Astronomy captures the attention and imagination of the public. It stirs debate on fundamental questions about ourselves, where we come from, and our place in the universe.

However, building the public understanding of astronomy -- through the media, science centers, the classroom, and beyond -- requires a major investment of time, money and resources.

The purpose of this meeting is to take a fresh look at this issue, find what resources are of critical need to the community, address best practices, and work toward collective solutions to improve the outreach efforts of the astronomical community. The ultimate goal being enhancing how the public perceives astronomy, and exploring how best to communicate this topic so messages are heard, understood, and retained.

This three-day meeting will feature panel discussions on communicating astronomy, featured speakers and experts addressing salient issues, and guided discussions among the participants as we strive to build a consensus on ways to improve our efforts.

In addition, individual poster sessions will be offered to showcase your institution's efforts and programs. Social programs will be scheduled to build linkages among your colleagues in the astronomical community.

This conference is organized by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in cooperation with the National Research Council. Generous financial support provided by the National Science Foundation.

"The public must understand astronomy -- its basic science as well as the process of research -- if we as a society are going to achieve our full potential. I strongly believe that astronomical institutions must make a concerted effort to communicate the fruits of their research to the public." -- Sir Arthur C. Clarke 3-28-2003

Details from the 2002 international conference, Communicating Astronomy, organized by the Instituto de Astrofisica de las Canarias (IAC), are available here.