Thomas Ashcraft (born 1951, Springfield, Illinois)[1] is an American astronomer, naturalist, scientific instrument-maker, and artist.[2] He is known for his observations of transient luminous events (lightning sprites),[3] meteoric fireballs,[4] solar radio and optical phenomena,[5] and Jupiter radio emissions.[6]

He is an artist and citizen scientist whose work, Heliotown II, is on exhibit in the old pool house located on the Hyde Park campus of at the Santa Fe Institute.[7] He resides and maintains a laboratory and studio outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico where he operates the Observatory of Heliotown.[8] Research-grade images, audio, and video captured at the observatory have been featured on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day blog.[9][10]

Science practice

In 1992, Ashcraft built the Radio Fireball Observatory[11] for monitoring and recording fireballs, space dust, and meteoric phenomena. He has made numerous innovations in the merging of optical and radio telescope technology.[12] In 2001, he began observing Jupiter, the sun, and ionospheric phenomena with NASA's Radio Jove Project.[13]

In 2009, Ashcraft began noting lightning-generated phenomena called transient luminous events (red sprites)[14] on his radio-optical telescope systems. Over time he has established a multi-faceted observatory devoted to the capture and study of this rarely imaged phenomenon.[15]

Art practice

Ashcraft is primarily a sculptor and installation artist incorporating space, time, mind, sound, and electricity.[16] He is also a figurative sculptor exploring biological subjects such bacteriophages, viruses, microbes, and medicinal plants.[17] He was awarded a Louis Comfort Tiffany Prize[18] in art in 2005.

Selected publications

Papers

References

  1. ↑ "Thomas Ashcraft - The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation". The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. 2022-03-01. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-07-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ "Thomas Ashcraft | Citizen Scientist / Scientific Instrument Maker / Observer". NASA Solar System Exploration.
  3. ↑ Blakeslee, Sandra (September 28, 2014). "On the Hunt for a Sprite on a Midsummer's Night". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ "APOD: 2021 March 15 - Meteor Fireballs in Light and Sound". apod.nasa.gov.
  5. ↑ "As Sun Flares Up, Sky Watchers Check Microphones". NPR.org.
  6. ↑ "AGU - iPosterSessions.com". agu2020fallmeeting-agu.ipostersessions.com.
  7. ↑ "Heliotown ii". Santa Fe Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ Nott, Robert. "Citizen scientist driven by the need to discover". Santa Fe New Mexican.
  9. ↑ Nemiroff, Robert. "Astronomy Picture of the Day: Meteor Fireballs in Light and Sound". APOD. apod.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Nemiroff, Robert. "Astronomy Picture of the Day: Sprite Lightning at 100,000 Frames Per Second". APOD. apod.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  11. ↑ Mexican, Staci Matlock The New. "Artist-turned-astronomer tracks the galaxy's glowing, traveling orbs". Santa Fe New Mexican.
  12. ↑ "How an Astronomical Mystery Was Explained by High-Tech Photography". Gizmodo.
  13. ↑ "The JOVE Bulletin October 2002 Issue". radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  14. ↑ "APOD: 2021 January 4 - Sprite Lightning at 100000 Frames Per Second". apod.nasa.gov.
  15. ↑ Mann, Adam. "Otherworldly Photos Capture Mysterious Phenomena in Upper Atmosphere". Wired – via www.wired.com.
  16. ↑ "Explorations Of The Invisibles. Freedom & Power In The Electromagnetic • Digicult | Digital Art, Design and Culture". Digicult | Digital Art, Design and Culture. December 5, 2011.
  17. ↑ says, Corazon Ledesma (March 5, 2020). "Thomas Ashcraft's Hopeful Reminder in Fearful Times".
  18. ↑ "Thomas Ashcraft". The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.
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