Why I Do It
Talking and writing about astronomy is a fun gig. I’ve been doing it since the early 1980s, when I got to write a few things for The Denver Post. That was an exciting time. I started out there as an editorial assistant, but ended up writing things almost as soon as it occurred to me ask if I could. Several years later I decided it was time to head back to school and learn more astronomy. The fact that I ended up not only DOING astronomy but also getting a masters’ degree in science journalism is, in some measure, attributable to my love of both subjects.
If I could, I’d go back for that PhD in astrophysics (given enough time and money), but I have found a niche subject I like to write about and, thanks to a number of undergraduate and graduate classes in astronomy and planetary science, plus the chance to work first-hand with a couple of space missions, communicating astronomy is a full-time career. It has taken me from writing articles for newspapers to working as an editor and writer for Sky & Telescope; writing documentary scripts for planetarium shows to creating copy for an entire observatory full of exhibits (at Griffith Observatory). Lately, the rise of “new media” (podcasts, etc.) has taken me off in some new directions, creating podcasts (which you can see on my Video and ‘Casts page and also at Haystack Observatory.
I like to keep tabs on what’s new in astronomy communications–what they like to call “outreach” these days. Last fall I went to Athens, Greece for a meeting called “Communicating Astronomy to the Public.” It was an eclectic mix of people from around the world, all gathered to talk about how writers, producers, and astronomers can go about spreading the word about the sky and what we study in it.
Okay, so why communicate about astronomy? I’ve given that a lot of thought. In a time when there are so many things claiming our collective attention around the world (war, politics, religion, environmental concerns, and so on), it’s a fair question to ask. Sure, astronomy’s got a built-in “cool” factor that you can’t discount unless you’re a cost-cutting senator from a state that has no observatories. But, looking beyond that obvious fact, astronomy is also one of those sciences that gives you a toehold on a whole range of scientific interests. Want to know more about how stars work? Physics will get you started on the journey of discovery in stellar anatomy. Want to know about how planets form? You need some more physics. And geology–lots of geology. And chemistry, since planets (and stars) form out of mixtures of chemical elements in various states. What about life on other worlds? Put in a call to the astrobiologists (who combine biology, life sciences, and astrophysics for their work).
A distant version of the solar system? Astronomy tells us perhaps so.
courtesy KASI,CBNU; ARCSEC, ;NSF.
How to study all this? Well, you need to know something about how to build the instruments of science (telescopes, radio dishes, orbiting satellites, geological sensing equipment, and so forth). Just about any science has a backwards-compatible link to astronomy. This is why we often refer to astronomy as a gateway science. And, beyond the pretty pictures that make science communicators’ lives easier, there are some really compelling stories in astronomy that blow people away (once they hear them).
That’s why I communicate astronomy–to tell really excellent stories about the cool stuff in the universe, and the people who discover and explain them. And, like I said, it’s a fun gig!