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Radio broadcasting – an attractive way of broadcasting astronomy
Radio broadcasting – an attractive way of broadcasting astronomy
Cătălin Mosoia
Radio Europa FM, Romania ([email protected])
Abstract
Astronomy is full of beautiful skyscapes, shining stars and huge planets. The vast majority of
them can be transformed into tactile images and complemented by audio descriptions. These
translations of visual information into raised lines, shapes and textures can be felt with the fingertips instead of viewed with the eyes. In this way, the beauties of the Universe enter the universe
of blind and visually impaired people. Happily, we all have radio broadcasting as an important
source of information and entertainment. Science radio programmes can bring the real music of
the spheres (as Pythagoras once suggested) to the audience.
Astronomy on radio
We might listen to the voices coming from space such as the sound of solar storms, the song
of the Sun or low-frequency vibrations from the Sun, the power of waves near Enceladus, tracks
left behind by meteor showers as detected by ESA scientists, the atmosphere squeaking in the
form of a lightning strike recorded by Cluster, Cassini-Huygens passing through Saturn’s rings,
auroral “star wars” because Earth can generate natural radio emissions, the sounds of Titan, or
the natural vibrations of the stars.
Apart from listening to the distant sounds of the Universe we also have the music of The Beatles,
stars such as Brian May, and in addition, music dedicated to astronomical phenomena. This is
the case for Nobody Steals the Sun – a musical experiment dedicated to the total solar eclipse on
29 March, 2006 – and Perseids – music dedicated to the 2007 Perseids meteor shower – made
in the last couple of years by the same Romanian team of three: a professional astronomer (Dr
Magda Stavinschi), a very talented composer (Cristian Matei) and a science journalist: a strong
example of promoting collaboration between scientists, artists and mass media representatives.
Each of these items has its own history. There are interesting stories to tell even in a space–sport
context: space golf (Alan Shepard, 1971, and Mikhail Tyurin, 2006), football inside the Discovery
shuttle (John Blaha, 1989), or zero gravity stadiums full of zero gravity players and totally new
sports in space.
All of these can be used in science programmes as an example of good practice collaboration
between astronomers and science journalists. Both are interested in sending proper information
to the public. It is education that can add quality to the information and a higher dimension to the
process of informing people, be it spoken, written or read for everyone’s understanding. Science
journalists and scientists can bring astronomy closer to the people. Generally speaking, the mass
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Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2007
media can teach astronomy, but only with the help of scientists. They can give advice for scientific
news, but there is a need for better links between scientists and journalists interested in science.
Maybe, there is a need also for a deeper interdisciplinary analysis of science journalism. The last,
but by no means least, important thing is specific funding for mass media interested in science.
Catalin Mosoia
Special thanks to Europa FM1, the first private Romanian radio station with national coverage,
where I am working as a science journalist and to Brief Press Ltd, the owner of Ziarul ştiinţelor2
(Science newspaper), for supporting my participation at CAP2007 in Athens, Greece.
Figure 1 – Image of the poster Radio broadcasting — an attractive way of communicating astronomy
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http://www.europafm.ro
http://www.sciencenewspaper.eu
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