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A Radio Astronomical Star Party for Those "On the Verge"

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A Radio Astronomical Star Party for Those A Radio Astronomical Star Party for those “On The Verge” Best Practices Best Eva S. Wirström Robert J. Cumming Keywords Research Assistant, Communications Officer, Public Outreach, Radio Astronomy, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory Non-traditional Event, Informal Education Onsala Space Observatory [email protected] [email protected] Summary Here we describe the Onsala Stjärnträff (Onsala Star Party), an unconventional outreach event that was held during Sweden’s inaugural Day and Night of Astronomy in October 2012. The target group consisted of individuals who are “on the verge” of discovering astronomy; individuals who have a spark of enthusiasm for astronomy, but who have not yet taken this pas- sive interest to the next level. For the event, we adapted the concept of a star party to provide insight, inspiration, hands-on experience and networking opportunities for the participants. Furthermore, the Onsala Space Observatory’s radio tele- scopes allowed us to compensate for poor weather and to fulfil our role in communicating radio astronomy to a wider public. Introduction the first time, with astronomy events taking and nurture the enthusiasm of such individ- place all over the country. The initiative for uals and inspire them to develop their pas- Groups of visitors are welcomed sev- ADON came from the Swedish Astronomical sive interest and take it to the next level by eral times a week to the Onsala Space Society (Svenska Astronomiska Sällskapet). joining, for example, an astronomy class or Observatory, the Swedish national facility It was intended to build on the enthusiasm amateur astronomy society, or purchasing a for radio astronomy. Typically, they consist for astronomy outreach and the wide range telescope. Furthermore, it was a priority for of school classes, organisations for the re- of events organised at many astronomical the event to reach underrepresented sec- tired and workplace outings. A couple of institutions and amateur organisations dur- tions of the astronomy community (women, times a year we are open to the general ing the International Year of Astronomy 2009. young adults and minorities). public on a weekend day, mostly attract- If the first ADON was a success, then it ing families from the local area. would become an annual event. As one of A star party was chosen as the format for the the largest Swedish astronomical institu- event. Star parties are traditionally focussed During a typical two-hour tour, visitors are tions, Onsala Space Observatory was keen on optical night-time observations, but com- given a presentation about astronomy and to participate1 in the event. bined optical and radio star parties are not the facility and then guided to see the two unheard of: the Green Bank Star Quest, for large radio telescopes and the exhibition example, has been arranged in collabora- area. The purpose of the guided tours is The idea tion between amateur astronomer organi- threefold: to show that the work done at the sations and the National Radio Astronomy observatory is not secretive, to encourage ADON gave us an opportunity to do some- Observatory (NRAO) at the Robert C. Byrd interest in science and research, and to pro- thing special for a small group of enthusi- Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West vide a forum for the public to ask questions. asts. We decided to try to attract a group Virginia every year since 20042. While these of individuals who are enthusiastic about multiple-day events for hundreds of people On 13 October 2012, the Swedish Day and space and astronomy, but who have not mainly attract amateur astronomers, the Night of Astronomy (or Astronomins Dag och yet found a way to develop their interest. vision for the Onsala Star Party was to reach Natt (ADON) in Swedish), was celebrated for Our vision was to create an event to feed a more diverse group of people. 6 CAPjournal, No. 13, April 2013 CAPjournal, No. 13, April 2013 The planned format of the Onsala Stjärnträff: a few items in astronomy blogs, a blog en- The event try at Chalmers University of Technology in • Hands-on observations using the large Gothenburg, but there was no pick-up by The Onsala Stjärnträff took place from 13:00 radio telescopes, the smaller student the mainstream media. on Saturday, 13 October 2012, until 10:00 radio antennas, SALSA (Such A Lovely the following day. The schedule was built Small Antenna), and optical telescopes around three presentations and activities at would be offered. Selecting participants four observational instruments. However, • To promote the social aspect of a clas- since the purpose of the event was to en- sic star party, participants would spend People who were interested in participat- gage the participants, there was flexibility the night at the Observatory and observe ing were asked to complete an online reg- in the schedule to allow for discussions. throughout the night (weather permit- istration form, which asked about their age, ting). The number of beds at the Obser- gender and education, as well as some Astronomer and author Marie Rådbo4 kicked vatory limits the number of participants open-ended questions, such as “Introduce off the programme with a presentation about to 15. A minimum age of 16 years was yourself in a couple of sentences!” and “Why her work in communicating science and set for participants, and parental consent do you want to participate in the Onsala astro nomy to the general public, followed by was required for participants younger Stjärnträff?”. a question and answer session. Dr Carina than 18. Persson, the local radio astronomy expert, • To invite two external guest speakers By the application deadline more than 50 talked about scientific methods used in from outside the research community people had applied for the 15 available po- astronomy research in her presentation, who have expertise in astronomy, such sitions. However, six applications did not “Spies in Space”. Questions from the par- as astrophotographers and science match the terms and conditions attached ticipants directed the focus of the talk to- writers. to the application and were disregarded. wards what is known about the Universe in • To invite one of our local scientists to pre- Of the 44 valid applications, 15 were sub- general, evolving into a group discussion sent astronomical research in an acces- mitted by women and 29 by men, with ages that included the previous speaker. sible way. ranging from 16 to 73 years old. All appli- • The event would be free of charge and cations were read by three astronomers at Participants were then given a taste for the funded by the Observatory’s budget for the Observatory and rated independently beauty of the night sky with a presentation outreach. Participants would pay their based on the perceived level of enthusiasm. by astrophotographer P.-M. Hedén5. Tips own transport costs. about lenses, camera settings and software • Direct interaction between participants Figure 1 shows a comparison between the were offered, as well as examples of pho- and professional astronomers would age profile and gender ratio of the appli- tos and a stunning time-lapse movie that be a vital component of the Onsala cants and the participants. This information he had put together of his favourite astro- Stjärnträff. was used in combination with the answers photography sessions. to the application questions to select par- ticipants in accordance with the goal of Finding participants reaching underrepresented groups within Hands-on observations the astronomy community: women and The slogan for marketing the event was young adults. The Onsala 20-metre radio telescope was chosen in an attempt to appeal to a wider not being used that evening for research, audience than the usual star-party goers: so it was made available for use by the “Are you fascinated by the Universe?” star-party participants. Participants were Furthermore, the language in the adver- introduced to the concept of spectral line tising was carefully chosen so that it was 29 radio observations by Dr. Henrik Olofsson. clear that no prior knowledge of astronomy For short demonstrations, each group ob- was needed to participate; all that was re- 13 served water masers in Galactic massive quired was an interest in, curiosity and en- star-forming regions. A longer observing thusiasm for astronomy. project, which stretched over the entire star party, involved water megamasers near the APPLICANTS Reaching out to the public at large on a APPLICANTS centre of the galaxy NGC 4258. 8 limited marketing budget was challenging. 15 7 7 To keep costs down, the event was mar- Unfortunately the skies were covered by keted online, on the Observatory’s home 5 cloud throughout the star party, so the 3 4 4 page , on social media accounts (Facebook 8 evening optical observing session was 7 and Twitter) and by direct email to con- 3 3 cancelled. In case of poor observing tacts in the science media, academia, the 2 2 conditions, an alternative activity had PARTICIPANTS amateur astronomy community, and high 1 been prepared. For this, Dr Peter PARTICIPANTS school teachers. The email actively en- 16-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 MEN WOMEN Forkman introduced participants to the couraged recipients to spread the word free open source planetarium software Figure 1. Age and gender distribution of the Onsala 6 about the event to friends, relatives, col- Stjärnträff’s applicants and participants. Stellarium . In parallel to this activity, a few leagues and students. These efforts led to Credit: Robert Cumming participants were introduced to SALSA7. FooterA Radio Main Astronomical Title Star Party for hose “On The Verge” 7 FooterA Radio Main Astronomical Title Star Party for those “On The Verge” This pair of 2.3-metre radio tele scopes experts.
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