Date: November 3, 2010
Title: The Art of Bringing Astronomy to the Public
Podcaster: Thomas Hofstätter
Description: Astronomy is the oldest science in mankind. Nonetheless, only few schools offer the possibility to go to astronomy lessons. Hence, it’s necessary for private organizations and amateur astronomers to overtake this job. Public star parties are one of the best way to do so. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions to the podcast, feel free to write me an email to hidden-space (at) gmx (dot) at or visit me at my website at www.hidden-space.at.tf!
Bio: “Interested in extreme small and extreme big, devious and uninvestigated things. My main aim is to bring astronomy to public and to establish secular interest in astronomy, physics and mathematics. Astronomy is more than just science! – It’s everywhere and forever!
Host of :: The Hidden Space Project :: (http://hidden-space.at.tf)”
Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored anonymously and dedicated to the memory of Annie Cameron, at the time of NASA EPOXI flyby of Comet 103P/Hartley 0.0.155 AU above Tryphena, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, located between Betelgeuse and Procyon on the edge of Canis Minor 4 November 2010.
Transcript:
Hello and welcome to this episode of 365 Days of Astronomy. My name is Thomas Hofst‰tter and I am the hoster of :: The Hidden Space Project :: at www.hidden-space.at.tf.
[Leon:] And I’m Leon Dombroski from the state of Connecticut in the United States.
In this episode, we’re going to talk about how to bring astronomy to public using public sky parties to let people having their first look through a telescope.
[Leon:] Astronomy is a fascinating science for everyone. Some like looking up into the skies, taking photos or watching meteors. The other are more theoretically and occupy themselves with physics, cosmology and general (perhaps historical) information over f.i. the internet. And all are the same ñ if they have been confronted with astronomy, they are fascinated and probably cannot stop any more. But several people haven’t recognized the beauty of the skies. They never had the pleasure to look up into the skies and ask themselves questions like ìWho are we?î and ìWhere do we come from?î.
Although it’s the oldest science of mankind, astronomy is not even taught in several schools ñ even in industrial countries. Only few schools offer the possibility to get astronomy lessons. Children and Teenagers don’t get the chance to see where they are living in. Hence, it is necessary for private organizations and astronomers to undertake this job to bring astronomy to people.
One possibility to do so are public star parties. They are public and free-of-charge events where ìnormalî people get the possibility to have a look through a telescope and listen to amateur or professional astronomers talking about the skies. In a clear night, these star parties achieve it to mobilize several astronomers with their telescopes and experience.
What’s very important when you organize a public sky party is, that you have a clear view of the night’s sky. Clouds are poison for astronomy and disturb the complete view of the objects. Moreover, it’s important for people to get to the event easily. It’s always a balancing act between a low light pollution and easy accessibility. Usually, walks up to about ten to fifteen minutes are acceptable for people who want to go to the star party on purpose.
[Leon:] Bigger star parties need to be announced so that people get to know it. That’s not always easy because of the unpredictability of the weather. It’s easier to choose a place where lots of people come around accidentally and probably first want to have a few minutes looking through the telescopes and then decide to stay for a longer period of time.
Another very important aspect is that you never announce better images than you can achieve with your telescope. An open star cluster is fascinating for amateur astronomers, but people who had very little to no contact with astronomy will only see some light dots in the ocular. You also need to assert that it’s not possible to achieve the resolution and color, people may know from images of f.i. the Hubble Space Telescope. That’s no shame for a ground-based amateur telescope and people will accept it.
[Leon:] If you choose the right object, you will get the most intensive WOW-effect. Don’t particular show objects like double star systems or very faint nebulae but f.i. objects of our solar system such as the moon (Don’t forget the gray filter!), Mars, Jupiter or Saturn. The last one fascinates especially because of it’s rings. It’s also important save the best and most interesting object until last. People will remember this impression longer than the other.
What you also have to think of is how to answer questions. Try to always be prepared to answer even the most unlikely question. Thereby, try to omit technical terms and numbers but try to use bold and simple expressions.
[Leon:] If you consider all these aspects, people will become fascinated by the sky. That’s not only a pleasure for them but also for you. The more people are interested in astronomy, the more innovation will be. And perhaps, one day, we will be able to answer not only questions like ìWho are we?î and ìWhere do we come from?î but perhaps also questions like ìWhere will we go?î.
That’s it for today. I hope, you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, write me an email to hidden-space (at) gmx (dot) at or visit me at my website at www.hidden-space.at.tf and observe basic questions of astronomy’s past and future as well as hidden and devious facts.
Thanks for listening and clear-skies!
[Leon:] Good bye for now!
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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