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ASTRONOMY
www.capjournal.org
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Editor-in-Chief Kimberly Kowal Arcand Andrew Fraknoi CAPjournal
Pedro Russo Megan Watzke Richard de Grijs Communicating
Lolan Naicker André Heck Astronomy
Executive Editor Kevin Govender Terry Mahoney with the Public Journal
Lars Lindberg Christensen Tijana Prodanovic Steve Miller ESO ePOD
Matthew McCool Paul Murdin Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
Editors John R. Percy Pedro Russo 85748 Garching bei München
Terry Mahoney Salva Bará Sidney Wolff Germany
Anne Rhodes Diane Scherzler
Ryan Wyatt Thanks to E-mail:
Assistant Editor Britt Sjöberg and Julia Westner editor@capjournal.org
Lee Pullen Web Design and
Development Published by Website:
Layout and Production Raquel Shida IAU DIVISION XII Commission www.capjournal.org
Jutta Boxheimer Lars Holm Nielsen 55: Communicating Astronomy
Pedro Russo with the Public Phone: +49 89 320 06 195
Martin Kornmesser IAU DIVISION XII, Fax: +49 89 320 2362
Mafalda Martins Commission 55: CAPjournal is licensed under a
Communicating Creative Commons License ISSNs
Contributors Astronomy with the Public 1996-5621 (Print)
Lee Pullen Journal Working Group Sponsored by 1996-563X (Web)
Henri Boffin Lars Lindberg Christensen ESA/ST-ECF and ESO
Ray Villard Rick Fienberg
Contents
Editorial 3
Reviews
Video Blogging the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 7
News
Innovations
Towards a Global Baseline for Astronomy Development 13
Research & Applications
Opinion
Touring the Cosmos through Your Computer 26 Best Practices
Interviews
Tafelmusik’s The Galileo Project 30
Hubble has been an astronomical powerhouse for the last two decades. Its discoveries
have captured the imaginations of scientists and citizens alike, and have regularly thrust
Hubble into the limelight. Hubble images are appreciated for their aesthetic appeal as
well as for their illustrative power: they convey the beauty of the Universe, even to those
who are too young to understand their context or implications.
In May this year, tuning in across the whole media spectrum, including television, blogs,
newspapers, magazines, tweets and Facebook, the world followed the smooth, precise
and professional movements of the astronauts as they carried out a flawless servicing
mission. The Hubble Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) brought Hubble back to full perform-
ance level and we are all eagerly waiting to hear about the latest discoveries to come
out of the revived Hubble.
In this issue, Ray Villard, a veteran communicator at the Space Telescope Science Insti-
tute describes his excitement at communicating SM4 in an innovative way: as a series of
webcast programmes that take us behind the scenes of the technologically demanding
and challenging Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.
Also in this issue, Tijana Prodanovic gives us ten golden rules to enhance presenta-
tions; our regular contributor, Matthew McCool, guides us through the jungle of free
astronomy software available and Henri Boffin and Diane Scherzler share their feelings
about the love-hate relationship between astronomers and the media.
Between issues you can stay in touch through our website, www.capjournal.org, where
you will find the current issues in PDF format, an astronomy communication and educa-
tion job bank, submission guidelines and back issues.
Happy reading,
Pedro Russo
Editor-in-Chief
Best Practices
Explained in 60 Seconds: The End of the Sun
Our Sun is a star, a ball of gas just like the In five billion years the hydrogen will be
Key Words thousands of other twinkling pin-pricks used up and the Sun will become a red
of light in the night sky. Stars have finite giant — bad news for the Earth, which is
Written communication lifespans, so eventually they “die”. Our destined to be boiled and engulfed. Even-
Case study Sun has enough fuel to be a regular star tually the Sun’s outer layers will be cast off,
for ten billion years. It’s about halfway becoming a beautiful nebula. The core will
through that at the moment, in what we call be left as a white dwarf, slowly cooling over
the main sequence. This is when nuclear an eternity. A peaceful end for our nearest
fusion converts hydrogen into helium. Each star.
second the Sun turns four million tonnes of
material into energy. No wonder it’s so hot Lee Pullen
and bright! IAU/IYA2009
This is a composite image showing a small region of the Chandra Deep Field North. The diffuse blue object near the centre
of the image is believed to be a cosmic “ghost” generated by a huge eruption from a supermassive black hole in a distant
News
galaxy. The blue is a deep image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and in red is an image from the Multi-Element Radio
Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), an array of radio telescopes based in the United Kingdom. An optical image from
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is shown in white, yellow and orange. Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/IoA/A.Fabian et al.);
Optical (SDSS), Radio (STFC/JBO/MERLIN).
Opinion
Astronomy and the Media1
Henri Boffin
ESO education and Public Outreach Department
E-mail: hboffin@eso.org
Key Words
Media relations
Journalists
In astronomy, as in other scientific or soci- there is a great need for future scientists. these channels. The 2007 Eurobarometer
etal fields, communication is too important And even if young people don’t become on “Scientific research in the media” (Euro-
to be overlooked by any organisation. scientists, it is important that they are barometer, 2007) shows, for example, that
Public research organisations in particular exposed to science as a whole: as adults, 61% of respondents in the European Union
should be accountable to the public for the they won’t be able to avoid relying on sci- are informed about science by watching
tax money they spend. This is only pos- ence in their daily life, and they will have to television programmes, 49% by reading
sible if the public is informed about the take decisions with a scientific dimension. science articles in general newspapers
work of the organisation. Communication and magazines, 28% through the internet,
is even more crucial when trying to secure For all these reasons, the communica- 26% by listening to radio, and 22% by buy-
additional funding for new projects. As one tion strategy of research organisations ing specialised press products. Similar
scientist said, perhaps a little bit too pro- addresses various target groups: the numbers are observed in the US. Obvi-
vocatively, “the one percent spent on out- general public, scientists, policy-makers, ously, the media are an important chan-
reach brings the other 99 percent needed educators and industry. But with limited nel for communicating science. However,
to get the project done”. This may well be resources, one needs amplifying outlets to there are caveats. Firstly, science on TV
an overstatement, but the general principle reach a significant fraction of the targeted represents at most 2% of all news shown
is clear. Good communication is also a audiences. It is impossible to prepare all and, secondly, studies have revealed that
vital channel for maintaining the necessary kinds of communication material, with dif- only a quarter of all adults can read and
excellent relations with local communities ferent emphases, at all levels of complex- understand the stories in the science sec-
— some of the large astronomical observa- ity, and in all languages, so communica- tions of quality newspapers.
tories know a great deal about this. Com- tors have to rely on excellent amplifiers.
munication is also essential for astronomy Media outlets are an example. Not only The crucial question is nevertheless
to fulfil a fundamental need in modern are journalists trained to adapt the mate- whether the media are indeed an efficient
society: attracting bright youngsters to sci- rial to their public, who they know very channel for communicating astronomy. This
entific careers. Although young people are well, but it is well known that the public are is clearly a difficult question, and one which
increasingly moving away from science, informed about science primarily through can be answered in several ways. Before
• Opinion: Astronomy and the Media • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 5
briefly attempting to do so, let me make a Since 1948, astronomy has been featured most interested in?”, astronomy only takes
general remark. As discussed above and in on the cover no less than 12 times. That the 6th place, with 23% of respondents
various studies, there is no doubt that the is, about once every five years or so. The choosing it. People are more interested
media play a very important role by rais- covers encompass a wide spectrum of the in economics and social sciences (24%),
ing public awareness about science and hottest astronomical discoveries: the internet (29%), humanities (30%), the
its results, but it is doubtful how much the environment (47%), and… medicine (61%).
media are really able to teach science to the 4 September 2006: How the stars were There is thus clearly the same logic here,
wide public. This is by no means an easy born (dawn of the Universe) although one could invoke the ubiquitous
task. In their study of the public understand- 25 June 2001: How the Universe will end “chicken and egg problem” as a reason
ing of scientific terms and concepts, the US (dark energy) for this situation. Are journalists providing
National Science Foundation (2004) found 5 February 1996: Is anybody out there? stories on subjects that are most interest-
that less than 15% of people understand the (exoplanets) ing to people or are people interested in
term “molecule” while less than 50% know 23 May 1994: Cosmic crash (Comet Shoe- the stories reported by the journalists? As
that the Earth goes around the Sun once maker-Levy 9 and Jupiter) always, the truth must lie in the middle, but
a year! So any attempt to talk about top- 16 April 1990: Smash! (colossal colliders it is perhaps not such a surprise that what
ics such as gamma-ray bursts, redshifts, are unlocking the secrets of the Universe) interests the majority of people is their
galaxies or interferometry faces formidable 23 March 1987: Bang! (Supernova SN 1987A) health. A cause for optimism can be found
challenges. Scientists and science com- 16 December 1985: Skywatch (Comet however in the fact that the comparison
municators must set realistic goals when Halley’s return) between the 2001 and 2005 Eurobarom-
interacting with the media and the public, 24 November 1980: Saturn, encounter in eter surveys reveals an increase of 6%
and recognise that other activities are space (Voyager visit to Saturn) over four years in the percentage of people
required to transform curiosity into knowl- 20 October 1980: Showman of science interested in astronomy. Let us hope that
edge, such as the internet, public events, (astronomer Carl Sagan) the International Year of Astronomy 2009,
science centres and so on. A nice example 27 December 1976: Stars, where life begins with its wide spectrum of amazing activi-
of a programme that tried to exploit several (exobiology) ties, will lead to a continuation of this trend.
avenues was the Venus Transit Programme 11 March 1966: Astronomer Maarten
(Boffin & West, 2004; 2005). Other exam- Schmidt (quasars — exploring the edge of References
ples have been successfully organised in the Universe)
the framework of the International Year of 9 February 1948: Astronomer Hubble (ex • Boffin, H. & West, R. 2004, The Messenger,
Astronomy 2009. panding universe) 116, 39
Coming back to our main question, at Twelve astronomy covers would be a nice • Boffin, H. & West, R. 2005, in IAU Com-
first sight there are many reasons to be result per se, especially when, by com- mission 55: Communicating Astronomy
optimistic and to think that astronomy and parison, biology had only four covers in with the Public 2005, Robson I. & Chris-
the media have a love affair. For example, the same period, and chemistry only nine tensen L. L. (eds), 266
the online science section in The New York (mostly before 1965!). However, looking at
Times has two specific subsections, one on other academic fields, things start to be • Eurobarometer 2005, Special Euroba-
environment and the other on space & cos- less satisfactory. History was featured 24 rometer on Europeans, Science and
mos! Similarly, the British magazine New times, and the environment took the front Technology
Scientist has a fairly successful specific seat 90 times. The overall winner is medi-
space section, and one should not forget cine, which was featured on 248 covers. • Eurobarometer 2007, S
cientific research
that the BBC’s Sky at Night programme is This is 20 times more frequently than in the media
the longest running television series, on air astronomy! The same trend can be seen in
since 1957 (although no longer at prime the number of articles dealing with the vari- • NSF Science and Engineering Indicators
time, but very late in the evening). Here ous topics that appear in the magazine. In 2004, National Science Board, Chapter
again there is an important caveat, which the 598 articles found by the search engine 7, Science and Technology: Public Atti-
is that often space and astronomical news on the Time archive website, astronomy tudes and Understanding
are put together, but their share is far from comes well behind most other scientific
equal. The NSF 2008 study, Science and topics. Archaeology, biology, chemistry, Notes
Technology, Attitudes and Understanding, physics, and the environment all do better,
reveals that the NASA Space Shuttle pro- with, respectively, 1031, 1503, 2240, 2290
1
his is a partial account of a presentation given at
T
the IAU Symposium 260, The Role of Astronomy in
gramme has taken a very large share of all and 7764 articles. And again, medicine is Society and Culture, which was held at UNESCO,
science-related news in 2005 and 2006, the great winner with no less than 11 814 Paris, in January 2009.
but this is of course not astronomy as such. articles, almost 20 times as many as those
devoted to astronomy!
Another important unfortunate aspect is
the general tendency for the media to cut This superficial study clearly illustrates that,
down on science coverage. As a journalist while the media do not hesitate to talk about
from the French newspaper Le Monde told the greatest discoveries in astronomy, it
Biography
me, of the ten journalists working for the is far from being the greatest hit. Is there
science section in 1998, only four are still any logic behind this? Given what I stated Henri Boffin holds a PhD in astronomy
in place ten years later. The others had all above, that journalists know their readers, I and an MSc in science journalism. He
joined the ESO education and Public Out-
been moved to other sections. would assume so.
reach department in 2003 and he is now
the Public Information Officer for the Very
Does astronomy sell? Looking back at another Eurobarometer Large Telescope, La Silla and the Euro-
— from 2005 this time — it is interesting pean Extremely Large Telescope, and still
continues research whenever possible.
In order to try to be a little bit more quan- to see that when asked “which science
titative, I looked at the US magazine Time. and technology developments are you
• Opinion: Astronomy and the Media • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 6
Best Practices
Video Blogging the Hubble Servicing Mission 4
Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute
E-mail: villard@stsci.edu
Summary
Key Words
“Access Hubble Special Edition SM4” was a groundbreaking reality-TV event for
Audiovisuals and multimedia NASA productions: a low-budget, fast-response product that took advantage of
New media universal broadband access. The unscripted series of programmes caught the
Case study never-before-seen drama behind the technologically intensive and challenging
Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.
•Video Blogging the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 7
With launch a day away, we used the oppor- writer, as liaison boosted our acceptance.
tunity to take a press bus out to within half She had formerly worked with the GSFC
a mile of the shuttle launch pad and record team, so if we were Ann’s companions we
a story about photographers setting up must be OK!
remote cameras. The close proximity to the
space shuttle allowed for dramatic shots. It also helped that the crew was small and
We’d never get this close to Atlantis again. Mary, who was the on-camera talent and
My crew then high-tailed it back to Cocoa interviewer as well, was affable. Her enthu-
Beach to a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) siasm for the mission was infectious. Over
public fair event that offered an opportunity the course of five spacewalks the video
for man-on-the-street interviews, and to crew was treated as part of the GSFC team.
informally introduce some project person-
nel that we’d see in later instalments. Some of the best footage came from the
first spacewalk on 14 May because things
Launch day caught the building excitement went sour quickly. An over-torqued bolt on
and tension with vignettes of the astronauts the Wide Field Camera 2 would not come
boarding the van to go to the launch pad, loose. If the bolt had broken, the Wide Field
and spectators at the VIP viewing site on Camera 3 would not have been swapped
the Banana River, three miles from the out with WFPC2, and the new camera
launch pad. The opening scene to this would have come back down to Earth as a
segment has Mary driving by handwritten 130-million-dollar museum piece!
launch parking signs along the rural road
to KSC and exclaiming: “Today is the day!” The video captures the high anxiety on the
Figure 2. Video producer Mary Estacion on location at
engineers’ faces. The best piece of footage
the STS-125 launch site. Credit: NASA/STScI Flight days unfold in Houston was when the GSFC HST Project Scientist
clasped his head with both hands in a show
opening “signature” graphic for the series After launch, the space shuttle Atlantis of relief when the stubborn bolt finally came
that animated the mission patch. The began its Hubble chase around the globe, loose. “This took five years off of my life,” he
programme title — a take-off on the show and we hopped on a plane to Houston. later said on the video segment.
Access Hollywood — was “Access Hubble There were no Hubble Access stories that
SM4”2. day. In the third instalment on 13 May, Mary Over successive spacewalks there was a
did a stand-up introduction in front of the rhythm of tension, triumph and fun as the
To pull off the programme we had to have JSC entry sign as I drove around the block repair drama unfolded. The most endear-
access to the inner sanctum of the huge because there is no street parking! Then ing shots that gave the programmes a
and windowless Mission Control Center we spent the next four hours trying to get cadence were comic relief vignettes when
(MCC) in Houston. I wasn’t sure if the gam- proper security badging, which we thought engineers decide to munch on Cheese
bit would pay off. Would the Hubble engi- had been all arranged after weeks of phone Snack crackers, Start Smart breakfast
neers and scientists become combative at calls and e-mails to NASA. cereal, and specially made “berthing
the sight of a camera crew? Would project brownies”. There were great mini-tutorials
officials insist on reviewing the broadcast Things got very dicey when JSC’s security where GSFC engineers did show and tell
before it was aired? Or worse, would they chief seemed indecisive about whether our sessions with duplicate Hubble hardware
insist that certain individuals be profiled on crew could enter the high security MCC. they had in the POCC, such as replace-
camera? I began to fear that despite our best efforts ment thermal insulation panels.
we’d be locked out, as was a producer
Our approach therefore was definitely from PBS’s Nova series, who was left to After the first couple days we realised that
“guerrilla video”. That is, a low-budget, stand in the MCC lobby and film interviews the project was bigger than anticipated.
fast response product that took advan- for the five days of spacewalks. Our web We’d start at 6 am for spacewalks. We’d
tage of universal broadband access and programme would be a flop if we were so finish videotaping by mid-afternoon. Edit-
free video services for distribution. I had cut off from the centre of the action. ing would go on well into the evening,
full confidence we could capture a great and the hours overnight would be spent
story this way if all the players could simply Thankfully, JSC Public Affairs officials uploading HD files to STScI in Baltimore.
ignore the camera and let us record the arranged for one of their staff escort us to Sometimes postproduction was needed
unfolding drama without a long and formal the POCC and stay there with us for eight and our video engineer Ed Weibe would
review of the product. hours of shooting each day. Our arrival splice in spacewalk footage. Then there
at the MCC was razor-thin timing. As we was the automated but still gruelling task
Kennedy Space Center headed through the MCC labyrinth of of converting the finished piece into 12 dif-
— launch! corridors, we could hear applause as the ferent formats for the internet. By noon the
shuttle was grappling HST. We missed it, following day each video had been posted.
but caught the engineers’ excitement when In hindsight this was more work than one
On 10 May our crew headed for Florida’s Hubble was berthed in the shuttle cargo producer could handle, though Mary held
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with no bay for five days of spacewalks. up remarkably well over the five exhaustive
script and no story outline. We were sim- days of spacewalks.
ply looking for vignettes that captured the Spacewalks start
preparations for the launch of STS-125. The climactic “money shot” we all antici-
The opening shot for the series had Mary At first the GSFC team didn’t know what to pated in the series was the teary goodbye
standing in front of the iconic Vertical make of our video crew. We had decided to in the POCC when HST was deployed
Assembly Building (VAB), built during the be as non-intrusive as possible. My bring- back into orbit. It would be like watching
Project Apollo days. ing along Ann Jenkins, our senior science a child go off to college, never to return.
• Video Blogging the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 •CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 8
• Video Blogging the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 9
Summary
Key Words
The From Earth to the Universe (FETTU) project is a worldwide effort to
International Year of Astronomy 2009 bring the striking beauty and intriguing science of astronomy to the public.
IYA2009 Cornerstone project By showcasing some of the best images from the fleet of space-based
Image exhibition observatories and wide array of telescopes (and astrophotographers) on the
From Earth to the Universe ground, FETTU strives to engage as many people as possible in the wonders
of the Universe. As one of the 12 global Cornerstone projects being supported
by International Year of Astronomy 2009, FETTU is, in fact, reaching its goals
halfway through IYA2009. Over 60 countries in more than 250 separate
exhibitions are participating in FETTU. From tiny villages to the largest cities —
with budgets large and small — FETTU has been featured on every continent
except Antarctica.
Since we have framed this project — largely by way of the title — as a journey,
we decided to take a tour of the destinations that we have already visited, take
stock of our experiences and look at where FETTU might go in the future.
Getting started is recognised as a successful tool for the spirit of IYA2009. We encouraged those
learners of all ages and increases interest preparing the exhibits — who we dubbed
Like most trips into the unknown, this in science, technology, engineering, and “local organisers” — to use whatever mon-
one required a fair amount of research, a mathematics in both children and adults1. etary resources, venue options, cultural
lot of work, and then untold numbers of preferences, etc., to create the FETTU
dead ends, restarts and decisions made We placed a “call for participation” to both exhibit that worked best for their area.
on the go. In 2007, we agreed to head the the professional astronomy and astropho-
IYA2009 Task Group on image exhibitions. tography communities through a variety of Another aspect of travel is the opportunity
Over several months, we came up with the outlets. Hundreds of images were submit- to meet new people along the way. In the
basic structure for FETTU: a collection of ted and some 125 were chosen using many case of FETTU, there have been many
beautiful astronomical images that would criteria — from the feasibility of printing companions and friends who have helped
be made electronically available to anyone large sizes and at high resolution, to the make the journey so successful. With a
in the world who agreed to display the observatory used, the type of object, and couple of long-time friends already lined
images in a public setting for the benefit of more. up to help, (Lars Lindberg Christensen and
communicating astronomy. Pedro Russo, to name just two), FETTU
One of the most important characteristics quickly tagged up with Gary Evans of the
The rationale behind the FETTU project of the FETTU project — as in many suc- Science Photo Library in the UK.
was based on the premise that the inher- cessful travel adventures — turned out
ent beauty of astronomical images could to be flexibility. For example, the FETTU Gary became an important partner in the
lead to a deeper experience of science. concept dictated that there were to be no early part of FETTU’s journey. Employing
In fact, informal education and outreach restrictions on how the exhibits were to be much resourcefulness, Gary worked to pro-
through projects such as physical exhibits physically displayed as long as it was in duce a FETTU prototype of approximately
• On the Journey From Earth to the Universe • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 10
• On the Journey From Earth to the Universe • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 11
To date, the response has been outstand- It could be expected that people just pass-
FETTU locations overall: Qeshm Island, Pasa-
bandar Harbor, Khoy, Shiraz, Tehran ing. As of July 2009, there have been or are ing by at train stations would remain quite
planned to be over 250 separate FETTU indifferent to this kind of exhibition, but the
reactions were absolutely to the contrary.
exhibitions in more than 60 countries The impressive images, the size and appeal
(on every continent except Antarctica). Fig- of the LED-back-illuminated panels, made
ure 2 shows the locations of the 250 FETTU people stop, read... and even take notes!”
exhibits and the boxes on these pages
David Galadi-Enriquez, director of public
collect a few randomly selected FETTU outreach of the Calar Alto Observatory
impressions.
Figure 3) that will visit several of the coun- Where to next? USA
try’s largest cities, and a tactile and Braille
subset of special image stands that are Even though we still have several months to
being provided to the blind and visually- go in this year, plans are now being consid-
impaired communities. ered for what to do beyond IYA2009. There
will be literally thousands of large-format
The wide range of FETTU exhibits has truly astronomical images that have been cre-
reflected the diversity of the communities ated for FETTU. It would be a waste for
and countries in which it has landed. From them to go into storage, or, even worse, be
public parks to airports to art festivals to discarded.
shopping malls to even prisons, FETTU
has found its way into incredibly exciting We are discussing ideas to develop a
FETTU US locations overall: Atlanta, Georgia;
places2. means for an informal “FETTU swap” where Chicago, Illinois; Anchorage, Alaska; Memphis,
a location that perhaps could not raise the Tennessee; Washington, DC; Bay Area, Cali-
Suffice it to say, FETTU would not have funds for production might be able to get fornia; Madison, Wisconsin; and many others
happened if it were not for those men- panels from somewhere else where the
tioned in this article and hundreds of oth- exhibit has concluded for the cost of ship-
ers — from the local organisers, to the ping. We are hoping to find funds to make
participating observatories, and everyone this possible before FETTUs around the
in between — who employed creativity world begin to be dismantled.
and passion to bring the wonders of the
cosmos to everyday people (see example To sum up, the journey for FETTU has been
stories in the insets). great so far, but it’s not done yet. We hope
FETTU travels as widely as possible during
IYA2009, but our intentions are to extend
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
• On the Journey From Earth to the Universe • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 12
• On the Journey From Earth to the Universe • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 13
Notes Denmark
1
ational Academy of Sciences, Learning Science
N
in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pur-
suits, 2009
2
ee http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org/table_
S
events.php for a full list.
Biographies
FETTU locations overall: 20 public places in major Copenhagen, Denmark
Kimberly Arcand is the visualisa- cities, including Copenhagen
tion & media production coordinator
for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observa- “The city of Copenhagen bought their drunks in the street, ministers... In this way we
tory. Along with Megan Watzke, she own copy of the exhibition and this is now reach a lot of people — and make an impact
is co-chair for the IYA2009 From touring the schools of Copenhagen. I as far as I can judge — with a rather modest
Earth to the Universe Task Group. guesstimate that by the end of the year more effort. In particular, I appreciate that exhibitions
than 100 000 people (2% of the Danish like this can be located in places where peo-
Megan Watzke is the press officer for population) will have seen the exhibition. ple normally do not expect to see astronomy
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. and hence reach people who would not ac-
Both she and Kim Arcand are based Most people are amazed about the fantastic tively seek information about astronomy.”
at the Chandra X-ray Center at the images. Personally, I’ve been surprised about
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astro- the wide audience who are fascinated by the Kristian Pedersen, astronomer at the Niels
physics in Cambridge, Mass., USA. exhibition: small kids with their grandparents, Bohr Institute/Copenhagen University
Towards a Global Baseline for
Resources
Astronomy Development
Lolan Naicker Kevin Govender
South African Astronomical Observatory South African Astronomical Observatory
E-mail: ln@saao.ac.za E-mail: kg@saao.ac.za
Summary
Key Words
Astronomy is a field that has captured the minds of human beings for as long
Global astronomy survey as we have been on the planet. Called by various names, the greatest strength
Astronomy development that astronomy brings to just about every culture is the innate ability to stimulate
curiosity. As a tool for inspiring minds about the wonders of science, there are
few fields that are as accessible or familiar. However, the fact that astronomy
is part of so many cultures does not necessarily translate into curious minds.
Introduction II. To provide a basis for the creation • Astronomy in Schools: This will assess
of regional structures that will allow primary and secondary education. It will
In many developing countries there is a astronomy activities to be co-ordinated address astronomy in the classroom
traditional or cultural awareness of the regionally. and gauge the exposure to mathematics
skies but general scientific astronomical and science amongst young people.
knowledge amongst the public is low. This III. To allow more effective planning of
lack of scientific knowledge could be a activities and projects that would help The status of a country is classified accord-
result of poor media attention and a lack in the development of astronomy at all ing to four “phases” of development:
of education in the field. Without public levels in a country.
understanding or astronomy-literate stu- • Phase 1 countries would be well estab-
dents, the situation translates into a lack of IV. To measure improvement in the level of lished countries with links to the Inter-
professional skill in the area of astronomy astronomy related activities over time. national Astronomical Union (IAU) and
related sciences. When talking about the functioning astronomy research and
development of a field — in this case, Overview outreach communities.
astronomy — one has to consider develop-
ment amongst all these target groups. The survey allows a country to self-evalu- • Phase 2 countries would have existing
ate and give itself a status in each of the astronomy research and outreach com-
The Global Astronomy Survey (GAS)1, con- following areas: munities but remain in need of support in
ducted as part the Developing Astronomy order to get astronomy well established.
Globally (DAG) Cornerstone project and • Professional (Research) Astronomy:
carried out across developing countries, This will assess tertiary education, • Phase 3 countries would have a non-
serves as a means of identifying a coun- research training and research infra- existent astronomy community but show
try’s strengths and weaknesses, a basis on structure in order to address profes- strong potential in the form of physics
which to develop improvement plans, and sional astronomy research capacity or mathematics research and outreach
a baseline with which to measure change. within the country. communities who are willing to drive the
development of astronomy.
Aims • Public Understanding of Astronomy:
This will assess the level of activities • Phase 4 countries would have a non-
I. To obtain a baseline, i.e. to know what and events that stimulate an interest in existent astronomy community and
each country has already achieved, astronomy among the general public. would have limited potential for the
what it is presently capable of, given its development of such a community, i.e.
resources, and what its ambitions are. no research or outreach communities.
• Towards a Global Baseline for Astronomy Development • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 14
• Towards a Global Baseline for Astronomy Development • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 15
Table 1. Recommended development plan based on phase overviews.
So, the higher the phase number, the more
a country is “in need” of assistance.
Progress
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Figure 1. Survey response geographical distribution.
Light coloured markers show eight countries that
have submitted incomplete or unapproved surveys.
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delegated individual could also assist with
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and are therefore qualitative summary
indices that allow a quick global overview.
Planning of development activities is based
on the details given for the three areas
surveyed.
Figure 4. Ranked phases in the area of Astronomy in Schools. Credit: DAG/IYA2009
due regard to criticisms, this may also be
used as a means to categorise countries
into developed, developing or underdevel-
oped. A HDI of 0.8 or more is considered
to represent high development. A HDI
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below 0.5 is considered to represent low
development. Figures 5, 6 and 7 provide
a comparison of phases with HDI3. These
figures show that it is incorrect to dismiss
´/RZ'HYHORSPHQWµ
astronomy development activities in coun-
ties that are regarded by the HDI as devel- ´+LJK'HYHORSPHQWµ
Improvement
Country surveys do have room for
improvement and there is a slow stream of
amendments to the existing surveys from
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• Towards a Global Baseline for Astronomy Development • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 16
• Towards a Global Baseline for Astronomy Development • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 17
to try to collaborate with each other on: $VWURQRP\LQ6FKRROV +',
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of knowledge and expertise; sharing of
educational curricula.
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use the surveys to plan their initiatives
more effectively by structuring their
overall plan in line with the phase over-
views as shown in Table 1.
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Closing date for Prize nominations and funding applications is 11 January 2010.
Tijana Prodanovic
University of Novi Sad, Serbia
E-mail: prodanvc@df.uns.ac.rs
Summary
Key Words
It always amazes me, unfortunately often in a negative way, how only a few
Oral communication people know how to make and deliver a good presentation. For many scientists
Visual communication it’s usually their Achilles’ heel. Many get so caught up in their work that when
Presentations they present it at a scientific meeting or to the general public, their presentation
Tips often looks confusing, boring or sometimes even scary. The good news is that
there are some general rules that can work magic with presentations.
1. Know your audience Personalising presentations is also a good things that will help include: being com-
idea. For instance, when I give a lecture fortable in what you are saying and wear-
about galaxies and show what the Milky ing, and believing in the content.
Way looks like, I always show the loca-
tion of the Earth by writing the appropriate 3. Be the audience
name of the city, or the institution where I’m
giving the lecture. You’d be amazed at how Make a presentation that you, if you were
a simple thing like that makes a difference. the audience, would find interesting,
engaging, smooth, fun, and whatever else
This rule may seem so simple, but it is the 2. Be yourself you are trying to achieve. Avoid anything
most crucial point and can make a world that would put even you to sleep! Remem-
of difference. Even before you commit to ber, if you are not having fun writing it,
giving a presentation to a group of people making it, practising and delivering it, then
you need to know their demographics. Is
your audience young? Are they old? Well-
educated? Sometimes you may also want
to know their nationality, race or religious
4(!4²3 -EÝ your presentation probably needs a bit of
rewriting.
After that, the plot needs to reach a 8. What is the centre, not how
resolution, a conclusion, results and the
punchline of your presentation. Make
sure that when delivering this you make a
big deal out of it because after all, that’s 7(!4
why both you and the audience are there. ./4(/7Ý
Finally, you want your presentation to end
smoothly, and not with a season-ending
cliffhanger like a TV show — that annoys
the audience.
Sometimes, with all the nice things that
6. Keywords software such as PowerPoint can do, it can
be that what gets hijacked by how during
your presentation. If you use too many ani-
Resources
A Guide to Free Desktop Planetarium Software
Matthew McCool
Southern Polytechnic SU
E-mail: mmccool@spsu.edu
Summary
Key Words
This paper reviews ten free software applications for viewing the cosmos
Open source astronomy through your computer. Although commercial astronomy software such as
Astronomy software Starry Night and Slooh make for excellent viewing of the heavens, they come
Digital universes at a price. Fortunately, there is astronomy software that is not only excellent but
also free. In this article I provide a brief overview of ten popular free Desktop
Planetarium software programs available for your desktop computer.
• Touring the Cosmos through Your Computer • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 21
heliocentric views. Asynx Planetarium is
an excellent choice for users who want a
lean and efficient application for learning
the basics about our Milky Way, making it
suitable for a wide audience.
Celestia
Celestia is one of the best free astronomy
programs available, which boasts a similar
set of features to Stellarium. Like all good
astronomy software, Celestia allows you to
tour the Universe by escaping the limits of
viewing from Earth. You can travel through
the cosmos to observe a wide collection of
galaxies, nebulae and stars. In fact, Celes-
tia features a star catalogue in excess of
100 000 stars. Another great feature of
Celestia is the smooth transitions from one
frame of view to the next, including a nicely
articulated zoom feature (Figure 1). Another
popular feature of Celestia is its ability to Figure 1. Screenshot of the Celestia astronomy software. Credit: Celestia
point and go to a specific destination.
If Celestia’s wide selection of stars, galax- Partiview and Digital of Hubble photographs. Navigating to M31
ies, planets and smaller terrestrial treasures Universe Atlas reveals not only a panoramic portrait of
is not enough, there are numerous add-ons the Andromeda Galaxy, but also a Hubble
to the application. Celestia Motherload1 is image. There are also additional details
an active and well-maintained website that Offered by Hayden Planetarium in New about the image and suggested resources
offers a wide range of additions, including York, the interactive data visualisation tool for finding more information on the web. It
typical Solar System objects, spacecraft Partiview, in conjunction with the Digital is this kind of integration between the sky
and extrasolar objects. Celestia Mother- Universe Atlas database, features a simple surveys and the Hubble Telescope that
load even offers a set of fictional compo- interface for views of nearby stars, star make “Sky in Google Earth” a valuable
nents for users interested in 2001, Star Trek clusters, nebulae and nearby galaxy clus- educational tool.
or Star Wars. ters. The software also features content
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a New MHX Astronomy Helper
Deepsky Free Mexico-based programme that focuses
on redshift phenomena (objects moving Probably the most limited application
The free version of Deepsky Astronomy away). One of the more interesting features in the group, MHX Astronomy Helper
Software is known as Deepsky Free. The of Digital Universe Atlas is the opportunity is an ideal tool for young students who
one benefit of Deepsky Free is its use as to view objects in different types of electro- want to learn the basic principles of local
an organising and planning tool. Deepsky magnetic radiation, ranging from radio to astronomy. Detailed information is avail-
Free is especially useful for astronomers infrared radiation, visible light and gamma able for major objects in our galaxy, which
who want to create observing plans or rays. Digital Universe Atlas is a simple but includes planetary orbits, rotation periods,
star charts. Users should note that while useful tool for beginner and intermediate moons and object composition. Although
Deepsky Free is a simple tool suitable for astronomers. MHX Astronomy Helper lacks the compre-
astronomical viewing, its functionality is hensiveness of other applications, it is an
limited by a narrow object database. At Google Earth ideal start for young students and novice
approximately 11 000 objects, the Deepsky astronomers.
Free database is limited but focused, pro- Google Earth is the desktop astronomy
viding information about planets, stars and application made by the famous search Solar System 3D Simulator
the Messier objects. engine company. The application origi-
nally made a name for itself by providing A more advanced tool than MHX Astron-
DeskNite seamless views of our planet by stitching omy Helper, Solar System 3D Simulator
together satellite photographs. Astrono- accomplishes its title claim by providing a
Unlike the other applications on this list, mers now have a chance to test drive the dynamic application for viewing the Solar
DeskNite offers a live view of the night sky application for space, thanks to a group of System from a variety of angles. Solar Sys-
from your computer’s desktop. DeskNite ambitious Google developers. Using the tem 3D Simulator offers views of planetary
operates as desktop wallpaper that is feature called “Sky in Google Earth”, you orbits, their moons, and the Sun. Informa-
constantly updated using real-time data, can travel throughout the cosmos on a set tion about the chemical composition and
tracking the motion of the Earth. DeskNite of images pulled from the Digitized Sky physical characteristics of each planet can
relies on a limited catalogue of more than Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. be displayed. One of the nicer features of
3000 stars, the planets, Sun and Moon. The Digitized Sky Survey provides a nearly Solar System 3D Simulator is the variety of
NGC and Messier objects are also avail- complete picture of the entire night sky angles that can be used for viewing. Even
able. DeskNite also features a range of from any point on the globe. The Sloan Dig- the speed of the simulator can be altered.
viewing perspectives, which includes equi- ital Sky Survey is only partially complete, The target user of Solar System 3D Simu-
distant, orthographic and stereographic but provides greater depth and detail. The lator includes young students and novice
projections. real benefit of Google Earth is the inclusion astronomers.
• Touring the Cosmos through Your Computer • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 22
• Touring the Cosmos through Your Computer • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 23
Stellarium
Stellarium contains many features that
make it a fine addition to your astronomy
software collection. Stellarium has a built-
in catalogue of over 600 000 stars with the
potential to add an additional 210 million
stars (Figure 2). It also contains illustrations
of constellations and a series of asterisms,
which are clusters of stars that appear to
be together, but are actually quite far apart.
WorldWide Telescope
Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope is the last
free astronomy application to be examined.
Unlike most of the options on this list, the
WorldWide Telescope is truly a rich, robust
and dynamic tool for exploring the cosmos.
One of its nicest features is its ability to view
the sky in electromagnetic wavelengths
other than visible light, such as X-rays.
This versatility provides outstanding views
of hydrogen clouds, supernovae and high
energy fields emanating from nearby stars
and star clusters. You can zoom in and out
throughout the Universe, view selected
planets, and then move forward or back-
ward in time to see how the night sky looks
at another time (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Screenshot of the WorldWide Telescope astronomy software. Credit: Microsoft
Summary
Key Words
When the IYA2009 Canada Committee1, chaired by Jim Hesser, first came
International Year of Astronomy together, it established a vision: “to offer an engaging astronomy experience
2009 to every person in Canada, and to cultivate partnerships that sustain public
Arts interest in astronomy”. We called the engaging astronomy experience a “Galileo
Music Moment”. We knew that a Galileo Moment could be a first look through a
telescope at the Moon, Jupiter or Saturn. But we especially wanted to connect
with new audiences, not just the same people who always came to astronomy
events. So we knew that a Galileo Moment could equally well be the intellectual
or emotional effect of an astronomy-inspired piece of art or music. So far in
2009, over 10 000 Canadians have experienced a Galileo Moment of the latter
kind, thanks to the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra’s The Galileo Project.
The Toronto-based Tafelmusik Baroque an annual Baroque Summer Institute. It’s Sacred Circles, a celebration of art and
Orchestra 2, or “Tafelmusik” as we familiarly the orchestra in residence for the annual architecture, and the Metamorphosis
call it, is considered by Gramophone mag- Klang und Raum festival in Europe, and Festival, a city-wide event co-organised
azine as “one of the world’s top baroque for the renowned Opera Atelier in Toronto. with her husband David Fallis, including a
orchestras”. As well as giving over 50 con- Music Director Jeanne Lamon has won multimedia Tafelmusik concert around the
certs in Toronto each year, it tours more many awards, including two honorary doc- theme of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
than any other Canadian orchestra to all torates, the prestigious Molson Prize, and
parts of North America, and to Europe membership in the Order of Canada. From the start, the IYA2009 Canada Com-
and Asia. It has made over 75 recordings, mittee hoped that every amateur and
many of them award-winning. It is also In recent years, Tafelmusik’s double-bass professional astronomer in Canada would
known for its educational programmes, player Alison Mackay has created a series develop or join an IYA2009 project that
ranging from elementary school to uni- of highly effective multimedia concerts matched their interests and expertise. As
versity and professional level. It is the Uni- which include theatre, dance, and art. an enthusiastic supporter of Tafelmusik
versity of Toronto’s baroque orchestra in These have included The Four Seasons: for almost 30 years, and as one of my
residence, supports graduate-level diplo- A Cycle of the Sun, which was made into personal IYA2009 projects, I suggested to
mas in baroque performance, and hosts a feature documentary, Sacred Spaces, Tafelmusik that they might want to create
Mackay, whose creative genius is rivalled been presented to over 4400 students in
only by her modesty. Toronto, Ottawa, Belleville, and Lindsay,
Ontario — that’s 4400 Galileo Moments!
Tafelmusik was awarded a nine-day
residency at Alberta’s Banff Centre for The public and school concerts toured
the Arts, a residency that culminated in Ontario in February–March 2009, the
the premiere performance of The Gali- public concert was performed in Mexico
leo Project, followed by a “star party” for in October 2009 and will go to the US
orchestra, staff, and audience, courtesy of later in the year. In the past, Tafelmusik
University of Calgary astronomers, and the has performed, to great acclaim, in sci-
Calgary branch of the Royal Astronomical ence and nature museums in major cities
Society of Canada. The musicians, includ- of Asia, and the orchestra hopes to take
ing the Director, were able to have their the programme there in 2010. The public
own personal Galileo Moments. Another concert was aired on CBC radio (Canada’s
successful star party was held after their national broadcast network), and is avail-
Ottawa concert in March, and another was able online 6, unfortunately without the
held at their annual fund-raising gala in stunning visuals, of course. We hope that
Toronto (appropriately named “Gala-Leo” there will eventually be a DVD and/or docu-
for 2009!). mentary film. If you get a chance to experi-
ence this performance, don’t miss it. It’s an
The orchestra then returned to Toronto, exemplary fusion of arts and sciences by a
where they played a series of five sold-out great orchestra, and exactly what IYA2009
concerts to 4000 people. The audiences is about.
Figure 1. Lutenist Lucas Harris performs work by included a goodly number of local pro-
Michelangelo Galilei. Credit: Donald Lee. fessional and amateur astronomers, but For me, this project was a dream come
mostly music lovers who would not nor- true, a highlight of my long astronomical
a special programme, honouring Galileo mally be exposed to astronomy, and to its career. But it was also an illustration of the
and IYA2009. Alison Mackay and the Tafel- many links to history, art, and culture. benefits of partnership — part of IYA2009
musik team jumped at the opportunity. Canada’s vision, and a key to success in
The concert was outstanding; you need so many aspects of life.
On the Tafelmusik webpage, you can find only read the review 5 in the Toronto Star,
links to Mackay’s extensive programme Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper. It Notes
notes3, and a description of how the was described as “out of this world”, and
programme was put together4 including “simply one of the best, most imaginative
1
http://www.astronomy2009.ca
my role: as well as being the “instigator”, shows based on classical music seen here 2
http://www.tafelmusik.org
I reviewed the script for the concert, and in years”. And given that Toronto is a major 3
http://www.tafelmusik.org/concerts/galileo_pro-
made minor suggestions; I helped to centre for the arts, that’s saying a lot. The grammenotes.htm
promote the concerts; I gave pre-concert reviewer noted that “the biggest wonder of
4
http://www.tafelmusik.org/concerts/galileo_crea-
tive.htm
lectures for Tafelmusik supporters; and all is how integrated the music, words and
I put Mackay in touch with other astrono- images are, like a balanced choir, where
5
http://www.thestar.com/article/575299
mers who could provide images, arrange the individual parts, men and women, are
6
http://www.cbc.ca/radi02/ media/20090109tafel/
all.asx
star parties etc. It required over a year of subsumed into a greater whole”. “In the
planning. A large collection of astronomi- end”, he noted, “the audience is left with a
cal images was assembled, including ones true taste of the awe, wonder, and optimism Acknowledgements
from ground-based and space telescopes, that people felt in the 17th and 18th cen-
and a large set of stunning images by turies, as scientists pulled the veils off the I thank Jim Hesser for his outstanding leadership
of the IYA2009 Canada Committee and for his
eminent Canadian astrophotographer Alan myths and mysteries of mediaeval times”. support for The Galileo Project. I’m deeply grate-
Dyer. These were projected on a 12-foot- ful to Alison Mackay and the Tafelmusik team for
high circular screen, mounted in an ornate Mackay also created an outstanding creating this programme, and enabling me to be
frame. For the first time in its history, Tafel- Galileo Project concert for school audi- part of it.
musik’s musicians memorised all of their ences, specifically grade six (age 11 years)
music (no mean feat for an orchestra!) so level, where the curriculum includes both
they would be free to move about the stage, Baroque music and astronomy, both of
and into the audience. The choreography which were effectively and engagingly
was arranged by Opera Atelier’s Marshall taught in the programme. It included music,
Pynkoski. The musical programme was images, and choreography, narrated by
interspersed with narrative by actor Shaun an actor playing the role of Comet Halley.
Smyth, including writings by and about Through his visits to Earth at 76-year inter-
Galileo and his contemporaries. But the vals, he could follow the evolution of music
heart of the programme was the creatively and musical instruments. He introduced
chosen music pieces by Vivaldi, Lully, the audience to his fellow members of
Monteverdi (a contemporary of Galileo), the Solar System through models and Biography
Purcell, Rameau, Handel, Telemann, Bach, movements. At the end of the concert,
and others including Galileo’s brother the 600 schoolchildren were rotating John Percy is Professor Emeritus, As-
tronomy & Astrophysics, and Science
Michelangelo (Galileo came from a family and revolving at their seats! The concert Education, University of Toronto, and a
of lutenists, and was an amateur lutenist also, of course, illustrated the deep con- member of the IYA2009 Canada Commit-
himself.) The choice of music and text, and nections between astronomy, culture and tee. He is a music-lover, but not a musician.
the overall concept, were the work of Alison the arts. This programme has already
Best Practices
Social Astronomy:
Cooperating with Local Community Networks
Salva Bará
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
E-mail: salva.bara@usc.es
Summary
Key Words
The public — our public — has structure. Addressing outreach astronomy
Public outreach activities to the public through local community groups, associations and
Science communication networks, may decisively enhance our communication efficiency. And, no less
Society at large important, it may be a contributing factor in improving the quality of life of our
Local communities
districts and towns.
Introduction prisingly, a great deal of time and resources 1. The planning and development of
are presently being invested in reaching the activities is mostly carried out by
Astronomy is interesting. Stargazing is fun. “The Public” through different communi- professional or amateur astronomers
Whether for cultural, historical, aesthetic cation programmes. Disseminating the independently, perhaps with some
or scientific reasons, simple curiosity or a latest scientific discoveries, underscoring organisational help from government
blend of all of them in varying proportions, their meaning for our understanding of the and academic bodies (the City Coun-
few people remain indifferent to the latest Universe and their significance for modern cil, universities...), but with little involve-
releases of astonishing images of deep-sky thought, and enjoying the aesthetic content ment from the local community itself.
objects or to contemplating the starry night of the night sky are key transversal contents
sky with the naked eye. So we do have a present in most of these actions. 2. The activities are generally announced
public. In comparison with what happens through the media and targeted at the
in other fields of knowledge we can be This paper deals with astronomy outreach general public.
considered fortunate: astronomy-related activities addressed to the public at the
news finds its way pretty easily into the local community level (town, district, quar- 3. For the purposes of the activity the
mass media and tends to reach respect- ter, neighbourhood...), outside the strict public is considered to be a set of indi-
able audience levels. A different issue is, limits of the classroom. In practice these viduals with little or no previous interac-
of course, the extent to which excessive actions often tend to adopt what could be tion with one another.
sensationalism, overstatements and other called the “individual citizen approach”,
factors may jeopardise the credibility of a that is, they address “The Public” as if it 4. No special mechanisms are set up for
piece of communication (Nielsen, 2007). were an unstructured set of people. Many keeping in touch with the attendees
open lectures or sidewalk observations after the activity is over, although fur-
There is a growing awareness of the role of the sky follow this standpoint to some ther involvement of the participants may
that outreach activities play in generating extent, whose main features, in an admit- reasonably be expected (e.g., acting as
a wider social support for science. Not sur- tedly oversimplified description, are: informed citizens regarding science
Opinion
How astronomers and journalists can get along better1
Diane Scherzler
Südwestrundfunk
E-mail: mail@diane-scherzler.de
Summary
Key Words
Stories about unpleasant experiences when collaborating with journalists
Mass media circulate among many scientists. Some of them regard journalists as potential
Science communication enemies against whom they have to be prepared. But is the idea that a
Science journalism journalist must be either friend or foe appropriate at all? This article briefly
examines the changing relationship between astronomers, science journalists
and the general public over the last few decades. It then gives a view from
inside science journalism and finally suggests some ideas on how to establish
a better relationship between scientists and journalists.
Introduction journalists, how can we make a friend out public via radio, television and the press.
of an enemy?” is a question I am regularly There are some scientists with excellent
A few years ago a tabloid journalist con- asked by scientists who want to improve media skills who use the opportunities the
tacted an astronomer at a Max-Planck their media strategy. This question sounds mass media are offering in a masterful way
Institute. The journalist wanted to know obvious, but is the idea that a journalist and regard the media as a platform for their
when Venus, Mercury and Saturn would must be either friend or foe appropriate at personal public appearances. Finally, there
be especially close to each other. I’m not all? This article briefly examines the chang- are astronomers who refuse to cooperate
sure whether the astronomer really knew ing relationship between astronomers, with editors and journalists as they regard
what he was getting into when he gave science journalists and the general public. them as mere distributors of superficiality.
the information to the journalist – whose It will then give a view from inside science
interest was not actually in astronomy at journalism and finally suggest some ideas No matter which view a scientist takes:
all, but in “sex waves from space”. The next for a better relationship between scientists most of what people know about astron-
morning the name of the scientist could be and journalists. omy came to them via television, their
found in a major German tabloid, linked to newspaper, the radio or online media. The
the best time to have sex, as determined by Why mess about with German sociologist Niklas Luhmann (1995)
the alignment of the planets. journalists? even wrote: “Whatever we know about our
society, or indeed about the world in which
This is a true story. Experiences like this we live, we know through the mass media.”
circulate amongst scientists and spread as Astronomers and space scientists have a Although Luhmann did admit (Hagen,
gossip during academic meetings. Several number of different ideas about how the 2004) that he did not need the mass media
scientists I have met at my media training mass media can serve them. Some hope to know whether he had watered his flow-
sessions and as a journalist know some- that journalists might help them to increase ers, he pointed out that we would not know
body who has heard of somebody else the public’s awareness of space explora- about the wider world without the mass
who has had a horrible experience with tion and their astronomical research. Oth- media. The media are the main platform
journalists. “When we communicate with ers want to educate and teach the general where interaction between science and the
• How Can We Make a Friend Out of an Enemy? • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 30
• How Can We Make a Friend Out of an Enemy? • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 31
general public takes place. Whether people to assign it the role of science’s propagan- citizens’ conferences, co-decisions etc. At
have positive or negative attitudes about dist (Weingart, 2001; Kohring, 2005)2. the same time scientists who promote their
astronomy is often decided by its presence findings aggressively instead of carrying
in the media. Therefore ignoring the mass Science in society today: out fundamental research are becoming
media or not knowing how to cooperate from monologue to more of a problem for science as well as
with them mostly results in missing many for the general public and the media. The
chances to arouse public interest. dialogue and debate interaction now works in both directions:
the mass media also influence science:
Astronomy and the mass In the past few decades the relationship the culture of media celebrity impinges on
media: how do they between science and society has changed an individual’s reputation in the scientific
profoundly. Today, people are discussing community, so that a scientist who is often
relate to each other? the meaning and usefulness of research, in the media and who therefore receives
and science sometimes comes under much public attention, might get funding,
If scientists want to establish a good rela- fire. The problem of climate change, for while a researcher with a higher reputation
tionship with journalists, they should know example, affects everybody and science in the scientific community, but no popular
more about what they can and cannot and technology are expected to come up status, could come away empty-handed
expect from journalists, what separates sci- with solutions. Other fields of study such as (Weingart, 2005). Research institutions are
ence from the world of journalism, and what stem cell research or genetically modified also increasingly adjusting to the needs of
might be a common basis for a dialogue. organisms, conflict with human religious the mass media: many large museums,
and moral values or are perceived by the scientific institutes and commercial manu-
The traditional model for public as carrying risks and hazards. Helga facturers such as pharmaceutical com-
popularising science Nowotny (2005), vice-president of the Sci- panies have well-equipped press depart-
entific Council of the European Research ments that distribute perfectly targeted
How is a journalist’s work seen by scien- Council, hints at the change to a more photos, texts and even ready-to-broadcast
tists? One view was outlined above: the critical perception of science: “Science film footage. To secure their supremacy in
mass media as science’s service provid- can no longer expect unconditional support the field outside the scientific community,
ers. This traditional concept of popularisa- on the part of society for whatever it wants major journals like Science and Nature
tion dates from the 1970s, but is still popu- to do, nor unconditional acceptance of its offer science journalists specially proc-
lar among some scientists. It is based on authority.” essed information on the journal’s main
the conviction that scientific knowledge is topics prior to its publication.
categorically superior to lay knowledge. Communications theorist Matthias Kohring
For example, a physician’s knowledge of (2005) emphasises that the changing rela- The self-image of science
breast cancer is, according to this view, tionship between science and society is journalism
much more significant than the experience not a crisis, but rather the start of a process
of a woman who suffers from the disease. of normalisation that includes the question- Let me begin with a clarification: science
People are perceived as keen to learn from ing of authority. This does, however, not journalism is not a specialised type of jour-
academia and to be trying to understand mean that the days of the deficit model are nalism that uses scientific methods; it is not
the wonders of scientific progress. Sci- numbered, suggests science communica- journalism that is practised or controlled by
entific illiteracy and public ignorance are tion expert Brian Trench (2008): “Several scientists. Science journalism is a kind of
described as a deficit that has to be cor- models of science communication, includ- journalism that follows science and uses
rected, giving the concept its name: the ing one-way dissemination, and the par- it as source of information. Autonomy and
deficit model. Scientists taking this stance ticular deficit-model application of one-way distance from the object of observation
consider journalism as a tool for increas- dissemination, continue to coexist with two- are essential prerequisites for high quality
ing the understanding of science as well as way models that place varying emphasis on journalism. The near-legendary German
society’s acceptance of the researcher’s interactivity.” journalist Hanns Joachim Friedrichs said:
work. Journalists are there to translate and “A good journalist can be recognised by
mediate between science and the general Two public opinion surveys carried out by the fact that he does not take sides in an
public. As a consequence, says the Ger- the European Commission in 32 European issue, even when the cause is good.” The
man sociologist Peter Weingart (2005), countries show strong public confidence journalist’s duty is to the consumer, the
any popularisation is a simplification at in science, but are also critical of the way reader or viewer — not to politics, not to
best, and a falsification of scientific results researchers handle information: 59% of the powerful and not to science. The sci-
at worst. “Science communication” of this Europeans believe scientists put too lit- ence journalist Gero von Randow (2003)
type is very often a one-way dissemination tle effort into informing the public about says: “The science journalist is supposed
of information. their research. The European Commis- to write critically about science; about
sioner for science and research, Janez the process that creates theories and, of
The failure of this viewpoint has been Potočnik (2007), points out the growing course, about the theories themselves. The
commonly acknowledged since the mid- requirements of a knowledge society and science journalist, in other words, is not
nineties (Weingart, 2001; Nowotny, 2004). also the increasing gap between people someone who creates acceptance. Just as
The deficit model had not succeeded with access to knowledge and those the political reporter is not the mouthpiece
either in increasing public scientific literacy without. Potočnik says: “Communicating of the government, the business writer is not
or in improving the public acceptance of research […] is more than a priority. It is an the mouthpiece of business, the restaurant
science. It had failed to grasp the social obligation.” critic the mouthpiece of food industry, the
context of science production and how the science writer is not the mouthpiece of the
public use scientific knowledge (Kohring, Science communication means — ideally scientific community.” Michel Claessens,
2005). It regarded highly differentiated — a respectful dialogue between the dif- a former scientific journalist and currently
audiences as a homogenous, passive ferent sections of the public and research- deputy head of the communication unit in
mass of people. It also fundamentally mis- ers, as well as a public engagement in the research directorate at the European
understood the role of journalism and tried science, for example, via public debates, Commission (2008), writes: “Although
s cientists often speak of a ‘necessary’ non-scientific context, which is interesting course, this can be a balancing act. Udo
cooperation with journalists, a ‘distance’ for its readers, viewers or listeners. So any Zindel4 is an author and editor for a daily
between them is essential to my mind. A information that journalists publish has radio broadcast with half-hour documen-
distance that guarantees the independ- to meet certain criteria, which are funda- taries. He says: “Comprehensibility ranks
ence of and critical analysis by the media mentally different from those in science: above precision, but is important not to fal-
that is necessary if the general public are to news has to come from a serious source sify the facts. We do not want to broadcast
be able to form their own opinion.” and also be new, which means that it is anything false, as we have a reputation to
not previously known. Journalists speak of lose as well.”
The mass media are more than media- news factors if a topic affects many peo-
tors. They present their audiences with the ple, if it takes place in their spatial vicinity How (not) to communicate
broader contexts of a story and embed or social proximity, if it is of consequence, with the media?
it into the current public discussion. The if it is dealing with a conflict, if people
mass media do not portray science in an hold strong opinions on the topic, rouses Sometimes journalists might prefer to
exact manner; they do not even consider emotions, is entertaining or has anything interview the best communicator rather
this as their task. Journalists use their own to do with celebrities. The more of these than talk to the best researcher. This can
criteria to select topics. Peter Weingart elements that a story has, the more likely be irritating for the scientific community.
(2001) describes the consequence: “[The it is that it will be covered by the media. Markus Bohn emphasises how important
media] are constructing their own reality, Journalists often take one or other of it is that a scientist can communicate well:
exactly as science does. But the media these factors into consideration when they “A scientist, who is not able to convey in a
are using different approaches to the ‘real- emphasise other aspects of a story than few sentences what his or her research is
ity’ they report on, and different ways to those a scientist would pick out. Scien- about, is not suitable for the mass media.”
present it. The frequent complaints of sci- tific significance is a news factor, but far Surprisingly, quite a number of research-
ence about ‘incorrect’ or ‘distorted’ reports from the only one (and often not the most ers come across as bored or uninterested
or about a seemingly ‘wrong’ selection of important one), influencing an editor’s when an interviewer asks them a question.
news therefore miss the mark. It is not pos- decision as to whether to cover a topic But giving an interview is not only about
sible to achieve an ‘adequate’ media rep- or not. Michael Haller (1992), an expert in facts, but also about emotions, says Bohn:
resentation of research that will also satisfy media studies, emphasises how different “It is important that the scientist can con-
the research scientists themselves.” the filters of attentiveness and relevance vey a certain enthusiasm. Anyone who talks
that apply for the mass media are. He sug- about his research topic with the attitude:
Friend or foe? gests that scientists “should accept that ‘Certainly no one will be interested, I do
from the perspective of an ordinary way not even care. It is just my job.’ has no
What does this mean for science’s relation- of life the apparently marginal can be of chance at all of communicating it.” Uwe
ship to the mass media? Can the journalist enormous meaning, as well as the reverse Gradwohl5 manages Planet Wissen (Planet
be an ally for the scientist? No, or at best case, where the scientifically important can of Knowledge), a one-hour, daily television
only to a certain extent, as journalism has be very marginal”. broadcast. He describes his ideal inter-
to be independent of astronomy, its object view partner: “If a guest is a good narrator,
of study. But does this mean that the jour- This does, however, not mean that only the if he doesn’t use academic language, if
nalist is inevitably an opponent who works big stories have a chance of being covered. he chats a bit about his field of expertise
in a world that is incompatible with the Science journalist and head of an editorial instead of lecturing, this makes it easier for
scientist’s realm? No, not at all, as many department Markus Bohn3 explains how us to cover a topic.” TV journalist Gregor
excellent reports, films or radio documen- strongly connected to current news top- Delvaux de Fenffe 6 knows that commu-
taries have been shown that have reached ics science can be: “The unknown and the nicating with non-experts requires skill
huge audiences and have had a positive exceptional always have a good chance, and experience — something scientists
impact on the discipline. Labelling jour- of course; as do topics that are relevant to regularly underestimate, as he observes:
nalists as either friend or foe does not fit other current news.” When, for example, “Every time, when I speak to a professor
reality. But just because an unquestioning everybody is talking about the Kepler and say: ‘I am interested in what you are
alliance is impossible, this does not mean mission, experts on Earth-like planets working on, I would like to communicate it
we need to renounce a good and trusting should seize the opportunity and contact to the outside world’, they beam at me and
relationship between the two professions. the media. But due to the different criteria say: ‘I’m all for leaving my ivory tower and I
for selecting topics, space scientists and am capable of communicating this project
A view from inside astronomers cannot expect everything to to the general public.’ This is often just
the mass media be covered. Bohn says: “Proving things wishful thinking as I notice then that there’s
that non-experts already think they know no practical experience there at all. Only a
A pretty good starting-point for achieving is uninteresting for the general public. For few of them are actually capable of convey-
this kind of relationship is to understand science it may be of importance, but the ing their knowledge to a school class of 16
that some of the media professional’s public wants something new.” and 17 year olds!”
points of view and needs are different from
those of the scientists. The following view Precise v. understandable: about dif- Some general
from inside the media and from science ferent priorities recommendations
communication experts cannot completely A common complaint of astronomers is
cover journalism’s attitudes and opinions. the — in their opinion — lack of precision Gregor Delvaux de Fenffe knows the kind of
Despite this limitation it tries to give a of the media. As journalists have to think researchers who refuse to leave the world
basic understanding of several of the most of their audience, precision has a different of science very well. He recommends: “If
important rules of journalism. importance for them. In journalism, only a a scientist wants to establish an issue out-
story that reaches the recipient is a good side the scientific community, it has to be
What topics are interesting for the story. If too many details make a story too clear in his or her mind: ‘I accept that my
media? difficult to comprehend for the target audi- topic will be broken down and simplified.’
The mass media place a topic in a broader, ence, it may be necessary to omit facts. Of Of course they shouldn’t feel that the issue
• How Can We Make a Friend Out of an Enemy? • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 32
• How Can We Make a Friend Out of an Enemy? • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 33
I have roughly sketched out the changing • Haller, M. 1992, Mit großer Pose die
relationship between science and the world tumbe Welt erwecken. Wissenschaft
of journalism. I have tried to explain clearly und Journalismus — vom Gegensatz zur
why the media viewpoint differs from the Partnerschaft. Die Mittlerrolle des Jour-
scientist’s and presented views, opinions nalisten, in Die Medien zwischen Wissen-
and recommendations of journalists and schaft und Öffentlichkeit. Ein Symposium
science communication experts that might der Karl-Heinz-Beckurts-Stiftung, ed.
serve as a basis to improve cooperation. Gerwin, R., (Stuttgart: Hirzel) 39
For reasons of space I could not present Biography
more than a few highlights here — and • Felt, U. & Kröll, J. 1998, Ecce Homo
many aspects had to be omitted. Xerox? heureka 1998, 3, http://www.falter.
at/web/heureka/archiv/98_3/04.php Diane Scherzler works as an editor and
project manager for Südwestrundfunk,
However, the question is not whether a
a major German Public Broadcasting
science journalist is hostile or friendly • Kohring, M. 2005, Wissenschaftsjourna Company. She regularly teaches Süd-
(although this can happen). A certain lismus. Forschungsüberblick und Theo- westrundfunk’s trainees in courses last-
professional distance on the part of the rieentwurf, (Konstanz: UVK) ing several weeks. Diane regularly gives
media training sessions to academics
journalist is a prerequisite for high quality
and advises scientific organisations who
coverage. Articles, radio documentaries or • Luhmann, N. 1995, Die Realität der Mas- want to improve their media strategy and
films could all be improved if astronomers senmedien, (Opladen: Westdeutscher collaboration with journalists. As a visit-
and space scientists were to extend their Verlag) ing lecturer at Tübingen University Diane
teaches science communication and writing
knowledge about the media so that they
skills. More info: www.diane-scherzler.de.
can cooperate with them on a basis that • Nowotny, H. 2004, Wissenschaft auf
is reliable and constructive for both sides. der Suche nach ihrem Publikum, in
Visualising Astronomy:
Reviews
Invisible — Impacts and Rings
Ryan Wyatt
California Academy of Sciences
E-mail: rwyatt@calacademy.org
Key Words
Visual communication
Astronomy visualisation
The LCROSS mission may have hit the all), and when she inquired about the avail- infrared image that showed several bright
Moon, but it stood out as an opportunity ability of images, the official word was to pixels at the time of impact? It was released
for public communication. “Anticlimactic look on the LCROSS website.2 Yet nearly with enlargements of itself occluding the
visually,” as MSNBC commentator Rachel two hours after the press conference, the full image, so it wasn’t even possible to
Maddow described it, the coverage from only images available on the site were 800- reconstruct the original data (again, see
NASA consisted of “some choppy pictures by-600 JPEGs of some of the PowerPoint Figure 1).
of the Moon becoming a somewhat differ- slides. None of the integrated spectra that
ent shade of grey.”1 principal investigator Anthony Coloprete With the highly active Museum Alliance,
presented showed up on the website, NASA seems to have learned to sup-
Obviously, the mission faced a tremendous although one mysteriously appeared later in port the informal education community,
challenge by not having great images from the day on Emily Lakdawalla’s blog for the but perhaps not everyone has gotten the
the get-go. Imagine for a moment that Planetary Society.3 As she said in her post, message. I’m truly dismayed by the slip-
the predicted fifth-magnitude flash had “I’m hereby performing a public service by shod approach to a project with as much
been captured by amateurs throughout posting all the important graphics I could potential impact (sorry, couldn’t resist) as
the Americas, populating Flickr and other find, and I’ve added some caption informa- the LCROSS mission. Science centres and
sites with a multitude of images that com- tion as far as I know it.” Why should this job museums can play a small role in helping
plemented the host of impressive releases fall to an intrepid science journalist and not to mitigate such negative press, but not
from major observatories. But that didn’t the NASA team that theoretically wants to without the appropriate tools — including,
happen. Instead, NASA had a passel of promote the good work of the mission? especially, imagery — to do so.
low-resolution images from the trailing
spacecraft, one of which showed, in mid- Adding insult to injury, several of the Earlier in the same week as the LCROSS
infrared wavelengths, a five-pixel bright blip images (including Figure 1) were mirror debacle (note that I say that from a public
at the time of impact. C’est la vie — ou bien, reversed! (Something I admit I didn’t even relations perspective, not a science per-
c’est la science. notice before supplying images for edu- spective), a much more thorough press
cators to present as part of a PowerPoint release from the Spitzer Space Telescope
A member of our production team attended the day of the impact: I thought they were team announced the discovery of a gar-
the press conference at NASA Ames (just simply rotated 180° and I “fixed” them inap- gantuan ring around Saturn4. Seen only in
down the road from San Francisco, after propriately.) And the money shot? The mid- infrared, the ring was described by many
•Visualising Astronomy: Invisible — Impacts and Rings • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 34
•Visualising Astronomy: Invisible — Impacts and Rings • CAPjournal, No. 7, November 2009 • Page 35
Notes
1
ttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/
h
vp/33250209
2
http://www.nasa.gov/lcross
3
http://planetary.org/blog/article/00002159/
4
ttp://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/
h
ssc2009-19/release.shtml
Figure 1. The mid-infrared flash detection images as released by the LCROSS team — mirror reversed and with
5
ttp://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/
h
enlargements overlaid into a single image that prevents users from showing the original image at full resolu- ssc2009-19/ssc2009-19c.shtml
tion. Credit: NASA/LCROSS
news outlets as “invisible”, a true statement eye” or maybe even simply “not visible.”
strictly speaking, but my anecdotal experi- (I get the impression that people interpret Biography
ence suggests that this word can cause “not visible” differently from “invisible”: the
confusion. former suggests a class of objects that we
Ryan Wyatt is the Director of Morrison
cannot see whereas the latter suggests a Planetarium and Science Visualization
In the case of the Saturn announcement, class of objects that cannot be seen. Does at the California Academy of Sciences
a colleague of mine from the Steinhart that make any sense? I pity the non-native in San Francisco, California, USA. He
Aquarium (no intellectual slouch) found speakers of English reading this…) The writes a somewhat regular blog, Visual-
izing Science, available online at http://
himself engaged by a radio story about Spitzer press release avoids use of the visualizingscience.ryanwyatt.net/
the discovery but puzzled when the word word “invisible” altogether, actually, but
“invisible” came up. This got me to think- that’s only the first link in the chain.
ing… Biologists deal with invisible things all
the time, although typically in reference to
microscopic entities too small for us to see
— differently invisible, if you will. And yet, of
course, almost all astronomical objects are
similarly invisible “to the unaided eye”, as
planetarians fondly say. So there’s some-
thing about the word that causes people to
stumble.
CAPjournal scripts. Hard carriage returns after each line Submit articles for one of
should be avoided, as should double spac- the following journal sections:
submission ing between sentences. If the contribution
contains figures, these may — just for the Announcements
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