Solar Power: The Science, Myth & Art of the Sun

In this 3-part lecture series, we’ll explore the science, mythology, and art that probes, honors, and defines the Sun.

Course Description

Join us for an explorative, interdisciplinary, and non-blinding look at the sun! In this panel-style crash course, we’ll delve into solar science, bask in the many myths circling the sun, and learn how to collaborate with it to create cyanotypes. Hosted by Kelly Reidy of Atlas Obscura’s Accidental Discoveries, our lineup of sun experts from across disciplines includes solar physicist Dr. Ryan French, astrophysicist and folklorist Dr. Moiya McTier, and photographer JR Pepper. By the end of our time together, you’ll not only have a deeper understanding of how this star has shaped our planet, but also how it’s shaped our lives as well as the many ways we’ve found and made meaning from it. 

Syllabus At A Glance

This course includes three total sessions, each lasting 1 hour on three consecutive days beginning February 6.

Session 1 (Tuesday, 2/6, 7–8:00 PM ET) | Sun Science: Living Under A Star With Dr. Ryan French

Session 2 (Wednesday, 2/7, 7–8:00 PM ET) | Myths & Legends of the Sun With Dr. Moiya McTier

Session 3 (Thursday, 2/8, 7–8:00 PM ET) | Making Art With the Sun: Cyanotypes With JR Pepper

Your Instructors

Dr Ryan French

Dr. Ryan French is a solar astrophysicist at the National Science Foundation's National Solar Observatory, as well as a science communicator and author. He is pursuing the mysteries of the Sun at the forefront of modern solar physics research, using cutting edge telescopes on the ground and in space. Ryan also works to share the wonders of the Sun and space with the public, through social media, public talks, and on television and radio. His first book, ‘The Sun: beginner's guide to our local star’, was released in 2023.

Moiya McTier

Dr. Moiya McTier is an astrophysicist, folklorist, and science communicator. Moiya was the first person to double major in astrophysics and folklore at Harvard and the first Black woman to earn an astronomy PhD from Columbia University. In her astronomy research, Moiya specialized in the habitability of planets and the motion of stars around the galaxy.

Moiya’s first experience with facts-based worldbuilding was her undergraduate senior thesis, a science fiction novel set on an exoplanet she studied. She wanted the world to be as motivated by her research as possible, and soon found that it didn’t make sense to stop at accurate planetary science, so she talked to biologists and psychologists to make her fictional world seem more realistic. Since then, Moiya has given hundreds of talks about science and worldbuilding, designed interactive exhibits for the New York Hall of Science, and consulted with companies like PBS and Disney on their fictional worlds. After leading worldbuilding workshops around the world, Moiya started a podcast called Exolore, where she builds fictional worlds with expert guests, interviews professional worldbuilders, and reviews the merits of worlds that have already been built. Moiya also co-hosts Fate & Fabled, a youtube show about mythology for PBS and her own podcast about astronomy called Pale Blue Pod. Her first published book, THE MILKY WAY: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy, artfully wove science, folklore, and fiction and was named one of Publishers Weekly's best books of 2022.

JR Pepper

JR Pepper is a lecturer, photographer and self described 'professional eccentric'. She holds both a BA and an MA in art history specializing in Surrealism and spirit photography. Her artwork has been seen in various gallery shows and publications including Haunted America: FAQ by Dave Thompson, Vice.com and Musee Magazine. She has spoken at New York Anime Festival, New York Comic Con, Tokyo in Tulsa, The Morbid Anatomy Museum, The Odd Salon, The Dead Ladies Show and is an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College. She currently works as digital imaging specialist at The Burns Archive and is a tour guide at Green-wood Cemetery. Her book Buried Boston: America's Revolutionary Necropolis, documenting Boston's burying grounds and cemeteries is due out in 2024.