Europlanet Science Congress 2020
Virtual meeting
21 September – 9 October 2020
Europlanet Science Congress 2020
Virtual meeting
21 September – 9 October 2020
EPSC Abstracts
Vol.14, EPSC2020-384, 2020, updated on 08 Oct 2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2020-384
Europlanet Science Congress 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

RAS200: bringing astronomy and geophysics to new audiences

Steve Miller1 and Sheila Kanani2
Steve Miller and Sheila Kanani
  • 1University College London, Department of Physics and Astronomy, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (s.miller@ucl.ac.uk)
  • 2Royal Astronomical Society, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

This year sees the Royal Astronomical Society – the oldest learned society covering astronomy and geophysics in the world – celebrate its 200th anniversary. In the run up to 2020, the RAS initiated an outreach and engagement scheme aimed at bringing the society’s sciences to new audiences, those who might not normally attend public lectures, planetarium shows or even star-gazing evenings. Committing £1 million to the project, the RAS deliberately sought out new partners who would take it out of its comfort zone with a bottom-up funding scheme making up to £100k available for five-year projects. Competition for the funding was fierce with just 12 projects funded out of more than 150 applications.

 

Starting in 2015, the Prince’s Trust has used astronomy to inspire young people who have had some of the hardest starts in life. Carers who hardly ever get a break from their duties are funded to spend weekends learning about the stars on the Scottish island of Coll. A new planetarium show using Holst’s classic “Planet Suite” and modern adaptations brings the heavens in Full-dome 360 animation to audiences via mobile planetaria. New courses for adults who missed out on their education first time round have been developed. And Welsh cultural festivals now resonate to poetry, dance and music inspired by astronomy.

 

Starting two years later, geophysics is being used to engage football crowds with science, and prisoners are being helped maintain links with their families through astronomy. In Cornwall, Galway and South Africa, artworks, trails and exhibitions are taking astronomy out to local people. And young girls and women in the Girl Guides have new badges to work for. All of these projects, too, are being adapted to suit people on the autistic spectrum.  All projects are being evaluated and all publicised as widely as possible.

 

How to cite: Miller, S. and Kanani, S.: RAS200: bringing astronomy and geophysics to new audiences, Europlanet Science Congress 2020, online, 21 September–9 Oct 2020, EPSC2020-384, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2020-384, 2020