1.5: Astronomy and You

Science and Society - Astronomy and You

This first chapter of the text has covered several aspects of studying astronomy, including the origins of the subject and a basic toolkit for understanding numbers and important notation in astronomy. At the end of each chapter, including this page you are reading now, you'll find a Science and Society section that discusses a more human side of astronomy. The topics have a wide range from chapter to chapter, some more connected with the rest of the chapter content than others. We've included these sections as a way of highlighting the strong ties between astronomy, culture, industry, and many other areas throughout human history.

This first Science and Society focuses on how astronomy shows up in our everyday lives, and how you, the reader, might connect with the subject. Maybe you've been to a planetarium show on a school field trip, or a star party similar to the one shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Or, maybe your astronomy experience comes from simply driving to a remote park or mountaintop to view the sky. Whatever the case may me, we hope that as you read through each Science and Society section, you'll take time to reflect on your own real-world experiences and how astronomy fits into broader discussions of society.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Attending star parties is a popular option for learning about the night sky. (Public Domain; Joshua Tree National Park via Wikimedia Commons).

Throughout history people have looked to the sky to navigate the vast oceans, to decide when to plant their crops and to answer the questions of where we came from and how we got here. It is a discipline that opens our eyes, gives context to our place in the Universe and can reshape how we see the world. When Copernicus claimed that Earth was not the centre of the Universe, it triggered a revolution. A revolution during which religion, science and society had to adapt to this new worldview.

Astronomy has always had a significant impact on our worldview. Early cultures identified celestial objects with the gods and took their movements across the sky as prophecies of what was to come. We would now call this astrology, far removed from the hard facts and expensive instruments of today’s astronomy, but there are still hints of this history in modern astronomy. Take, for example, the names of the constellations: Andromeda, the chained maiden of Greek mythology, or Perseus, the demi god who saved her.

Now, as our understanding of the world progresses, we find ourselves and our view of the world even more entwined with the stars. The discovery that the basic elements that we find in stars, and the gas and dust around them, are the same elements that make up our bodies has further deepened the connection between us and the cosmos. This connection touches our lives, and the awe it inspires is perhaps the rea son that the beautiful images astronomy provides us with are so popular in today’s culture.

Current research in astronomy confronts a host of unanswered questions: “How old are we?”, “What is the fate of the Universe?”, “How unique is the Universe?” and “Could a slightly different Universe ever have supported life?” Pursuing these questions is a fundamental part of being human, yet in today’s world it has become increasingly important to be able to justify the pursuit of the answers. The difficulties in describing the importance of astronomy, and fundamental research in general, are well summarized by Nobel Prize winner Ahmed Zewali:

“Preserving knowledge is easy. Transferring knowledge is also easy. But making new knowledge is neither easy nor profitable in the short term. Fundamental research proves profitable in the long run, and, as importantly, it is a force that enriches the culture of any society with reason and basic truth.” Ahmed Zewali, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1999).

There are other works that have contributed to answering the question “Why is astronomy important?” Dr Robert Aitken, director of Lick Observatory, shows us that even in 1933 there was a need to justify our science, in his paper entitled “The Use of Astronomy”, is last sentence summarizes his sentiment:

“To give man ever more knowledge of the Universe and to help him ‘to learn humility and to know exaltation’, that is the mission of astronomy.”

More recently, C. Renée James wrote an article outlining the recent technological advances that we can thank astronomy for, such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), medical imaging, and wireless internet. In defence of radio astronomy, Dave Finley (2013) states:

“In sum, astronomy has been a cornerstone of technological progress throughout history, has much to contribute in the future, and offers all humans a fundamental sense of our place in an unimaginably vast and exciting Universe.”

So although blue-skies research like astronomy rarely contributes directly to tangible outcomes on a short timescale, many are keen to outline its merit. A wealth of examples, many of which are outlined below, show how the study of astronomy contributes to technology, economy and society by constantly pushing for instruments, processes and software that are beyond our current capabilities. The pursuit of this research requires cutting edge technology and methods that can, on a longer timescale, through their broader application, make a difference. The fruits of scientific and technological develop ment in astronomy have become essen tial to our day-to-day life, with applications such as personal computers, communication satellites, mobile phones, GPS, solar panels and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners.

Astronomy is one of the few scientific fields that interacts directly with society. Not only transcending borders, but actively promoting collaborations around the world. In the following paper, we outline the tangible and intangible contributions of astronomy to various fields.

Astronomy, People and History

Although we live in a world faced with the many immediate problems of hunger, poverty, energy and global warming, we argue that astronomy has long-term benefits that are equally important to a civilized society. Several studies have told us that investing in science education, research and technology provides a great return — not only economically, but culturally and indirectly for the population in general — and has helped countries to face and overcome crises. In fact, the scientific and technological development of a country or region has been shown to be closely linked to its human development index — a statistic that is a measure of life expectancy, education and income.

Although the study of astronomy has provided a wealth of tangible, monetary and technological gains, perhaps the most important aspect of astronomy is not an economic measure. Astronomy has, and continues to, revolutionize our thinking on a worldwide scale. In the past, astronomy has been used to measure time, mark the seasons, and navigate the oceans. As one of the oldest sciences astronomy is part of every culture’s history and roots. It inspires us with beautiful images and promises answers to the big questions. It acts as a window into the immense size and complexity of space, putting Earth into perspective and promoting global citizenship and pride in our home planet.

Several reports in the US and Europe indicate that one of the biggest contributions of astronomy is its provision of a unique perspective that extends our horizons and helps us discover the grandeur of the Universe and our place within it. The awe inspiring nature of astronomy makes it a perfect vehicle for introducing children to science. It has been found that teaching astronomy to our youth is of great value and that pupils who engage in astronomy related educational activities at a primary or secondary school are more likely to pursue careers in science and technology, and to keep up to date with scientific discoveries. This does not just benefit the field of astronomy, but reaches out across all scientific disciplines.

As well as influencing our history and enhancing our present, astronomy also helps us study how to prolong the survival of our species into the future. For example, it is critical to study the Sun’s influence on the Earth’s climate and how it will affect weather and water levels. Only the study of the Sun and other stars can help us to understand these processes in their entirety, in the same way that mapping the movement of all the objects in the Solar System, is the only way to predict potential threats to our planet from space. Events that could cause major changes to our world, as was clearly demonstrated by the meteorite impact in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013.

Astronomy and You

As a final note, take some time to consider the question: Where do you fit into all of this? What kinds of experiences or interests might you find during your time in an astronomy class and while reading this text? Some possible ways of connecting to the subject could be to go out stargazing yourself, find a local planetarium to visit, or even simply finding a favorite astronomy content creator online. Whatever your situation is, we encourage you to keep in mind your own motivations to learn about the cosmos.

Attributions

This page was adapted from "Astronomy in Everyday Life" in The Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal originally written by Marissa Rosenberg, et al., and published under CC BY 4.0.