i050801 TROST InfoNote  System Lifecycle Collisions NGC 5426/27 Collision

TROSTing>info> 2005>08> i050801c1> 0.07 2006-08-08 -22:19 -0700

Galaxies in Collision

NGC 5426/27 photo credit: Vera C. Rubin (1977), used with permission

Observatory: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Telescope: Blanco 4-meter prime focus; plate #3091 Date: 1977 March 20/21 Exposure: 90 minutes Image: baked IIIaJ emulsion on glass plate, 13mm major extent of image Filter: 385 Seeing: 2-3 arc seconds Sky: clear Developed: D-19 x5.5 min @ 68 degrees F.

1. The Metaphor

1.1 This striking image is an appealing illustration of colliding spirals at the cosmic level.  Although it is rare for individual stars to collide as galaxies intersect, gravitational tidal forces impact both galaxies, seen in the apparent joining and trailing of stellar streams and cosmic material, including the formation of new stars.

1.2 The image serves as a visual metaphor for

• different (spiraling)  lifecycle levels in the creation and adoption of computer and information systems
• distinct conceptual frameworks inhabited by practitioners in their separate universes of practice
• bridging the gap, with new understandings and opportunities that arise in the fusion

2. The Science

2.1 Think about the science, the technology, the engineering, and all of the contributors that have the cosmos appear to stand still for 90 minutes, long enough for photons that have traveled in excess of 100 million years to provide a snapshot on an area about one quarter that of a 35mm negative.

2.2 Think about the difference between theory and practice in a chain of transformations and processes that surrender a persistent record of the image in a developed emulsion of silver-based particles on a flat glass substrate.

2.3 Think about the care shown by scientists in checking, correlating, capturing, and preserving experimental results in ways that allow the work to be reviewed, repeated, and scrutinized.  Think of the record's existence as evidence in testing theories about processes that engulf us here, now, and are best recognized at great distances in what consistently appears to be the distant past of the universe.

2.4 Think about scientific integrity and trustworthiness.  Think about that in fostering human institutions that are built to last.  Think about that in terms of reliable results from unreliable parts and fallible participants.

— Dennis E. Hamilton
2005 August 12

3. Sources

Rubin, Vera C. (1977)

NGC 5426/27.  Astronomical image.  Cerro Tololo 4-meter telescope, plate #3091, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile, March 20/21 1977.

Rubin, Vera C. (2005)

NGC 5426/27 image details and permission.  Personal e-mail communications, 2005 August 9, 12.  [Note: this image is not part of the covered work for which the Creative Commons license is provided.]

Revision History:

 

0.07 2005-08-12-15:42 Add Size and Science

To connect the metaphor more, I obtained the size and distance and added remarks on the science involved from a trustworthiness perspective.  Add section titles with permalink numbers down to the paragraph level.  Separate the image from the "covered work" of the CC License, too.  Put it in my voice.

0.06 2005-08-11-14:50 Connect as System Lifecycle Metaphor

Link to the plate catalog of the telescope and add how the image serves us metaphorically. 

0.05 2005-08-10-14:28 Provide Basic Information

The image and links to sources is introduced for reference from other material and uses of versions of the image.

0.00 2005-08-09-21:10 Create Initial Placeholder

Introduce an initial placeholder that serve as a target of links and include-page components until more content is developed.  This page is a customization of the initial (0.00) placeholder that was created for i050801c: System Lifecycle Collisions Discussion

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created 2005-08-09-21:10 -0700 (pdt) by orcmid $$Author: Orcmid $ $$Date: 06-08-08 22:19 $ $$Revision: 91 $