Introducing the Astrobites Climate Change Series
Expensive Readers,
We’re so excited to announce a brand new effort: The Astrobites Local weather Change Sequence! A current post on reconciling a profession in astrophysics with eco-anxiety and an earlier post on the right way to cut back the carbon footprint in astronomy began a bigger dialogue inside Astrobites in addition to the broader neighborhood. The unbelievable response to this text from college students, post-doctoral fellows, and professors reveals how deeply the local weather disaster is affecting us, although our science goes past our Earth. We’re people first and scientists second. Nevertheless, as scientists, we’ve got the flexibility and accountability to coach and impact change—right here at Astrobites, we’re taking the initiative to make use of this platform to develop on this dialog. On this Astrobite, we define our targets, plans for posts, thrilling collaborations, and new occasions!
Astrobites is for astrophysics analysis. Why dedicate an entire part to the atmosphere?
The extra we research the cosmos, the extra we understand how valuable and uncommon Earth is. This distinctive perspective permits us to talk on how essential it’s we protect the one planet we’ve got, and can ever, name residence. Due to the very nature of astronomy—a area that intrigues individuals of all ages all around the world—we are able to educate on a world stage.
As a platform targeted on science communication, we really feel you will need to not solely embrace interdisciplinary science, but in addition proceed to debate the local weather emergency that may go away nobody unaffected.
What good is astronomy analysis with out the Earth to actually and metaphorically floor our research of the Universe?
It’s changing into more and more clear that local weather change is permeating all points of our society, scientific and in any other case. Altering atmospheric situations can impression climate and ground-based telescopes, and droughts and wildfires endanger each lives and infrastructure (e.g. observatories, universities). Our carbon footprint is formed not simply by industrial emissions, but in addition by high-performance computing clusters and in-person educational conferences. Prefer it or not, astronomy has contributed to world warming and is already feeling its results.
Focusing solely on astrophysical analysis is doing a disservice to our world. We should acknowledge and confront our impression on the local weather, take accountability, and act rapidly to mitigate our emissions, not simply due to its impression on our analysis, however due to this risk to all of humanity. We can’t afford to disregard how the 2 are intertwined.
Objectives for this collection:
We plan to often (at the very least month-to-month) publish about astronomy and local weather change to coach members of our area and the bigger neighborhood on subjects comparable to:
- Digital conferences and their results on emissions,
- Satellites and area particles,
- Bringing local weather turn into introductory programs spanning all topics,
- Critiques of the Nature Astronomy collection on climate change,
- Finest practices for conversations about local weather change with most people,
- Interviews of people that have moved from astrophysics and associated fields to local weather science or environmental research,
- Renewable energy in astronomy,
- Press protection of sustainability-focused classes at conferences across the globe,
and far, far more!
Collaborations:
We’re at the moment collaborating with
We’re additionally seeking to accomplice with climate-focused analysis facilities in addition to coverage organizations!
Earth Week x Astrobites coming to you April 2022…
We’re excited to announce that beginning subsequent yr, we will probably be planning a particular Earth Week x Astrobites occasion full of recent research-intensive posts consisting of large-scale research our authors are at the moment performing and neighborhood occasions deliberate with our companions! Subsequent yr Earth Week is from April 18 to April 24, 2022, and Earth Day falls on April 22, 2022. Mark your calendars! Extra info to come back as April approaches. Within the meantime, look out for our month-to-month climate-related posts.
We additionally need to hear from you!
A part of the rationale we determined to maneuver ahead with dedicating a bit on our web site to local weather change was due to our readers’ response to and curiosity in our posts addressing local weather change. We need to know what subjects you want to see on our website, individuals you suppose will probably be nice interviewees (i.e. somebody who switched fields from astro+ to atmosphere/local weather research), whether or not you have an interest in a collaboration with us, and if you need press protection for one in all your environment-related occasions!
Please submit and remark your concepts by way of the Google kind here. Be happy to remark instantly on this publish as effectively.
We’re so excited to see what comes out of this and are keen to listen to your ideas. That is, in any case, our Earth.
Yours, from our residence planet,
Astrobites
Astrobite edited by Olivia R. Cooper, H Perry Hatchfield, Graham Doskoch, Ellis Avallone, and Jenny Calahan
Featured picture credit score: Suchitra Narayanan
Disclaimer: This text was written and edited by a gaggle of Astrobites authors. It isn’t supposed to be consultant of the views of the AAS (which helps Astrobites) or all astronomers.
About Suchitra Narayanan
I’m a first-year graduate pupil on the Institute for Astronomy, UH Mānoa, at the moment working to constrain mud grain measurement distributions round dipper stars with Dr. Eric Gaidos. My pursuits embrace astrochemistry and its position in planetary formation, primarily by way of chemical kinetics and modeling of exoplanet atmospheres and the ISM.
I initially am from Coimbatore however have spent most of my life within the Bay Space. I studied each chemical engineering and astrophysics at College of California, Berkeley.
After I’m not science-ing, you could find me on the piano (I’ve been classically educated since I used to be 4!), within the ocean (I’ve been a aggressive swimmer/water polo participant, and open water lifeguard for East Bay Regional Park District), or enjoying with my darling pup, Taco (a combined border collie rescue).
