpii 1994) was published in Nature the 9 September 1999.
As evidence of the explosion, the companion had been
enriched by large quantities of Oxygen, Magnesium, Silicon and Sulphur. These
are chemical elements produced only in supermassive stars, which “pollute”
their environment when they die as supernovae or hypernovae. This was put
forward as evidence that a 30 solar mass star was the origin for the black
hole, which is now where the star used to be.
Science seldom is front-page news. However, this was
the case with the origin of black holes. This discovery was the front page in
an important Spanish newspaper such as El País. These were the
headlines: “Spanish astronomers find the first evidence of the origin of black
holes” (El País, on front page)[5]
and “First evidence of the formation of a black hole” (El País, in
central pages)[6].
Also, this highlight was covered widely in other mass
media, especially on TV. Images and animations were expressly designed to
illustrate the news item.
REFERENCES:
DE SEMIR, Vladimir de.
“¿Moda o necesidad? La información científica a debate”, in Política Científica. October 1988. N. 14. pp. 63-66.
DEL PUERTO, Carmen. Periodismo científico: la astronomía en titulares de
prensa.
Doctoral thesis 2000, University of La Laguna.
HAWKING, Stephen. Agujeros negros y pequeños universos y otros
ensayos. (Black holes and baby
universes and other essays). Trad. por Guillermo
Solana Alonso. Plaza y Janés. Barcelona,
1994.
The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford Clarendon Press. Oxford, 1989, 2ª edition.
THORNE, Kip S. Agujeros negros y tiempo curvo. El escandaloso legado de Einstein. (Black Holes and Time Warps. Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy). Trad. por Javier García Sanz. Presentación por Stephen Hawking. Crítica (Drakontos). Barcelona, 1995 (e.o. 1994). p. 237.
WHEELER, John Archibald. Un viaje por la gravedad y el espacio-tiempo. (A Journey into Gravity and Spacetime). Alianza Editorial. Madrid, 1994 (e.o. 1990). p. 222.
[1] Tras el monopolio de la política en prensa, radio y televisión, la escala de valores de nuestra sociedad entre el saber y el poder se ha alterado en gran medida con la incorporación de la ciencia y la tecnología y con la mayor participación ciudadana en las grandes decisiones de la política.
[2] Un científico español presenta la prueba más convincente de un agujero Negro.
[3] Un científico español descubre el primer ‘agujero negro’ de nuestra galaxia.
[4] El IAC descubre el ‘primer agujero negro definitivo’.
[5] Astrónomos españoles hallan las primeras pruebas del origen de los agujeros negros.
[6] Primeras pruebas de la formación de un agujero Negro.