Part of that growth is giving this Newsletter new life. We are conducting a survey to help us understand what you love about the Newsletter and what you're like to see in its next iteration. Please consider filling out the survey below. Thank you in advance for your contribution!
In this Newsletter, you will find many enlightening examples of science communication, from articles to awards to workshops. We have many exciting opportunities and resources for you in this Newsletter, so please take some time to investigate!
Finally, we would like to thank our National Outreach Coordinators, who have once again gone above and beyond to bring astronomy to their communities. Recently, our NOCs were very busy organising country-wide events for all members of the general public to safely view the partial solar eclipse on 25 October. Thank you for all that you do!
May your skies be dark and quiet,
Kelly Blumenthal, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
CAPjournal Issue #31 Available Now!
The 31st issue of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (CAPjournal) is out now!
In 2022, the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) celebrates its 10-year anniversary. Looking back at 10 years of communicating astronomy with the public, the OAO sees CAPjournal as one of its most important initiatives, serving the community with international best practices in the field of outreach and public engagement with astronomy. The OAO is proud to continue the legacy of bringing CAPjournal to our community and into this new decade with a renewed and growing team in place and several restructurings. Keep an eye on the CAPjournal website for highlights of these changes in the coming months, or renew your subscription to CAPjournal.
In this issue, we present articles on the differences (and similarities) between outreach and education, astronomy inclusion and accessibility in a variety of contexts, and virtual reality tours that provide their viewers with a much-needed sense of scale. All of this, and more, is featured in this free, peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators — available now for download.
1) Participate in our IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter Survey
For years, the IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter has brought you news from the IAU, the astronomy outreach community, our National Outreach Coordinators, and opportunities and resources from all over the world. Looking forward, we want to shape the Newsletter into something that better serves our communities. By taking this survey, you will be helping us improve the resources we provide. Thank you, in advance, for your contribution.
2) IAU 2022 PhD Prize Applications Open
The IAU is inviting applications for its 2022 PhD prize, an award which celebrates the outstanding accomplishments made globally by PhD researchers in astrophysics. The deadline for nominations is 15 December 2022. For more information, click here.
3) OAD Newsletter is Released
The Office of Astronomy for Development has just released its latest newsletter, reporting on activities spanning July - September 2022. Click here to read about their new guidelines on Astronomy for Mental Health, a toolkit to address development through astronomy, a recap from the XXXI IAU General Assembly, and case studies from OAD-funded projects.
4) Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication Announced
The National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication are presented to science journalists and researchers who exemplify creativity and originality in their work to communicate science. Top prize winners include Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a theoretical physicist, feminist theorist, and author. For more information about the winners and their contributions to science communication and the prize, click here.
5) Survey from the Europlanet Education and Outreach Team: Calling All Teachers and Science Communicators!
In recent years, the education and outreach teams in the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) project, the Europlanet Society’s Outreach Working Group and the Europlanet Early Careers (EPEC) network have developed a number of resources to support teaching science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) subjects. Among these, we have created ready-to-use planetary science and astrobiology lessons and associated hands-on activities.
As teachers, educators, and science engagement practitioners, we need your expertise and opinion on the most recent resources we have developed. We would also like to understand your interests and use of planetary science resources and if/how your needs and practices have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The survey is available in ten languages at this link.
6) Updates from the IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs)
a) Correction from the last Newsletter
Our NOC Hong Kong-China, Exodus Chun-Long Sit, organised an online workshop on using building blocks as educational tools.
Several of our NOCs organised events to share the 25 October partial solar eclipse with their communities: b) NOC Egypt
The NOC Egypt Team, in collaboration with the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, held outreach events to view the partial solar eclipse.
c) NOC Iraq
The NOC Iraq coordinated various activities across Iraq to celebrate the partial solar eclipse.
d) NOC Kuwait
The NOC Kuwait organized an event at the Skeikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre to observe the partial solar eclipse.
e) NOC Qatar
The NOC Qatar, Hani Dalee, planned a large gathering of people and their telescopes to observe the partial solar eclipse. The Qatar Astronomy Olympiad for Schools 2022-2023 took advantage of this astronomical event and encouraged participants to observe and make measurements of the Sun to discuss important topics in astronomy.
7) Opportunities
a) GlobalSCAPE Workshops in Science Communication
Join GlobalSCAPE for one-day skill-building sessions delivered by Springer Nature. The sessions will focus on sourcing your stories, understanding your audience, effective writing strategies, preparing your press release, and maximising external promotion. Three workshops have already taken place in Spain, South Africa, and Colombia. Registration is now open for workshops in Japan (11 November), India (25 November), and Australia (30 November). Sign up today!
b) Falling Walls Science Summit 2022
Falling Walls is dedicated to creating, supporting, and disseminating breakthroughs across borders and disciplines. Their 2022 Science Summit will take place in-person in Berlin, Germany, and online from 7-9 November. Register here to join in on the 3-day event.
8) Cool Resources
a) Lifeology Course on How to Practise Culturally Relevant SciComm [Content in English and Spanish]
Culture and language impact the way we understand (scientific) information, and it’s been shown (e.g., here and here) that making science culturally relevant encourages the formation of STEM identity and belonging. To learn more about bringing cultural relevant theories to practise, check out this short course on culturally relevant science communication.
b) Interesting Research: A Systematic Map of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity in Science Communication Research: Do We Practice what We Preach? [Content in English]
Inclusivity in science communication means different things to different people, but this field goes back about 40 years and spans a wide range of topics. In this article, the authors do an inventory of the breadth of research done on inclusive science communication and make suggestions about the path forward. You can also read about this article on SciComm Bites.
c) African Science Stars Issue 4: Women in Astronomy [Content in English]
The latest issue of African Science Stars features stories about women in astronomy, astrotourism, black holes, tips for finding your dream job, and so much more. Read the magazine here.
d) Science Has a Communication Problem [Content in English]
In this opinion piece, the author describes a problem that academia faces: lack of communication training, structure, and trust. “Science is failing at communicating its own process and values effectively to the public. And attempts to disseminate vital information risk getting distorted by media interests, co-opted for political gain, or outright ignored. As a result, I believe that the public is slowly losing trust in science because they don’t view scientists as trustworthy people.”
9) IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in Non-English Languages
Our newsletter is being translated into the following languages:
Arabic
Translations are thanks to the members of the Bahrain Stargazers Astronomy Club.
Chinese (Simplified)
Translations are thanks to Dr Chen Cao, Shandong Astronomical Society (SDAS) of China.
Portuguese (European)
Translations are thanks to Catarina Leote and João Ferreira through the Astronomy Translation Network Portuguese Language Group.
Spanish
Translations are thanks to Andrea Ahumada of the Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and Ileana Andruchow of the Instituto Astrofísica de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. For translations of previous Newsletters in Spanish, thanks to Emílio Zuniga of the Association of Amateur Astronomers in León, Nicaragua, click here.
If you are interested in translating the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter into your language, please email public@oao.iau.org.
10) Contribute to the IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
We are always looking for material about astronomy outreach, communication and public engagement from around the world to include in our next IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter. If you have an astronomical event, job, opportunity, educational resource, or anything else that would be of interest to the astronomy outreach community, send us an email at public@oao.iau.org with more information.
Please send us your suggestions through the 4th for issue #1 and the 17th for issue #2 of each month. We look forward to hearing from you!
