Speaker
Description
Multimessenger and astroparticle astrophysics has revolutionised our way of observing the cosmos, through electromagnetic and gravitational waves, and astroparticles. The way we take and analyse data, and therefore make science, has been changed, so it’s time to bring this change to our communication strategies and the stories we tell.
This field of research exerts on the general public the fascination of Astronomy and, at the same time, stimulates the curiosity of fundamental physics. Probably also for this reason, it enjoys considerable popularity: discoveries and results, concerning this field of research, are often in the limelight of global communication.
This popularity offers a range of unprecedented opportunities for outreach and communication, but also of course greater complexity in planning and managing these activities at all levels: from site visits and events for the large public to the production of content for social media and national and international media relations. What narratives and contents could allow the general public to approach this field, be part of its progress, but also be aware of the uncertainty of knowledge processes? How to manage confidential information within such large groups? How to manage the contradiction between the reality of scientific research as a collective effort and the need for personalization for example on social media? Focusing on recent moments in the public communication and Outreach activities concerning gravitational waves (and developed by Virgo and EGO, also in a global context) could probably help to shed light on the contemporary issues of communication of fundamental research.
From the other side we will present how EGO and the Virgo outreach group have explored in recent years various ways of telling this story to the public. The aim of the panel is to discuss what strategies can be used to talk about multimessenger astrophysics and the frontiers of astrophysical observations to different targets, with a specific focus on live events and performances. Some examples are the development of the theatre play “The Maps of the Cosmos”, telling the stories of some of the people who made the history of astronomy, through a multimessenger lens; “The Sound of the Universe”, live conversation about the frontiers of multisensorial and multimessenger astrophysics, with a focus on inclusion of people with disabilities and “Exploring the frontiers of the cosmos”, panel on multimessenger astronomy with musical performances.
