Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2005
Ian Robson, Lars Lindberg Christensen (eds.)
Pages 72-81

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Communicating CHANDRA's X-Ray Astronomy to the Press and Public

Abstract:

As one of NASA's "Great Observatories" along with Hubble and Spitzer, the Chandra X-ray Observatory detects and images X-ray sources that are billions of light years away and provides insights into the Universe's structure and evolution. Since its launch in July 1999, Chandra has probed regions around black holes, traced the debris of exploded stars, and helped outline the enormous structures of the cosmos. But does the public know the name "Chandra" and do they know the field of X-ray astronomy exists? Conveying Chandra's exciting, though often complicated results to the media poses certain challenges, while offering significant rewards. This talk will cover some of the successes the Chandra team has encountered in this endeavour, while outlining areas that need improvement. Finally, we hope to discuss specific ways that Chandra might be able to collaborate with other telescopes and observatories to promote the excitement of astronomical research to the media and public.

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