Astronomy Communication (astrophysics And Space Science Library)

Astronomyhasalwaysbeenoneoftheeasiestofthesciencestoconveyto the public. That is partly because it produces spectacular pictures that can be explained (at least in part) and admired, partly because understanding of astronomy usually does not depend upon a knowledge of a complex cl- si?cation system or esoteric terminology, and partly because its extremes in distances and times challenge our imagination and philosophies. Most scientists enjoy sharing with others the discoveries made by th- selves and their colleagues. The primary purpose of scienti?c research is to discover, to learn, and to understand. When we succeed, we enjoy sh- ing that understanding. Education is most pleasurable when our audience wishes to learn and we have something important to convey. A?eldthatdoesnotcommunicatee?ectivelywiththepublicsoonlooses its interest and support. Author Andr ́ e Heck explains the many di?erent ways in which professional communication now occurs while Leslie Sage explains how such communication should be done. Astronomy done with spacecraft and large equipment is very expensive and the funds for those ultimately come from the public. The cost of astronomy prorated over the number of research astronomers is perhaps the highest in all the sciences. If astronomers do not share their results with the public, they will loose its support. However, for most astronomers the desire to share and educate dominates over the pragmatic need to win public support. With the advent of new communication techniques (television, videos, CDs, DVDs, animation, simulations) we have new methods to commu- cate, in addition to the conventional ones of the printed and spoken word. Front Matter....Pages i-2 Public Communication of Astronomy....Pages 3-18 Communicating Astronomy to the Media....Pages 19-29 The Public Communication of Science and Technology and International Networking....Pages 31-42 Science on Television....Pages 43-54 Astronomy on Television....Pages 55-66 Astronomy and Space Science in the European Print Media....Pages 67-120 115 Years of Communicating Astronomy: Education and Outreach at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific....Pages 121-138 The Hubble Space Telescope Education and Outreach Program....Pages 139-156 Doing It without Electrons: Innovative Resources for Promoting Astronomy and Science in a Developing Country....Pages 157-176 The EAAE: Promoting Astronomy Education in Europe....Pages 177-188 Astronomy Education in Europe: Studies among Teachers and High-School Students....Pages 189-202 Astronomy Professional Communication....Pages 203-220 Writing a Clear and Engaging Paper for All Astronomers....Pages 221-226 This book is filling a gap in the astronomy-related literature by providing a set of chapters not only of direct interest to astronomy communication, but also well beyond it. The experts contributing to this book have done their best to write in a way understandable to readers not necessarily hyperspecialized in astronomy nor in communication techniques while providing specific detailed information, as well as plenty of pointers and bibliographic elements. This book will be very useful for researchers, teachers, editors, publishers, librarians, computer scientists, sociologists of science, research planners and strategists, project managers, public-relations officers, plus those in charge of astronomy-related organizations, as well as for students aiming at a career in astronomy or related space science.