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Astronomy and
the New Media
Astronomy is one of the scientific fields that
have been completely shaken up by new
media.
The Internet has enabled communication
between researchers in a dramatic new way,
creating new collaborations, removing
obstacles, and drawing in an army of
enthusiastic volunteers to help with research.
Exactly What is ‘New Media’?
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New Media is a term meant to encompass the
emergence of digital, computerized, or
networked information and communication
technologies.
Web sites and forums
Web Logs or ‘blogs’
Podcasting sites
Vodcasting sites
What does all this have to do with
ME?
Every amateur astronomer has things to
contribute.
Many sites on the web rely on your input.
(Galaxy Zoo, Citizen Sky Project, AAVSO ,IOTA,
etc)
Even the most casual observations can be
relevant.
Your input is important!
YOU and the New
Media
Let's take a look at how new media is helping
change astronomy, and how you can get
involved
What has the New Media
Accomplished
Examples:
In 2007, a teacher,26-year old Hanny Van
Arkel, stumbled across an astronomical
anomaly – a doughnut-shaped cosmic gas
cloud that glowed green and looked like a
cosmic ghost – while helping classify images of
galaxies at Galaxy Zoo.
In 2009 Anthony Wesley, the amateur
Australian astronomer, reported to NASA
that he was seeing something unusual in the
southern hemisphere of Jupiter. What he saw
was an asteroid strike.
Also in 2009, while pouring over the images,
Galaxy Zoo volunteers identified a number of
unusual galaxies. Because they were so small
and bright green, they called them "Green
Peas." These turned out to be a new type of
galaxy.
In 2006 An international team of professional
and amateur astronomers, employing a
budget telescope atop a Hawaiian volcano
have discovered their first extra-solar planet.
Dubbed X-O1b, the planet is 300 light years
away, and is found to have a mass
approximately equal to that of Jupiter
In 2003 an amateur astronomer located a
powerful stellar explosion before the Pros!
Armed with a 12-inch telescope, a computer,
and a NASA email alert, Berto Monard of
South Africa became the first amateur
astronomer to discover the afterglow of a
gamma-ray burst, the most powerful
explosion known in the Universe.
Get Involved With Sites for New
Media
• 365 Days of Astronomy
– http://365daysofastronomy.org/
• Citizen Sky Project
– http://www.citizensky.org/
• Galaxy Zoo 2
– http://www.galaxyzoo.org/
• Night Sky Network
– http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
Share your Knowledge and
Observations
• Post your observations and questions on the
Blogs and Discussion Groups.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions of others.
• Be sure to document your observations and
findings.
If you don’t write it down – It didn’t happen.
Podcast and Video-casts
• AstronomyCast
– http://www.astronomycast.com/
• iTunes
– http://www.apple.com/itunes
• Universe Today
– http://www.universetoday.com
• Planet Quest
– http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
• Slackerpedia Galactica
– http://www.slackerastronomy.org/
Don’t forget the old media.
Don’t forget things like Planetarium Software(
Stellarium, Starry Nights, The Sky, Cartes du
Ciel).
Worldwide Telescope counts as Planetarium
Software and it runs telescopes really well.
Google Sky counts as well but it cannot run
scopes.
According to
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Sports = 914,000,000
Space = 802,000,000
Sex = 578,000,000
Astronomy = 42,600,000
Birmingham Astronomical Society = 53,800
Stats According to Google on 15 January 2009.
The BAS web site is divided into
multiple sections:
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Main Site –WWW.BAS-ASTRO.COM
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