About

Contact Information

EMAIL: astroart@cfa.harvard.edu
LOCATION: Smithsonian Astrophysical Obs.
60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
PHONE: 617.496.7941
TWITTER @aestheticsastro

The A&A team consist of a unique combination of professional astronomy communicators, astrophysicists, and aesthetics experts from the discipline of psychology. We conduct both online studies, exhibit studies, and in-person focus groups. The research questions are designed to test such issues as:

  • How much do variations in presentation of color, explanation, and scale affect comprehension of astronomical images?
  • What are the differences between various populations (experts, novices, students) in terms of what they learn from the images?
  • What misconceptions do the non-experts have about astronomy and the images they are exposed to?

 

A&A Members

Kimberly Arcand
Smithsonian Astrophysical Obs., Visualization Coordinator

Jay Bookbinder, Ph.D
Smithsonian Astrophysical Obs., Astrophysicist

Kelly Keach
University of Otago, New Zealand, Graduate Student

Jeffrey Smith, Ph.D
University of Otago, New Zealand, Research Methodologist, Aesthetics Expert

Lisa Smith, Ph.D.
University of Otago, New Zealand, Research Methodologist, Aesthetics Expert

Randall Smith, Ph.D
Smithsonian Astrophysical Obs., Astrophysicist

Megan Watzke
Smithsonian Astrophysical Obs., Science Writer

 

Acknowledgements

The 2010 study was funded by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Studies Program (2009). The 2008 A&A study was developed with funding from the Hinode X-ray Telescope, performed under NASA contract NNM07AB07C, and the Education and Outreach group for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, operated by SAO under NASA Contract NAS8-03060. Special thanks to Jerry Bonnell and Robert J. Nemiroff, the authors of the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day web site.

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