Pro-Am Collaborations

[Rob Glassey]

You might like to consider participating in this survey. This may be a catalyst to get more members involved in astronomical citizen science.

From John Hearnshaw in this months RASNZ newsletter:

12. IAU Pro-Am Engagement Survey
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Calling all amateur astronomers world-wide:  The IAU is reaching out to engage with amateur astronomers

The International Astronomical Union, as part of its Strategic Plan 2020-30, is reaching out to engage with amateur astronomers around the world. The IAU is the body of professional astronomers, with some 12,000 members in 90 countries and with its headquarters in Paris.

For the first century of its existence, the IAU has had very few formal contacts with the much larger body of amateurs around the world. This
changed in 2019 with a successful one-day workshop for amateurs in Brussels, followed by the formation of a new Working Group in April 2021
for professional-amateur relations in astronomy.

At the present time, no-one has a clear idea of how many amateurs there are in the world, but it is likely to be of the order of a million individuals, some two orders of magnitude greater than the number of active professionals in the IAU. The new pro-am WG wants to reach out to the amateur community, with the aim of promoting research collaborations with some of the most active amateurs. Further workshops are also envisaged, following on from Brussels 2019, and the IAU program ‘Meet the Astronomer’, in which professionals give talks to amateur societies, will be further promoted.

As a first step, the IAU has collected a database of the principal amateur societies, associations and groups in different countries, and from mid-December 2021 to February 2022 a survey will be carried out, asking both these societies and their members to respond with their views on how best amateurs can engage with the IAU professional community. The WG wants as many amateurs as possible to complete the survey, so that a  statistical analysis of the interests of amateurs can be undertaken, and the level of amateur research being done. Professional astronomers with an  interest in pro-am relations are also encouraged to complete the survey, and some professionals may wish to join the new WG. The survey is a prelude to encouraging future professional-amateur research collaborations.

LINK to Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/IAU_ProAm

Feedback from the survey will be very helpful as we consider how best to move forward. Any questions should be directed to the IAU Pro-Am Working Group Secretary Yuko Kakazu at kakazu@naoj.org.

It is hoped to receive survey replies by the end of January in the first instance.

See last month’s Newsletter for the list of members of the IAU Pro-Am Working Group

– John Hearnshaw, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand – Co-Chairperson

 

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