ODAA3
While the same issues are less pressing from the point of view of planetary science, they are relevant for the community as well, since discoveries in the Earth’s history and climate, exoplanet science, astrobiology and other fields can end up heavily distorted in the current information ecosystem. Increased engagement with planetary science is important not only for its own sake and because of the passion for science that we share, but also for practical reasons such as raising the next generation of scientists, teaching the scientific method and inquiry, promoting overall critical thinking and helping people understand issues such as climate change and its impacts.
Rather than parceling the central question of science communication for the 21st century into individual topics such as sci-comm on social media, role of books in current sci-comm, AI art in sci-comm, risks and benefits of AI in sci-comm, citizen science involvement for sci-comm, limiting misinformation (especially in high-interest areas for the public, such as astrobiology or exoplanets) etc., we decided to invite you to share your activities, insights, experience and perspectives connecting to the underlying key question of how to use all these approaches in synergy, effectively share scientific discoveries and increase public interest and participation in science in the coming years.
Session assets
There is a societal obligation to communicate planetary science activities to the general public. Many science and technology breakthroughs go unnoticed too frequently due to a lack of interest or awareness from the general public and an inability of scientists to engage broad audiences effectively. In July 2023, science communicator Niamh Shaw accompanied field geophysicist Mebatseyon Shawel on a six-day TA2023-funded field trip entitled 'Investigation of geomorphic features in Ntwetwe pans, Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana, using Ground Penetrating Radar: implications for Martial surface landforms'. The expedition to the Makgadikgadi salt pan was led by Fulvio Franchii and team at BUIST, Botswana. The purpose of a science communicator as documentarian was to capture the story of one science team on a field trip to the Makgadikgadi Salt pans. The overall objectives of the science communication study were to capture public interest in planetary science taking place in Botswana, the Makgadikgadi Salt pans and space, through focussing on telling the real-time story of a science analogue pre-, during- and post-mission, highlighting the importance of Analogue sites, specifically the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, and the opportunity for non-Space audiences individuals to better appreciate planetary science.
Using a number of media forms the story of this six day field trip was captured through video, photography, audio and personal testimony. The story of the field trip was presented to schools and family audiences in Brazil, Ireland, Canada and the USA. The presentation capably captured the public’s interest by telling the human story of a science mission conducting a field trip, as evidenced by many follow-up questions. There was little or no knowledge of planetary science or analogues in the audience prior to the presentation. Photographs of the mission were included in science publications post-field trip. The use of personal testimony as a method for informal science learning is an effective and original approach to highlight the importance of planetary science analogues to the general public. In simple terms, it was found that seeing a daily account of what scientists do, is immediate and accessible to viewers and readers.
How to cite: Shaw, N., Franchi, F., Shawel, M., and Kahsay, T. H.: Field trip to at Makgadikgadi Salt Pans- a multimedia outreach project to capture the day-to-day human story of planetary science, to raise awareness of Europlanet and of the diverse research projects taking place at a planetary field analogue., Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-426, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-426, 2024.
Introduction: This project aims to create a small-scale physical simulator to demonstrate the effects of Coriolis and centrifugal forces in a uniformly rotating fluid. The pedagogical goal is to illustrate the key role of rotation in planetary atmosphere dynamics to students and the public through simple experiments in a portable laboratory setting. The design and production of a prototype began in 2021 as a student project. The Europlanet Public Engagement Funding Scheme provided funding to enhance the device in 2022. Further improvements to the prototype are ongoing, but the device is already suitable for outreach events. Plans for the future include transitioning from prototyping to serial production and developing step-by-step experiment guidelines.
The device: Rotating tanks of various sizes are already in use at several geophysical laboratories (Fig. 1). However, our device stands out due to four innovative features:
- The device, tentatively named "Coriotron" or "Rotatron" (the final name is yet to be determined), is specifically designed to be folded and fit into a medium-sized suitcase for easy transportation to outreach and educational events (Fig. 5).
- It is adaptable for conducting a variety of experiments demonstrating the role of rotation in planetary atmospheric dynamics. For example, it can replicate several meteorological phenomena such as mid-latitude waves (Earth, Mars) and coherent vortices (polar or mid-latitude), as shown in Fig. 4.
- We are committed to minimizing production costs by seeking technical solutions that offer the best quality-to-price ratio (Fig. 2-3).
- Our aim is to create a device that is user-friendly and comfortable to operate while maintaining rigorous scientific standards.
Currently, the device consists of a 50cm-diameter, 8kg-weight, motor-driven, wooden rotating platform. A plexiglass cylinder filled with water can be attached to the platform. An adjustable arm allows for the secure mounting of a camera approximately 50cm above the platform, enabling image capture in the rotating reference frame (refer to Fig. 2-4). An illumination system, although still in need of improvement, provides optimal lighting conditions for visualization. We currently control the device using Python-based software, with ongoing development to implement an ergonomic Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Presently, the video signal from the camera is routed to a mobile phone and then shared with a laptop using an application. However, this setup introduces delays in signal transmission, which is not ideal. We are actively seeking solutions to directly transmit the video signal from the camera to a laptop and subsequently to a large screen or projector.
Vision: If we successfully complete the prototyping of the initial device at relatively low costs, we can consider future production to meet the needs of the planetology and geophysics communities for portable experiments. The vision of this project is to manufacture such devices for distribution to multiple European institutions, accompanied by the development of step-by-step experiment guidelines. In doing so, it aligns with the objective of expanding and supporting a diverse and inclusive planetary community across Europe, while also fostering international collaboration to share best practices for utilizing the device during outreach events.
Moreover, art and science seamlessly blend during experiments with this device, where two-dimensional turbulence in the rotating frame creates captivating abstract paintings when visualized with colored dye. If artists embrace the opportunity to utilize this device for artistic expression, the project's potential outreach could expand exponentially.
Acknowledgments: The author would like to acknowledge funding from the Europlanet Public Engagement Funding Scheme 2022. The author is indebted to the “University Institute of Technology” (IUT) based in Annecy, France, for facilitating collaboration with two of their second-year students, and to the “La Turbine” cultural and educational centre (also based in Annecy, France) for offering a venue to host one of the students.
Figure 1: The rotating tank in the laboratory simulates the effect of the planetary rotation using a local flat-planet approximation (Adapted from: Hill et al., BAMS 99, Issue 12, pp 2529-2538, 2018)
Figure 2: A scheme of the portable rotating tank (Credits to: Aurélian GINET, project student in 2021)
Figure 3: Picture of the device, including the Plexiglas cylinder
Figure 4: Examples of mid-latitude waves and polar vortex reproduced in the portable rotating tank and visualized using coloured dyes
Figure 5: The device can be folded and fitted in a medium-sized suitcase
How to cite: Montabone, L.: Demonstrating Planetary Atmosphere Weather in a Portable Rotating Tank, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-1352, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-1352, 2024.
In the age of the social media boom and the never-ending influx of catchy audiovisual content, does it still make sense to write popularization books? And is it possible to reach a wide audience with them in today's age of all kinds of excitement? These are questions that many of us are looking for answers to. A glance at the travelers on the subway or in a bus offers a picture of a world in which books have virtually disappeared. Instead of looking at the printed page, we all are mostly looking at the glowing screens of our smartphones. At first glance, it might seem that investing time in writing popular science books is not worth it.
But to write off popular science books as useless would be premature. Printed books are still a tool with which to make a big impact and thereby disseminate scientific knowledge to the population. It just needs to be well-conceived, visually interesting, and the author needs to know from the beginning what readership he or she is trying to speak. If (s)he succeeds, (s)he can stimulate the curiosity of a large audience with his work. And we are lucky enough to have succeeded in doing just that.
Below, therefore, we present a pair of popular science books, one dealing with solar system research and the other with geosciences, which have enjoyed considerable readership and commercial success in the Czech Republic.
Case study 1: Vesmírníček (Bedtime, Spacetime)
It is a children's book that has sold around 20,000 copies in less than two years. It has officially become a Czech bestseller, it has been reprinted several times and the rights have been sold abroad as well. So this book fulfills the dream of all authors!
Figure 1: Cover of the Czech edition of the book.
This success has been achieved by a book which, with the help of 70 stories, tries to bring readers closer to the research of the Solar System. Unlike most books produced for children about the Solar System, this is not an encyclopedia in which selected facts about the planets, moons and other bodies orbiting the Sun are arranged side by side. Instead, it is written as a "never-ending" answer to children's "why" and "how" questions. But not just any questions. In 160 lavishly illustrated pages, we're not afraid to introduce readers to the complex questions that planetologists tackle.
Readers can learn, for example, why magma rises from volcanoes to the surface, why it is so warm inside the planets, why impact craters on Mercury are linked to volcanic activity, why Mars is red, or how is it possible that some of the surfaces of the moons are (geologically speaking…) so young ! Each story is accompanied by a rich and humorous illustration that attempts to explain the geological phenomenon in terms of something children are commonly familiar with. Thus, the Sun plays billiards with hydrogen and oxygen molecules in the Martian atmosphere, or giant ticks move across the surface of Venus.
Figure 2: Example of one chapter from the book.
The explanation is presented in a serious yet empathetic manner and contains a number of analogies that aptly introduce the complex topic of solar system research to young readers. The book also features a pair of guides - knowledge worms - who constantly bicker together and comment on complex scientific theories and discoveries with the help of witty dialogue.
While it might seem from the illustrations that this is a children's book for ages 6 to 10, this is not the case. In fact, the content of the book from the beginning targets two reading groups, not only children but also an older audience, parents of children. The book was therefore designed from the beginning to be read by these two reading groups together at bedtime. That is, at a time when most of us would rather reach for a book than a smartphone. And that contributes to its huge reading success. It is, after all, a convenient tool for spending time together. This strategy allows us to reach two groups simultaneously and thus outreaching science to a much wider part of the population.
Case study 2: Geostorky (Geostories)
In the autumn of 2023, we published a second book consisting of stories from the world of geoscience, which has sold around 5,000 copies so far this year. The book is aimed at older readers and aims to popularise geology, not in the form of a list of scientific facts, but through engaging and dramatic stories. In 300 pages, 25 stories from around the world are told. Readers can learn about the fate of the North American city of Centralia, under which a seemingly endless supply of coal began to burn, the salinization of the Australian outback, the volcanic eruption of Iceland's Lakagigar volcano that changed the course of history, or the drilling of a salt mine under Lake Peigneur.
Figure 3: Cover of the Czech edition of the book.
Like The Little Spaceman, this book has been widely read, but also very warmly received by the reading public. This is helped by the format chosen to tell each story. The reader is always confronted with the specific fate of one person or group of people (whether real or fictional) and the course of an ecological or geological disaster, or even a groundbreaking discovery transforming the world of geoscience, through which the story is told. Thus, the individual stories have a dramatic-detective character that captivates the reader and, according to the positive feedback on the book, makes him or her want to read the story (or even the whole book).
The book is accompanied by black-and-white illustrations at the beginning of each chapter that hint at what the story will be about.
Figure 4: Example of one chapter from the book (in Czech).
How to cite: Broz, P. and Škodová, L.: The story of two successful books popularizing geosciences in the Czech Republic, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-1052, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-1052, 2024.