At the public observation event and experience booth, not only citizens but also foreign astronomers had a great time together. ©Science Times Kim Mi-kyung
The International Astronomical Union General Assembly (IAU General Assembly), which was completed in August, met the purpose of ‘Astronomy for All’ with abundant programs prepared for the public. In particular, through the public observation event and experience booth on the 9th, not only Busan citizens but also participating astronomers from overseas were able to enjoy the time together. In addition to the sincere sentiments of the citizens who participated, we listened to the stories of ‘everyone’, from domestic and foreign astronomers who participated in the general meeting, to the management team and volunteers who worked hard for the success of this meeting of the International Astronomical Union.
Experience booths that have won hearts from children to foreign astronomers
The 2022 International Astronomical Union General Assembly (IAU General Assembly), which was held for the first time in Korea, was successfully concluded by the Korean Astronomical Society and the Korea Astronomy Research Institute. During the two-week itinerary, Busan citizens and astronomers participating in the IAU General Assembly continued to visit the public observation event and experience booth held from 3 to 9 pm on August 9, in particular. In addition to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, the public observation event and experience booth were hosted by the Gaya Star Research Institute and the city of Busan, and were organized by the Gaya Star Research Institute and the Busan Science and Technology Council.
The booth ‘Stars and Planets’ prepared by the Busan Science and Technology Council was very popular with children. ©Science Times Kim Mi-kyung
The Busan Science and Technology Council prepared a ‘Stars and Planets’ experience booth and a ‘Constellation Lamp’ making booth. In particular, the ‘Stars and Planets’ experience booth was very popular with children because of its novel contents that can be learned through play by moving the body. Dr. Lee Min-young of the Busan Science and Technology Council explained, “The teachers who run the booth are private activists discovered through the Center for Science and Culture, and the kits used for the event were also developed by private science and culture activists themselves.” (Science and Culture Activities Private-led scientific culture related articles Links)
The telescope making booth prepared by the Gaya Star Research Institute was very popular with not only children, but also citizens and astronomers at home and abroad. ©Science Times Kim Mi-kyung
At the ‘Visual and Touchable Space, Astronomical Telescope’ booth, which was prepared with public observation by the Gaya Star Research Institute, you might see the night sky by making a telescope. The telescope making experience was popular not only with children but also with astronomers who participated in the General Assembly, and received favorable reviews for its high quality. The general assembly participants who visited Korea from abroad liked it especially, and domestic astronomers also stopped by the booth to make telescopes.
The telescope-making booth was a huge hit with the attendees of the IAU General Assembly from the United States. ©Science Times Kim Mi-kyung
Armini Patathanian, who belongs to the Astronomy Division for Development (OAD) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), said regarding the making experience, “The composition is very detailed and easy to make. It is very fun to make it by hand.” He also expressed his appreciation for the IAU General Assembly held in Korea, saying, “I am delighted to be able to attend a very important and meaningful event not only for science but also for society.”
Anna Voelker, president of ‘Sciaccess Inc.’ in the United States, said regarding the various experiences at the Busan IAU General Assembly, “It was the most fantastic and wonderful experience I have ever had. It was better than the previous IAU Congress,” she said. She also said, “I had heard of Korea, but I didn’t know much regarding it. This was my first visit to Korea, and I was very impressed with Korea,” he said.
Mr. Boelker shared the story of the exhibition booth set up during the general meeting and said, “I came as the representative of Sciaccess and received a lot of good opinions and met a lot of wonderful people. He also said he was able to make good collaborations and found new collaborators, which was beneficial.” He also expressed his appreciation, saying, “Especially, historical astronomy in Korea was really fantastic.” (Contents related to the exhibition booth will be dealt with in a follow-up article)
JWST The spread of popular science and the future of Korean astronomy as seen by Dr. Sang-mo Sohn
A brief interview was conducted with Dr. Sang-mo Sang, the only Korean scientist in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project and who gave a public lecture at the IAU General Assembly. Like most of the opinions met during the IAU General Assembly, Dr. Sangmo Sang also spoke regarding the importance of outreach to the public.
This is the first image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. Dr. Sohn Sang-mo said, “As NASA sent strict confidentiality on which celestial objects to be photographed and disclosed, he too was impressed with the public’s same reaction when he saw the public image.” ©NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope was originally in danger of being abandoned due to the NASA budget being rejected by the US Congress. “After the first image of the James Webb Space Telescope was released on July 12, the poll results were overturned 8 to 2,” said Dr. Sohn Sang-mo, “a good example of science for the public.”
Dr. Sohn Sang-mo, who felt at the IAU General Assembly, said, “I felt that the public, especially children, were very interested in astronomy. I feel more responsible because I think these children will grow up and participate in various research projects in the future.” As I am working in the field, I tried to explain the details that are difficult to understand from the outside.” He added, “Experiencing the project and showing it to people is meaningful to humanity as a whole, and I am very proud that we are all moving into a new world together.”
When asked regarding the status and future of the Korean astronomy world as a Korean astronomer working at the forefront of a large international joint project, Dr. Sangmo Sang said, “With NASA’s proposal, we have achieved so much growth that we have put the NASA Shadow Cam in Danuri.” “Nuriho The successful launch of Wa Danuri and the timely synergy effect of the delayed JWST are attracting a lot of public attention. And now, the K-Space Science Festival and Astronomy Festival are being held in Korea.”
Regarding the future of Korean astronomy, he said, “It is important to participate in a large project, but there are few countries in the world that can independently carry out such a large project in terms of the size of the country or budget, except the United States. The best thing for Korea is to keep knocking on the door and participate in the project together.” Regarding the current status of the Korean astronomy world, he said, “Overseas researchers are naturally getting used to and permeating, saying, ‘Oh, Korea was originally a place where we were working on a project together.'”
Changes in the status of Korean astronomy as seen by Korean astronomers
Astronomer Dr. Kim Min-jae of the European Space Agency (ESA) said, “I might feel that the awareness of Korean astronomy has risen remarkably in recent overseas conferences.” Dr. Kim Min-jae said, “About 10 years ago, many astronomers from Europe and North America were unfamiliar with even the name of Korea when they attended prestigious overseas conferences. It was also not easy to find cases where Korean astronomers participated in famous projects,” he recalled.
“However, it is easy to find that Korean astronomers are actively participating in famous projects and papers in recent years,” said Dr. Kim Min-jae. In addition, “KASI (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) and KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) are side by side with representative specialized space development organizations such as NASA in the United States, ESA in Europe, and JAXA in Japan, making it easy to see how scientists get up and down. You can see it.”
In addition, from the Korean astronomers I met at the IAU General Assembly, “When I was studying for my doctorate abroad in the past, when I told foreign astronomers that I came from Korea, the first question came back to me was if I was from North Korea. I was unfamiliar with Korea,” or “After a while, Korean astronomy became known to the world to the extent that Daejeon (where the Korea Astronomical Institute is located) is a good place to live.”
The fact that the 2022 IAU General Assembly was held in Korea is proof that Korea’s astronomy has grown significantly and its international status has also increased, and at the same time is an opportunity to further raise its awareness. Professor Hyeseong Kang, who oversees the IAU General Assembly, said, “The Korean astronomy industry has grown steadily in various fields over the past 20 years. The reason why the IAU General Assembly was held in Korea was because of the international cooperation of Korean scholars in the development of astronomy.” Professor Park Myung-koo, president of the Korean Astronomical Society, also said, “It is a great achievement that the IAU General Assembly was introduced by many media and was able to inform our society and the world regarding the development of Korean astronomy. We look forward to contributing more to the community.”
A view of the IAU General Assembly’s ‘Astronomy for All’ night. ⓒScience Times Kim Mi-kyung
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