Photoelectric Photometry Newsletter

The "Astronomical Community"

In a city like mine, there are about 100 professional astronomers and graduate students, and this community is largely self-sufficient as far as research and university teaching is concerned. But for promoting astronomy education and outreach to the schools and general public, we have found that coalitions and partnerships are essential. We have used these in promoting more and better astronomy in the schools, and for public programs at the time of solar eclipses, bright comets, astronomical conferences, and other events.

In smaller centres, there may be few if any professional astronomers. Often, there is a physicist teaching introductory astronomy at a small college, a handful of keen undergraduates who run the college astronomy club, an enthusiastic teacher who operates a planetarium at the local high school, and a group of amateur astronomers who make expert use of their observatory. These people can meet occasionally, either informally or as a local astronomy club. They can form partnerships between the astronomers and the schools, using the ASP's Project ASTRO as a model and a resource. They can share their telescopes with the schools and the college. They can invite a visiting astronomer through the AAS's Harlow Shapley Lectureship Program. They can organize public nights, on Astronomy Day, or on a more regular basis. Undergraduate and high school students can be enthusiastic hosts on these occasions, and can learn a lot about education in the process.

In the astronomically-developing countries, it is absolutely essential to make full use of the whole astronomical community, because professional resources - and all resources - are much more scarce. The astronomical community provides a critical mass of grass-roots support for astronomy. This is an important factor when astronomy is not an established part of society.

All of you can enhance your local astronomical community. Some of you are using the AAVSO's Hands-On Astrophysics to link variable star observing to enhancing science education. At least one of you - Kenneth Luedeke - is mentoring high school science students through photoelectric photometry. All of your data is being used, somewhere, for student projects. Your experience is being used to guide our work in international astronomical development. I am sure that every one of you has lots of other examples of how you are building your astronomical community. We wish you well!