Outreach for science facilities: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s programme for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Michael G. Burton*, Kerem Osman Çubuk, Heather Alexander

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

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Abstract

We describe an outreach programme being delivered by the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Founded in 1790 and with a rich astronomical heritage, AOP today combines the research and education arms of our organisation to bring a research-informed outreach programme to the public, most often through our planetarium-related activities. We have developed and written, in-house, a short full dome planetarium show (''Exploring the High-Energy Universe'') that describes the science of gamma-ray astronomy and introduces the CTA as the first ground-based gamma-ray observatory open to the whole scientific community. In parallel, we are engaged in developing a series of short videos to introduce the scientists and the science of the UK CTA consortium, again designed for public audiences. These videos can be accessed through our social media channels. Delivery of such outreach programme in bite-sized pieces is an essential element in attracting and engaging audiences. We explain how we have developed the skill set to do this in our Education Team at AOP whilst our facility has been closed for the past year, a result of the Covid-pandemic. There is also scope in extending these concepts for providing outreach support for other science facilities.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021
EditorsAlexander Kappes, Bianca Keilhauer
PublisherSissa Medialab
Number of pages7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Mar 2022
Externally publishedYes
Event37th International Cosmic Ray Conference 2021 - Online, Berlin, Germany
Duration: 12 Jul 202123 Jul 2021

Publication series

NameProceedings of Science
Volume395
ISSN (Electronic)1824-8039

Conference

Conference37th International Cosmic Ray Conference 2021
Abbreviated titleICRC 2021
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityBerlin
Period12/07/202123/07/2021

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