SHARING AHEAD 2022 - Public communication of astrophysics across Europe

Session

Communicating H2020 projects

Chair: Lorenzo Natalucci

3 Nov 2022, 11:00

San Pietro in Vincoli, Università La Sapienza, Rome

7. Activities of the Visitor Centers of the National Observatory of Athens

Lazaros Koutoulidis (National Observatory of Athens, NOA-IAASARS)

Our activities focus on elementary and high school students from schools throughout Greece. Our night activities focus on general audience using the historical Newall telescope and other telescopes of Penteli’s astronomical station. We also organized special events focus on high-energy astrophysics like X-ray schools and other AHEAD activities.

1. AHEAD2020: an overview

Ioannis Georgantopoulos (National Observatory of Athens, NOA), Luigi Piro (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF-IAPS)

8. Art and game to communicate astrophysics

Edwige Pezzulli (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF-IAPS), Marco Faccini (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF-OAR)

3. Citizen Science in ESCAPE (European Science Cluster of Astronomy & Particle physics ESFRI research infrastructures)

James Pearson (The Open University)

ESCAPE (European Science Cluster of Astronomy & Particle physics ESFRI research infrastructures) brings together astronomy, astroparticle and particle physics communities to establish a single collaborative cluster of next generation European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) facilities. This links the data-driven research of ESFRI projects to the wider European Open Science...

10. COsMIC RAYS - A different strategy to explain high-energy astrophysics to youngsters (who usually have too high-energies to stop and hear who explains high-energy astrophysics)

Angelo Adamo (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF-IASF Palermo)

Many years ago I started a bit for fun to write and draw comics focused on astrophysical themes which I then printed and left as flyers to the public during the astronomical outreach events in which I was involved. Later this activity became more and more important in my job and it was enriched with new experiences and awareness to the point of becoming the object of a research on the...

12. Diversify and conquer: PO activities at IFCA for all ages and for all backgrounds

Maite Ceballos (Instituto de Física de Cantabria, CSIC-UC)

The PO activities at IFCA are very diverse and focused on a variety of potential learners.
Our starting point is the very local, classical-design programme “Expanding science” in which the scientists working at the institute regularly visit schools to talk about science, adapting the contents to the level of the scholars and adding a gender perspective to the activities. With these visits,...

13. Expect the unexpected - Space and storytelling with LICIACube

Elisa Nichelli (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF-OAR)

Communicating small satellite's science to the general public is a challenge. When your goal is to give voice to an italian CubeSat to be released from a breakthrough planetary defence mission by NASA... things can be even more challenging. In my talk I will show you the incredible results we obtained in about a year managing LICIACube's social media. LICIACube is the small satellite released...

14. INAF and its One Thousand and One Stories

Martina Cardillo (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF-IAPS)

One of the most powerful collaborations in the whole Universe is the one between Art and Science. In the light of this, since 2020, a group of passionate and enthusiastic scientists and non-scientists of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) has gathered into a team that aims to unveil and share the beauty of astronomy through art: the "Gruppo Storie”. Our activities include...

6. Public Outreach Activities of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics

Tobias Herrmann (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, MPE)

The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) belongs to the Max Planck Society (MPG) and is one of the most important institutions for astrophysics in the world. In the AHEAD2020 project, the X-Ray Optics Joint Research Activity is led by head of X-ray test facility PANTER of MPEs high energy group.At MPE, we offer a wide range of public outreach, including a bilingual website...

4. Science communication of AHEAD2020 through the social media and webpage

Ektoras Pouliasis (National Observatory of Athens, NOA)

I will present the public outreach activities of the AHEAD2020 through the webpage and the social media accounts. The triplet “WHAT-WHO-HOW” will be analyzed in the context of the project. In particular, I will focus on the communication goals of the project, who is the audience and how this is achieved through a dedicated plan for the different target populations. Of high importance is the...

2. The H2020 Opticon RadioNet Pilot Project: Overview, challenges and lessons learnt from its communications and outreach activities

Jorge Rivero González (Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC - JIVE)

The H2020 Opticon RadioNet Pilot (ORP) project brings together the well-established ground-based astronomy community, in an effort to support and develop seamless access to radio and optical facilities in an efficient, co-ordinated and future-looking programme. It offers access to an unrivalled set of major and specialised observatories across Europe (and around the world) covering the...

9. The REINFORCE project

Stavros Katsanevas (European Gravitational Observatory, EGO)

I will report on REINFORCE supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 SWAFS program. It has developed demonstrator projects in the citizen-science platform, Zooniverse, engaging citizens in the analysis of:

a) transient-noise signals mostly of environmental origin, in data from the Virgo gravitational-wave detector, concurrently participating in the improvement of the sensitivity of the...

5. There is not just one Cosmos - Involving, connecting and story-telling in Multimessenger Astronomy

Vincenzo Napolano (European Gravitational Observatory, EGO)

The communication and outreach activities of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) in recent years have been inspired by some general ideas about the meaning and value for the society of the scientific revolution related to gravitational waves and Multimessenger Astronomy. Indeed these initiatives have been oriented by the idea that the achievements of scientific knowledge always have a...

11. Virtual and augmented environments for communicating Astronomy: Science, Education and Outreach experiences at INAF Palermo Observatory

Laura Leonardi (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF)

The use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in astronomy has been recognized as a very powerful tool, both for researchers, to better visualize and analyze astronomical data, and for educators to provide immersive, interactive and engaging learning spaces. By the use of a camera and an appropriate software, AR technology integrates and expands the surrounding reality with...

15. “Look up! Flip the sky with your finger” a virtual exhibition for the enhancement of the historical astronomical atlases of INAF

Federico Di Giacomo (National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF)

Together with research activities in different fields of astrophysics and astronomical technologies, INAF promotes projects to preserve, valorize and public engagements projects related to its bibliographic, archival and instrumental heritage. The observatories are the oldest scientific institutions in Italy and contain more than 7000 rare books, over 1200 astronomical instruments, dated from...