When I tell people about my new book about forensic scientists,
Blood, Powder and Residue: How Crime Labs Translate Evidence into Proof, they usually think about popular TV shows such as “CSI.” But there’s a gap between the public image of scientists and what scientists do, and this gap matters. I had a recent amateur science experience that reminded me of this. One evening right before Christmas I stood near the edge of the Hudson River, clutching a pair of binoculars, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ‘great conjunction’ of Jupiter and Saturn. A couple came down the hill with a telescope and tripod, and as the sky darkened other walkers and bikers nearby on the path gathered around. One woman asked, “Have you seen it? We thought we saw it over those towers in New Jersey,” pointing across the river. A family said they had walked over from the East Side, “but we are worried it might be too cloudy.” The couple with the telescope offered to let us all have a turn: “It should just take 5 minutes to set it up—on the solstice we could see some of Jupiter’s moons.”