astronomy

Kimberly Arcand

Kimberly Arcand is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kimberly Arcand rather than just read about it. In short: Kimberly Kowal Arcand (born December 20, 1975) is a data visualizer and science communicator for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. She is also the visualization coordinator for the Aesthetics and Astronomy image response project at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Key takeaways

Kimberly Arcand belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kimberly Arcand to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kimberly Arcand from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kimberly Kowal Arcand (born December 20, 1975) is a data visualizer and science communicator for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. She is also the visualization coordinator for the Aesthetics and Astronomy image response project at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Early life and education As a child, Arcand wanted to be an astronaut. She studied molecular biology at the University of Rhode Island and also became a developer for the University of Rhode Island Center for Vector-Borne Disease Public Health project. She was awarded a fellowship with the Rhode Island Public Health Partnership to work on Lyme disease. Arcand studied briefly at the Harvard University Computer Science Department between 2000 and 2002. In 2013 Arcand earned a Master's degree in Public Humanities from Brown University, focusing on image and meaning research. In 2020, Arcand completed her doctorate at the University of Otago in visualization science, under the supervision of Lisa Smith. She worked in the University of Rhode Island Department of Computer Science as an instructor between 1997 and 1999. She joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1998.

Career

In 2009 Arcand launched From Earth to the Universe with UNESCO. She is the visualization coordinator of the Aesthetics and Astronomy image response project at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The project launched in 2010 and looks at variations in the presentation of color and scale in astronomical images. The team also studies how people respond to images, and the misconceptions that non-experts have when they view them. The project began when Randall, Jeffrey, and Lisa F. Smith realized that the art would provide astrophysicists a more effective way in conveying the results to a much larger audience. The group explored the public perception of astronomical pictures using a survey linked to the NASA Astronomical Picture of the Day site. She worked closely with UNESCO to celebrate the International Year of Light, an open-source exhibition that showcased science based on light. The celebration was supported by SPIE. Using NASA data, Arcand developed a way to 3D print a supernova remnant. In 2016 the White House selected Arcand as a changemaker at the United State of Women Summit. where she wrote about the event for HuffPost. In 2017 Vinita Marwaha Madill's profiled her on Rocket Women. Arcand also serves on the boards of Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art (RIMOSA). and Rhode Island's Tech Collective. In 2019, Arcand collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution to launch the "Journey through an Exploded Star” 3-D Interactive Experience website.

Honors and awards Arcand has won several awards for her work from NASA and the Smithsonian Institution.

2007 Pirelli International Award for science communication 2010 International Year of Astronomy Mani Bhaumik Prize for Excellence in Astronomy Education and Public Outreach 2014 Tech Collective Tech 10 2016 Smithsonian Institution Achievement Award

Publications

Authored and co-authored Arcand has written several popular science books. Her book Colouring the Universe was selected by Cosmos as one of the Top Illustrated Science Books of 2016. She collaborates with Megan Watzke and Travis Rector, Ph.D. Her book Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond was selected by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Gifts of 2016.

2022 Stars in Your Hand: A Guide to 3D Printing the Cosmos (with Megan Watzke) 2020 Goodnight Exomoon (Smithsonian Kids Storybook) Authored 2020 An Alien Helped Me with My Homework (with Lisa Smith) 2019 Light from the Void: Twenty Years of Discovery with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (with Grant Tremblay, Megan Watzke, Martin C. Weisskopf and Belinda J. Wilkes) 2017 Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe (with Megan Watzke) 2015 Colouring the Universe: An Insider's Guide to Making Spectacular Images of Space (with Travis Rector and Megan Watzke ) 2015 Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond (with Megan Watzke) 2013 Your Ticket to the Universe: A Guide To Exploring the Cosmos (with Megan Watzke)

Selected academic works Arcand, K. K.; Jiang, E.; Price, S.; Watzke, M.; Sgouros, T.; Edmonds, P. (12/2018). Walking Through an Exploded Star: Rendering Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A into Virtual Reality. CAP Journal Issue 24 (2018): 17 arXiv:1812.06237 Arcand, K. K.; Jiang, E.; Price, S.; Watzke, M.; Sgouros, T.; Edmonds, P. (10/2018). Walking Through an Exploded Star: Rendering Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A into Virtual Reality. CAP Journal, Issue 24, p. 17, Bibcode 2018CAPJ...24...17A Lisa F. Smith, Kimberly K. Arcand, Randall K. Smith, Jay Bookbinder and Jeffrey K. Smith. (November 21, 2017 ). Capturing the many faces of an exploded star: communicating complex and evolving astronomical data Bibcode 2018CAPJ...24...17A doi 10.22323/2.16050202 Arcand, K.; Megan, W.; DePasquale, J.; Jubett, A.; Edmonds, P.; DiVona, K. (09/2017). Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal, Volume 22, p. 14 Bibcode 2017CAPJ...22...14A Arcand K., Watzke, M., DePasquale, J., Edmonds, P., *Bringing Cosmic Objects Down to Earth: An Overview of 3D Modelling and Printing in Astronomy and Astronomy Communication* Issue 22, p. 14. Arcand K., Watzke, M. (09/2017) "Pioneering Paths to the Universe" PanEuropean Networks: Science & Technology, issue 24, p128. Rector, T., Levay, Z., Frattare, L., Arcand, K.K., Watzke, M. (03/ 2017) "The Aesthetics of Astrophysics: How to Make Appealing Color-Composite Images that Convey the Science" Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific doi 10.1088/1538-3873/aa5457 Lisa F. Smith, Jeffrey K. Smith, Kimberly K. Arcand, Randall K. Smith, Jay Bookbinder, Kelly Keach (09/2010) *Aesthetics and Astronomy: Studying the Public's Perception and Understanding of Imagery from Space* Science Communication Journal doi 10.1177/1075547010379579

References

External links

Official website Exploring the Universe with NASA's Kim Arcand and Subject Matter X

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kimberly Arcand

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kimberly Arcand claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kimberly Arcand before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kimberly Arcand ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kimberly Arcand

In research: Kimberly Arcand appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kimberly Arcand in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kimberly Arcand is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1975 births, 21st-century American science writers, 21st-century American scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kimberly Arcand outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kimberly Arcand in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kimberly Arcand means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kimberly Arcand out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kimberly Arcand in simple terms?

Why does Kimberly Arcand matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kimberly Arcand?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kimberly Arcand.