Michael Lemonick

 The result was the September 2006 cover story, “Let There Be Light,” a narrative that tracked the efforts of British Astronomer Richard Ellis and his Graduate Assistant Dan Stark to discover what fueled the birth of the first stars.

Lemonick shared his thoughts on science writing, and specifically on the process composing this story, in a Question and Answer session with an audience of New York University students and professors on October 24, 2006. The event was moderated by Los Angeles Times science writer Robert Lee Hotz.

The article, which focused on the research and observations of Ellis and Stark, began merely as an idea for a story about the Dark Ages of the universe — the period following the Big Bang but preceding the birth of the first stars. This was “a crucial era for the universe,” Lemonick said. The appearance of the first stars set the stage for everything that came afterwards. “It was during the Dark Ages that the chemical elements we know so well — carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and most of the rest — were first forged out of primordial hydrogen and helium,” writes Lemonick in “Let There Be Light.” “And it was during this time that the great structures of the modern universe — superclusters of thousands of galaxies stretching across millions of light-years — began to assemble.” The closer we get to viewing light from the time of the Big Bang, says the writer, the closer we come to finding out how our world truly began.

Lemonick admitted, however, that when he pitched his editor, he had no real story — no leads, no plot: just an idea he thought was an important one to tell. “Don’t try this at home,” he said with a laugh, adding that he got away with it because he has been “writing long enough to make something out of nothing.” In fact, Lemonick has had over 20 years of practice, twelve of them at Time.

In its initial incarnation, Lemonick’s story about the universe’s infancy was largely speculative. The early draft explored current beliefs about how hard it would be to spot the distant galaxies born immediately after the Big Bang. But, the writer’s personal “Grand Unified Theory of Science Writing,” a theory he created and perfected over the years, told him that something more was needed.

Lemonick’s approach to science writing can be broken down into three steps. First, he writes a draft. Then, he goes through the story and puts it into terms that the average person could understand. This means taking out most of the science jargon. Finally, he tries to anticipate any questions readers might have and makes sure the story answers them. After applying his theory to his Time story, Lemonick realized that the average reader, one with little or no science experience, would not be able to fully grasp what he was saying. Convinced that he needed something more concrete to keep readers’ attention , Lemonick began searching for a human element to his story.

His search brought him to Richard Ellis, who ultimately became the protagonist of “Let There Be Light.” When Lemonick called, Ellis was in the midst of planning a trip to the Keck Observatory in Waimea, Hawaii, which holds two of the world’s most powerful telescopes. There, he and Graduate Assistant Dan Stark were planning to try and view one of six galaxies they believed they’d found, whose lights began their journey to Earth half a billion years after the Big Bang. Ellis and Stark were looking for visual confirmation of the galaxies existence. If successful, they would be the first people to view “the most distant galaxy ever seen,” Lemonick said.

When Stark typed in the wrong username, making the powerful computer-operated Keck telescope unable to focus, Lemonick knew he’d happened on the drama that would keep readers invested in his story. Ellis and Stark had only one night to view the galaxies and, as Ellis said, “If you can’t focus the telescope, you’re stuffed.” In writing about it, Lemonick captured the tension in the observation room, and the relief when they fixed the problem. He had found the final piece of the puzzle. Ellis and Stark were able to view three out of six galaxies. Locating these galaxies led Ellis to believe that astronomers would eventually have enough data to paint a picture of what spurred the birth of the first stars.

Lemonick’s journey didn’t end with the writing of the story, however. Since it wasn’t tied to a particular news hook, his story could run at any time, and he had to be prepared to put the finishing touches on the piece at his editor’s convenience. So, at 3 o’clock on a Friday afternoon, several weeks after writing the story, when Lemonick’s editor called and asked how his stamina was, and then faxed over five pages of questions and revisions, he knew he was in for a rough night. Thanks to his years of experience, he was able to finish the story before dawn the next day.

Despite the last minute rewrites, Lemonick said he wouldn’t change anything. This should come as no surprise from a man who describes astronomy as his “first love,” on his website. Asked what he likes best about being a journalist, he said, “My favorite thing, I think, is interacting with really smart, interesting people…That forces me to look at my world through different eyes.”