Touch The Universe

We love to talk about how beautiful the night sky is to look up at.

But what if you could do more than that? What if you could touch it?

University of Portsmouth created a tactile universe that enables blind and partially sighted children to see galaxies through touch.

Telling us more about The Tactile Universe is Astronomer and Project Lead Dr Nicolas Bonne, who himself is visually impaired and hopes to inspire young people to learn about astronomy.

Nicolas is chatting to RNIB Connect Radio’s Simon Pauley.

For more information about The Tactile Universe visit: www.icg.port.ac.uk/tactileuniverse

[Photo: Someone's hands are holding up a Tactile Map of a Galaxy, a dark square block with various ridges that show the brighter parts of the galaxy. The person’s fingers are tracing over the different ridges of the 3D image. In the background printed photos of galaxies are spread out over a desk]