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NASA SCIENTIST PAINTS WITH ICE AND LIGHT
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"Devana Chasma"
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NASA invites you to explore the frozen vision, or "Frizion," of Dr. Peter Wasilewski, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. His striking, often hauntingly beautiful photographs of polarized light through ice crystals are on display at the Goddard Visitor Center beginning with an opening reception May 17 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The free exhibit will be open through July.
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"morningdragon"
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Although grounded in science, the endeavor is purely artistic. "I choose photographs that evoke an image or theme, and I'm very interested in how others react to those images. Like all abstract art, there can be various interpretations," said Wasilewski.
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"TAOS"
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Wasilewski uses "only ice, the laws of physics, and attitude" to create his colorful images. "Many are purely fortuitous. The couple dozen on display at the Goddard Visitor Center came from about a thousand photos, which I guess is almost the same ratio for a professional photographer," adds Wasilewski with a grin.
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"plumage"
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Each piece begins as a vessel of water, which is then frozen, manipulated, and viewed through polarized light. Light has wave-like properties, one of which is vibration. Ordinary white light vibrates in many directions, but a polarizing filter blocks all light except that which is vibrating in a single direction. To make a "Frizion" photograph, a polarizing filter is placed on a light table to polarize the light passing through. A petri dish with a thin layer of water in the process of freezing is placed over the filter. As the polarized light passes through the forming ice crystals, it is subjected to birefringence, where the refraction (bending) of light in two slightly different directions forms two different rays of light. The color palette in the images is created by rotating a second polarizing filter placed over the ice to intercept the emerging light rays.
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"ILLUME"
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"A 'Frizion' photograph can be thought of as a painting of polarized light on a canvas of ice," said Wasilewski.
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"Re-entry"
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Wasilewski traces his interest in ice photography to his friend, Dr. Tony Gow, formerly of the U.S. Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, now retired. "Tony Gow spent 45 years studying ice, and is a world-class expert. He was fascinated by how much he could learn just from the shapes and colors in ice. His enthusiasm was infectious, and I became fascinated as well," said Wasilewski.
The inspiration for "Frizion" photographs happened in 2001, when Wasilewski and Gow created a winter camp for science teachers on Lake Placid, N.Y., supported by Goddard's education program. "We were taking core samples of the frozen lake surface and examining their crystal structure. One end of the lake had a layer of organic debris on the bottom that emitted methane gas bubbles as it decayed. The bubbles were frozen in the ice, and when we examined this ice, we noticed that the structure and color of the crystals were completely different from ordinary ice. I realized that color and form could change depending on the thickness and orientation of the ice. I started playing around, making ice crystals in my refrigerator and photographing them, and 'Frizion' was born," said Wasilewski.
The Goddard Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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