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Register a new userAstronomy outreach in Namibia: H.E.S.S. and beyond
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Hannah Dalgleish Dr
Publication date
2021
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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Astronomy plays a major role in the scientific landscape of Namibia. Because of its excellent sky conditions, Namibia is home to ground-based observatories like the High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.), in operation since 2002. Located near the Gamsberg mountain, H.E.S.S. performs groundbreaking science by detecting very-high-energy gamma rays from astronomical objects. The fascinating stories behind many of them are featured regularly in the ``Source of the Month, a blog-like format intended for the general public with more than 170 features to date. In addition to other online communication via social media, H.E.S.S. outreach activities have been covered locally, e.g. through `open days and guided tours on the H.E.S.S. site itself. An overview of the H.E.S.S. outreach activities are presented in this contribution, along with discussions relating to the current landscape of astronomy outreach and education in Namibia. There has also been significant activity in the country in recent months, whereby astronomy is being used to further sustainable development via human capacity-building. Finally, as we take into account the future prospects of radio astronomy in the country, momentum for a wider range of astrophysics research is clearly building -- this presents a great opportunity for the astronomy community to come together to capitalise on this movement and support astronomy outreach, with the overarching aim to advance sustainable development in Namibia.
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The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) is an astronomy education outreach event with more than 50 years of history and over 1,700 unique participants from 81 nationalities. The International Workshop for Astronomy e.V. (IWA) is the non-profit organization behind the IAYC, established in 1979 and based in Germany. The IAYCs unprecedented longevity in a rapidly globalizing world has meant that financial inequities decreases the reach of the camp to people from the Global South compared to Global North countries. Though nationalities represented per camp has increased steadily since its inception, the share of participants from eastern Europe and Africa has dropped, while those from western Europe and North America have increased. This note examines how camp cost, location, and leadership affects nationality diversity amongst participants, and how astronomy outreach events must reckon with funding for less privileged participants with limited access to resources.
Astronomy plays a major role in the scientific landscape of Namibia and Southern Africa. Considerable progress has been achieved scientifically as well as in terms of human capacity development in the field. In all wavelength regimes accessible with ground-based instruments, the largest of those instruments are situated in Southern Africa: MeerKAT, the Southern African Large Telescope, and the High Energy Stereoscopic System. Because of the excellent observing conditions from Namibian soil, further large-scale projects such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array considered sites in Namibia and the Africa Millimetre Telescope will eventually be built there. Against this background, the current situation of astronomical research and education in Namibia is reviewed, focusing on optical, radio and gamma-ray astronomy and also including smaller scale projects. Further, the role of astronomy, with particular focus on developmental aspects in the African context is outlined and the progress in human capacity development is summarized.
The modern astrophysics is moving towards the enlarging of experiments and combining the channels for detecting the highest energy processes in the Universe. To obtain reliable data, the experiments should operate within several decades, which means that the data will be obtained and analyzed by several generations of physicists. Thus, for the stability of the experiments, it is necessary to properly maintain not only the data life cycle, but also the human aspects, for example, attracting, learning and continuity. To this end, an educational and outreach resource has been deployed in the framework of German-Russian Astroparticle Data Life Cycle Initiative (GRADLCI).
This White Paper highlights the role Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) play within the astronomy profession, addressing issues related to employment, resources and support, research opportunities and productivity, and educational and societal impacts, among others. Astronomers working at PUIs are passionate about teaching and mentoring undergraduate students through substantive astronomy experiences, all while working to continue research programs that contribute to the advancement of the professional field of astronomy. PUIs are where the majority of undergraduate students pursue post-secondary education, and as such, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities associated with PUIs is critical to fostering an inclusive astronomy community throughout the next decade. We provide a view of the profession as lived and experienced by faculty and students of PUIs, while highlighting the unique opportunities, challenges, and obstacles routinely faced. A variety of recommendations are outlined to provide the supporting structures and resources needed for astronomy to thrive at PUIs over the next decade and beyond - a critical step for a profession focused on fostering and maintaining an inclusive, supportive, and diverse community.
The NSF-sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA Team (UAT) promotes long-term collaborative research opportunities for faculty and students from 23 U.S. public and private primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) within the context of the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind legacy survey project. Over twelve project years of partnering with Arecibo and Green Bank Observatories, the UAT has had a demonstrable impact on the health of a legacy astronomy project, science education, and equity/inclusion in astronomy, with successful outcomes for 373 UAT students (39% women; ~30% members of underrepresented groups) and 34 faculty (44% women). The UAT model is adaptable to many large scientific projects and can be supported by relatively modest funding. We recommend that granting agencies identify funding resources to support the model, either as an add-on to legacy grant support or as a stand-alone funding source. This could include encouragement of UAT-like components in large scale projects currently being developed, such as the LSST and TMT. By doing this, we will recognize the high numbers of astronomy research-trained heavy-teaching-load faculty at PUIs as an under-utilized resource of the astronomy community (see also White Paper by Ribaudo et al.). These members of our community have the skills and the strong desire to contribute meaningfully to their field, as well as the ability to encourage and interact closely with many talented and motivated undergraduate students from all backgrounds.
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