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It’s accessibility that led me to create
many rewards in terms of how successful your gatherings are and in the type of feedback you’ll get back
the Awesome Astronomy podcast to
(and you want that too – that’s your reward for the hard work you put in). If people think they need to have
explore new ways to bring the uni-
their own scope to attend or have to have a good working knowledge of stellar evolution, they won’t come
verse to wider audiences in a friendly
and they’ll really be missing out.
and engaging manner. At least I hope
it does! It also inspired me to start
the AstroCamp stargazing weekend
Encouraging and accessible are the watchwords. Brian Cox is more popular than Saul Perlmutter. Perlmutter
in the International Dark Sky Reserve
discovered dark energy, that makes up 68% of the universe and you may not have heard of him. Brian Cox
of the Welsh Brecon Beacons in 2012
isn’t an astronomer by trade but you will all have heard of him and his great work to get the public inter-
to encourage learners and abso-
ested in astronomy.
lute beginners to feel comfortable in
coming to an astronomy event for the
IMAGE: ALEX SPEED
first time, or possibly alone. In the case of the AstroCamp, it then becomes the friendliness of the attendees that sustains its fun and welcoming atmosphere.
And, whether it’s an event under pristine dark skies or passing city folk under soupy urban skies, a first view
of the rings of Saturn or a peer into a large lunar crater will give them that same visceral reaction – that
‘wow!’ – that may be so long ago now that you’ve forgotten how awesome it felt for you.
With my Awesome Astronomy and AstroCamp partners, Paul Hill, Damien Phillips and John Wildridge, we’ve
now begun taking scopes to busy thoroughfares in London as pop-up astronomy events. We show people
walking by their first ever views of bright objects – like the moon or the cloud belts and moons of Jupiter.
The moon and planets look just as good in city skies as they do in darker or clearer skies and astronomy truly
is the gateway drug to science. We must have hooked hundreds, if not thousands, of people on astronomy
Astro Nerds June 2014
Astro Nerds June 2014