Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2005
Ian Robson, Lars Lindberg Christensen (eds.)
Pages 130-134

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Difficult Concepts

Abstract:

Beautiful colour images of the sky are both a blessing and a curse for the communication of astronomy to the public. While undoubtedly attractive, they can obscure the fact that discoveries are often made in astrophysics using techniques and measurements that are much more difficult to grasp and certainly less appealing to view. Should we try to explain such concepts as spectroscopy, polarimetry and interferometry, or is it a lost cause? The most effective approach to this problem may be to lead the audience to ask the question themselves: "But how do you know that?

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