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YES  WE  CAN!  ASTRONOMY  EXPERIENCED  ANYWHERE,  ANYTIME  BY  ANYONE.  T. Stevenson1,2 , A. Jacob1, G. Wyatt 1

1Sydney Observatory, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, AUSTRALIA 2The University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts, Museum Studies)

*Corresponding author Email: toner.stevenson@phm.gov.au

ABSTRACT    Sydney  Observatory  is  a  heritage  site,  a  public  observatory  and  a  museum  of  astronomy  under  the  stewardship  of  the  Museum  of  Applied  Arts  and  Sciences.    

Using  Sydney  Observatory  as  a  case  study  for  this  paper,  we  examine  how  a  small  Museum,  with  limited  resources,  has  engaged  in  social  media  and  produced  live  on-­‐line  transmissions  of  astronomical  events  such  as  eclipses.    By  comparing  and  analysing  the  on-­‐site  and  web-­‐based  visitor  figure  attendances,  and  considering  other  factors  such  as  the  production  of  new  content,  we  argue  that  Sydney  Observatory’s  traditional  on-­‐site  public  offer  now  has  a  meaningful  and  effective  on-­‐line  and  social  media  presence.1  

Key  words:  astronomy,  blog,  Facebook,  museum,  technology,  twitter,  public  observatory  

INTRODUCTION  Sydney  Observatory  is  a  state  heritage  listed  site  with  an  1804  fort,  an  1848  signal  station  and  an  observatory  building  dating  from  1858.  From  being  a  powerful  seat  of  knowledge  in  the  nineteenth  century,  Sydney  Observatory’s  role  changed  in  1982  from  research  astronomy  to  science  communication,  a  public  observatory  and  a  museum.  It  is  a  site  full  of  fascinating  history  and  a  great  place  to  have  a  photograph  taken  with  a  copper  dome  and  a  brass  telescope.      

In  2006  the  public,  when  surveyed,  used  passive  terms  to  describe  the  Observatory,  such  as  ‘an  oasis  in  the  city’  and  ‘hidden  gem’.  But  over  the  past  few  years  the  visitor  and  media  perception  of  Sydney  Observatory  has  changed  through  Sydney  Observatory’s  close  contact  with  the  media,  streaming  events  live  on  the  internet,  an  Astronomy  Blog,  Twitter  and  Facebook  sites.  These  reach  into  the  lives  of  people  near  and  far.     In  this  paper  we  will  explain  why  and  how  Sydney  Observatory  has  embraced  social  and  other  on-­‐line  media  and  what  the  results  of  these  experiences.    We  begin  with  information  about  visitor  attendance  trends  and  how  we  influenced  Sydney  Observatory’s  identity  through  changes  in  attitudes  and  marketing.    

ON-­‐SITE  ATTENDANCES  TREND  CO-­‐INCIDES  WITH  VISITOR  PERCEPTION  Figure  1  charts  Sydney  Observatory’s  visitor  attendances  for  the  past  thirty  years.  The  rises  and  falls  have  been  influenced  by  several  factors.  

An  exhibition  and  a  series  of  public  events  were  produced  for  the  return  of  Halley’s  comet  in  1986,  which  is  the  first  significant  rise  in  visitor  attendances.  There  was  another  obvious  increase  in  1997  when  a  new  exhibition  ‘By  the  light  of  the  Southern  Stars’  bought  back  Sydney  Observatory’s  heritage  collection  to  the  site.  The  increase  in  visitation  was  sustained  by  these  changes  to  the  site.  A  3-­‐D  Space  Theatre  with  short  astronomy  movies  produced  by  Swinburne  University’s  Centre  for  Astrophysics  and  Supercomputing  was  installed  in  2003  and  in  2013  a  new  Digitarium  Zeta  digital  planetarium  with  a  custom-­‐built  dome  by  Vert  Design  was  installed.  Our  attendance  figures  show  an  up-­‐lift  that  was  closely  associated  with  these  improved  

 

 

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facilities.    But  the  other  strong  factors  were  specific  astronomical  events,  such  as  planets  close  to  Earth  (Mars  in  2003),  transits  of  Venus  (2004  and  2012)  and  solar  and  lunar  eclipses  (2011,  2012  and  2013).    

The Fall and Rise oF sydney

obseRvaToRy

30 years of preserving astronomy &

communicating with the publicA.P. Jacob1, T.M. Stevenson1,2, N.R. Lomb1, G. Wyatt1

1. Sydney Observatory, part of the Powerhouse Museum, NSW; 2. Museum Studies, The University of Sydney, NSW

“I was thrilled to be close to the historic 1874 large refracting telescope! The modern computer-controlled reflecting telescope was interesting although it did not bring me an equal level of excitement as the 1874 telescope.” — Visitor comment on Tripadvisor, 29 July 2012

Sydney Observatory ceased astronomical research over 30 years ago when the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences was granted responsibility for the site. It is now a museum of astronomy and a public observatory. The preservation and interpretation of astronomical heritage continues with the return of the Astrographic Catalogue collection of glass plate negatives and associated records and funding received to reinstall the Harley Wood dome. A new digital planetarium is now in regular use, major astronomical events have been webcast and the Observatory continues to interact with the public through social media. A daytime school program in meteorology has been introduced and one in indigenous studies, including indigenous astronomy, is in preparation.

Researching the past for the future

On 8 June 1982 the NSW State Premier wrote to the Government Astronomer proposing that the Observatory become part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences to “maximise public accessibility” and to “explain the nature and value of astronomy to the public”.

Initially, the heritage instruments were removed and interactive astronomy exhibits installed. In 1997 a new exhibit ‘By the light of the Southern Stars’ heralded the return of the heritage context. Three key historic objects, the 1874 29-cm refractor telescope, the transit telescope and the time ball, were conserved and returned to their original locations. These are either operating or have been restored and carefully interpreted. Indigenous astronomy is intrinsic to the heritage exhibition.

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Visitor attendance at Sydney Observatory 1983 to 2013

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visitor engagement

Today Sydney Observatory reaches well over 175,000 on-site visitors per year. Over 50,000 people view the day and night sky annually through modern and historic telescopes. Strong growth now sees over 20,000 school children interact with astronomy, meteorology, archaeology and indigenous programs. Each week over 12,000 website interactions with social media occur. We have over 7,000 Facebook ‘likes’ and some Facebook and Twitter entries are viewed and shared by tens of thousands. We webcast1 the 2012 total solar eclipse from Mt Molloy in northern Queensland. A new Digitarium Zeta digital planetarium was installed in May 2013 under a custom-made fabric dome designed locally by Vert Design.

Over the last 30 years there has been a dramatic increase in the usage and visitation of Sydney Observatory by the public. Many actions and events have contributed to this achievement, but the return of significant heritage and scientific artefacts has clearly been a key factor.

Original 1858 timeball still dropped daily at 1pm.

An impression of the new Harley Wood dome to be built at Sydney Observatory. Courtesy of Angus Donald/ Government Architect’s Office, 2008.

heritage on-line

You can view Sydney Observatory’s collection on-line.2 Public research of the collection has already recovered a magnetic dip needle,3 used at Governor Brisbane’s Paramatta Observatory, whose provenance had been lost. The Observatory’s Astronomy blog4 is one of Australia’s most popular and includes heritage content and a daily Cosmobite. Scientific Sydney, an iPhone app developed by Powerhouse Web services, is a self-guided walking tour connecting Sydney Observatory with related heritage sites. Lomb’s Transit of Venus: 1631 to the present, available in print and as an ebook, has been favourably reviewed world-wide.

bringing the collection home

Being part of the Powerhouse Museum (the main part of the Museum of applied Arts and Sciences) has made possible the preservation and presentation of the collection and there is a renewed emphasis on the return of significant heritage artefacts. The Observatory’s collection of 20,000 astronomical glass plate negatives has been returned from Macquarie University, where they were relocated into the care of Alan Vaughan in the 1980’s for safe-keeping and research. This collection includes plates from the Astrographic Catalogue, Carte du Ciel and Sydney Southern Star Catalogue projects.

Preservation and conservation

The instruments are maintained and preserved by conservation specialists. Working closely with NSW Department of Design and Heritage over the past thirty years has resulted in stabilization, restoration and repair of this highly significant State Heritage listed site.

latest news: harley Wood dome to be reinstalled

In 1952 Harley Wood had a new dome built to house the Melbourne astrograph. This was removed in 1986 and the dome given to Macquarie University. Funding has now been secured through the Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care NSW for a new structure to be topped with Wood’s original dome. The design is by Angus Donald, Government Architect’s Office. This will make the telescope dome experience accessible for those unable to climb stairs. Exhibition space to display the Astrographic Catalogue collection and the Melbourne astrograph is included. The project has the full support of Heritage NSW and the City of Sydney.

Web sites

1. http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/2012/the-sydney-observatory-november-2012-total-solar-eclipse-video/2. http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/search_tags.php?tag=sydney+observatory3. http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/2009/historic-parramatta-observatory-instrument-discovered-

through-citizen-science/4. http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/observations-blog/

 

FIGURE  1:  VISITOR  ATTENDANCE  AT  SYDNEY  OBSERVATORY  1983  TO  2013  

During  the  2009  International  Year  of  Astronomy  (IYA2009)  there  was  a  complete  change  in  the  marketing  approach  to  Sydney  Observatory  as  a  unique  offer,  separate  to  the  Powerhouse  Museum.  As  can  be  seen  in  Figure  1  there  have  been  rises  and  falls  but  the  overall  trend  is  up.  After  the  IYA2009  there  was  a  plateau  and  then  only  slight  dip  in  attendances,  which  has  now  been  more  than  recovered.    It  is  a  normal  trend  for  a  dip  after  a  rise  and,  as  depicted  by  Figure  1,  after  each  astronomical  event  such  as  Halley’s  Comet,  Mars  and  the  transit  of  Venus  in  2004,  the  dip  closely  mirrors  the  rise.  What  is  different  about  the  rise  in  attendances  in  1997  and  2009  is  that  the  rise  has  been  substantially  sustained.  This  is  arguably  because  the  intrinsic  nature  of  how  the  public  perceived  the  offer,  as  well  as  the  offer  itself,  was  changed.  Whilst  in  1997  there  was  a  new  permanent  gallery  to  promote,  in  2009  it  was  the  implementation  of  Sydney  Observatory  as  a  unique  brand  and  a  new  approach  to  its  on-­‐line  offer  and  social  media  presence,  which  made  the  difference.  Over  182,000  visited  Sydney  Observatory  in  the  2012-­‐13  financial  year.  This  was  the  highest  attendance  ever.    

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 FIGURE  2:  SYDNEY  OBSERVATORY  WEBSITE  TRAFFIC  OVER  A  THREE  YEAR  PERIOD  

 

 

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An  award-­‐winning  marketing  campaign  was  launched  in  2012  themed  around  the  Carl  Sagan  quote  ‘we  are  all  made  of  stardust’.    Figure  3  is  the  design  for  ‘Your  father  is  Red  Giant  -­‐  we  are  all  made  of  stardust’  campaign2  promoted  Sydney  Observatory  as  an  organisation  interested  in  conversations  with  visitors  about  contemporary  astronomy  and  ideas.  Increased  marketing  support  for  Sydney  Observatory  contributed  to  increased  awareness,  web  traffic  and  consistently  strong  visitation  results  from  2009-­‐13.  Figure  2  shows  website  traffic  to  www.sydneyobservatory.com  over  a  three-­‐year  period.  The  astronomical  highlights  are  easy  to  recognise  by  the  peaks  and  the  most  noticeable  peak  was  during  the  2012  transit  of  Venus.    This  graph  indicates  slowly  increasing  attendances.  It  also  shows  a  reliance  on  astronomical  events  to  stimulate  website  visits.  

 FIGURE  3:  YOUR  FATHER  IS  A  RED  GIANT  CAMPAIGN,  POWERHOUSE  MARKETING,  DESIGN  BY  RAY  LEGGOTT  

THE  COLLECTION  INCLUDES  STARS  AND  PLANETS  A  qualitative  visitor  study  in  2006  by  market  research  agency  Colmar  Brunton3  revealed  that  Sydney  Observatory  visitors  and  potential  visitors  were  drawn  to  its    ‘objects’.  These  ‘objects’  were  identified  through  this  study  as  not  only  what  you  viewed  in  glass  showcases;  they  were  also  what  you  viewed  through  the  glass  lens  of  the  telescope.    We  now  consider  the  planets,  stars,  galaxies,  the  Sun  and  Moon  as  part  of  Sydney  Observatory’s    ‘collection’  and  they  had  to  be  protected.    So  far  this  protection  has  included  providing  information  about  light  pollution  for  development  proposals  as  well  as  presenting  information  about  the  sight  lines  from  the  telescope  domes  when  there  are  development  and  building  proposals.    We  consider  the  objects  in  the  night  sky  are  an  important  part  of  Sydney  Observatory’s  museum.  

Together  with  the  Powerhouse  Museum  web  and  marketing  teams  we  explored  how  technology  had  given  us  options  in  the  way  we  interpret  our  ‘collection’.    These  choices  include  social  media,  live  streaming  and  an  astronomy  blog.  It  is  about  understanding  the  human  condition,  not  just  putting  facts  and  figures  out  in  the  public  sphere.    We  will  now  examine  how  we  have  approached  on-­‐line  technology  solutions  in  more  detail.      

TECHNOLOGY-­‐  IT'S  A  HUMAN  THING    In  2013  a  TEDx  series  of  talks  were  presented  live  on-­‐line  from  the  Sydney  Opera  House.  TEDx  is  a  series  of  short  talks  that  follow  a  simple  format  and  are  ‘curated’  into  themes.    One  of  us  (TS)  was  listening  to  and  watching  Alice  Gorman  talk  about  space  archaeology4  and  the  debris  floating  out  in  Space  called  ‘Space  junk’.  Alice  was  presenting  topics  of  interest  to  museums:  interpretation,  collection  policy  and  heritage  decisions.  Apart  from  the  2,000  strong  audience  in  the  Opera  House,  over  384,000  people  had  subscribed  to  watch  TEDx  Sydney  talks  on-­‐line.  There  were  more  than  700  people  logged  on  when  TS  was  watching  via  a  mobile  phone  whilst  on  a  harbour  beach.    

However  these  numbers  pale  when  compared  to  the  most  popular  on-­‐line  Sydney  TEDx  talk  for  2013.  ‘Beatbox  Brilliance’  by  Tom  Thum5,  which  has  had  7.5million  views  (as  at  2  November  2013).  This  presentation,  performed  within  a  very  personal  narrative,  reinforces  that  audiences  are  compelled  by  

 

 

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human  stories  and  personal  attributes.  Incorporating  the  human  element  is  an  important  part  of  our  thinking  about  live  feeds,  social  media  and  the  astronomy  blog.  

LIVE  FEEDS  –  PREPARATION  AND  TRIAL    Hosting  live  feeds,  making  connections  possible  between  media  carriers  through  a  telescope  and  using  the  internet  to  transmit  live  events  from  unusual  places  is  a  challenge  even  for  the  professionals6.  The  challenge  is  even  more  so  when  it  is  not  your  core  business  and  your  resources  are  very  limited.    

In  2012,  the  planet  Venus  transited  the  Sun.  This  is  a  rare  astronomical  event,  which  will  not  occur  again  until  2117.    Sydney  was  an  ideal  place  to  view  the  transit,  and  there  was  a  local  and  global  demand  for  live  streaming  footage.  The  issue  we  faced  was  whether  the  Museum  website  could  handle  the  web  traffic  on  the  day.  There  were  horror  stories  from  those  who  attempted  live  feeds  of  the  2004  transit  on  their  websites.  Perth  Observatory’s  live  transit  feed  almost  took  down  the  entire  Western  Australian  Government  Internet  connection  and  at  Madrid  University  the  website  and  network  did  collapse  due  to  the  high  demand.  Live  feeds  are  not  for  the  fainthearted  and  so  we  began  working  on  a  solution  well  before.  

We  prepared  for  the  2012  transit  of  Venus  by  involving  the  Powerhouse  Museum  IT  and  Audio  Visual  departments  to  transmit  a  live  feed  six  months  prior.  Ninemsn  were  our  media  carrier  for  this  trial.  Our  aim  was  to  transmit  a  total  lunar  eclipse,  which  occurred  from  23.45  on  10  December  to  01:06  on  11  December  in  2011.  The  telescope,  which  had  a  motorised  mount,  had  a  video  camera  fitted  to  the  eyepiece,  and  a  feed  from  the  camera  into  a  computer,  the  signal  was  picked-­‐up  by  Ninemsn  technicians  who  transmitted  the  image  on  their  website.      

The  response  was  incredible,  27,000  views  of  the  live  stream  and  5,000  Facebook  logins  via  Ninemsn.  ‘An  unprecedented  number  of  views  for  midnight’  said  Hal  Crawford  of  Ninemsn.    Table  2  shows  that  on  Sydney  Observatory’s  website  there  was  also  a  small  rise  in  on-­‐line  visitors  for  November  and  December  2011,  although  the  Lunar  Eclipse  was  only  streamed  on  the  Ninemsn  website.  The  link  to  the  live  feed  was  posted  on  Sydney  Observatory’s  website  and  promoted  via  Twitter  and  Facebook.  Although  the  feed  was  clear,  there  were  some  aspects  we  were  not  happy  about.    These  were  the  shape  of  the  Moon,  which  appeared  as  an  oval  rather  than  a  circle,    and  the  colour  of  the  Moon.  We  decided  we  wanted  to  also  transmit  the  image  on  the  Sydney  Observatory  website  in  future  to  maximise  our  exposure  and  optimise  public  awareness  of  the  website  and  our  public  offer.  

   

FIGURES  4  &  5:  VENUS  TRANSITS  SUN:  (LEFT)  PHOTOGRAPH    ©  GEOFF  WYATT  (RIGHT)  SCREEN  SHOT,  NINEMSN  

 

 

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Six  months  later,  by  the  day  of  the  transit  of  Venus  on  6  June  2012,  we  knew  better  what  equipment  we  needed  and  how  to  get  a  more  satisfying  image,  we  thought.  You  can  see  Geoff  Wyatt’s  image  of  the  transit  of  Venus  as  imaged  through  a  H-­‐alpha  filter  telescope  in  Figure  4  and  how  it  appeared  as  a  live  feed  on  Ninemsn  in  Figure  5.  Due  to  occasional  clouds  the  media  company  had  other  feeds  coming  through.    

Over  500,000  people  viewed  the  coverage  of  the  transit  of  Venus  from  Sydney  Observatory’s  telescope  in  the  North  dome  via  Ninemsn  and  on  Sydney  Observatory’s  website.  The  impact  of  the  transit  of  Venus  live  feeds  on  the  number  of  visits  to  www.sydneyobservatory.com  are  clearly  visible  as  charted  in  Figure  2.  Tipping  over  100,000  you  can  see  that  the  transit  of  Venus  had  the  most  impact  on  the  www.sydneyobservatory.com  website  visitor  numbers  over  a  three  year  period  and,  we  can  safely  claim,  the  greatest  impact  on  the  website  figures  to  date.  In  partnership  with  the  Australian  National  Maritime  Museum  a  live  feed  from  Lord  Howe  Island  via  satellite  had  also  been  attempted,  not  so  successfully.  At  Lord  Howe  Island  the  image  left  the  telescope  and  hit  the  satellite  but  there  were  problems  back  on  Earth.  

Had  Sydney  Observatory  tried  to  go  it  alone  our  Museum  website  would  have  crashed.  Had  we  paid  for  an  extension  of  the  website  access  on  a  per  user  basis  we  could  have  consumed  our  annual  budget.  Had  we  only  had  one  camera  in  one  location  we  may  have  completely  failed.    

LIVE  FEEDS  -­‐  BEING  AT  THE  RIGHT  PLACE  AT  THE  RIGHT  TIME.  The  next  big  event  was  a  total  Solar  Eclipse  in  North  Queensland  on  14  November  2012.  Figure  6  shows  the  spectacular  view  of  the  solar  corona,  which  is  visible  only  during  the  short  period  of  totality.    This  expedition  posed  new  challenges  because  the  live  feed  was  not  coming  from  a  telescope  at  Sydney  Observatory,  it  was  from  a  roadside  in  a  remote  Northern  Queensland  location,  a  long  way  from  the  IT  and  Audio  Visual  assistance  previously  available.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIGURE  6:  TOTAL  SOLAR  ECLIPSE  QUEENSLAND  2012,  PHOTOGRAPH  ©TONER  STEVENSON  

 For  a  third  time  we  began  negotiations  with  Ninemsn  and  two  options  were  discussed  for  the  technology:    

1. Use  a  link  truck  to  get  signal  out.  Use  a  Ch9  (or  WIN  or  NBN)  camera  mounted  on  Observatory  mount  with  Observatory  sun-­‐tracker.  

2. Use  Observatory  camera  mounted  on  Observatory  mount  with  Observatory  sun-­‐tracker  and  upload  images  to  Internet  via  local  Telstra  3G.    

At  the  last  minute  Ninemsn  joined  forces  with  another  astronomy  group  who  were  staying  on  the  coast  for  the  Eclipse.  This  left  us  with  option  (2).  Sydney  Observatory  had  planned  to  view  the  eclipse  on  the  coast  but  

 

 

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the  weather  reports  indicated  that  a  thick  band  of  cloud  on  the  coast  could  obscure  the  eclipse  and  that  inland  would  be  better.  As  it  turned  out  the  inland  location  was  perfect.  

Curator  Dr  Andrew  Jacob  camped  overnight  at  Mt  Molloy,  which  is  approximately  25  km  as  the  crow  flies  and  55km  by  road  up  in  the  hills,  West  South  West  of  Port  Douglas  as  seen  in  Figure  7.  The  location  lay  in  the  path  of  the  eclipse  and  was  the  furthest  most  point  away  from  the  thick  coastal  cloud  but  where  Andrew  could  still  get  a  3G  signal.    The  image  of  the  eclipse  was  achieved  by  fitting  a  video  camera  to  a  portable  H-­‐Alpha  Filter  telescope.  This  was  fixed  to  a  motorised  mount  able  to  track  the  sun  and  this  was  on  a  very  stable  tripod  stand.  The  feed  went  from  the  camera  into  a  laptop  and  was  then  sent  via  the  Telstra  3G  network  live  onto  the  Sydney  Observatory  website  and  YouTube.    Back  at  the  Powerhouse  Museum  the  IT  Department  were  making  sure  the  live  image  was  on  the  Sydney  Observatory  website.        

Occasionally  the  website  went  down  due  to  the  number  of  people  who  clicked  on  the  link  to  view7.  Andrew’s  live  stream  included  the  entire  eclipse  and  whilst  there  was  occasional  cloud  totality  was  clear.  The  coast  was  heavily  clouded  and  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  eclipse  was  visible  on  the  News  Reports  and  they  completely  missed  the  ‘Diamond  Ring’  effect,  which  Andrew  managed  to  perfectly  capture.  The  interesting  thing  is  that  the  image  of  the  event  is  very  much  enhanced  by  the  sound  track  of  the  excited  watchers  and  Andrew’s  commentary  in  which  he  answers  questions  and  advisers  the  gathering  around  him  as  to  when  they  can  safely  look  at  the  totally  eclipsed  Sun.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIGURE  7:    ANDREW  JACOB  WITH  THE  LIVE  FEED  SOLAR  ECLIPSE  SETUP.  PHOTOGRAPH  ©  TONER  STEVENSON  

The  live  feed  of  the  Solar  Eclipse  was  being  picked  up  back  at  Sydney  Observatory  where  two  hundred  early  morning  visitors  were  watching  the  projected  image  in  lieu  of  experiencing  a  partial  solar  eclipse  because  of  the  rain.  The  video  of  the  Solar  Eclipse  is  exclusively  Powerhouse  Museum  property.  It  has  been  edited  into  a  short  YouTube  segment  by  Powerhouse  digital  content  producer,  Felix  Warmouth,  and  is  now  an  important  addition  to  the  Museum’s  digital  collection.  

 

 

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We  have  learnt  from  our  live  feed  experiences  that  there  are  plusses  and  minuses  about  ownership  of  the  transmission  and  its  content.    Sydney  Observatory  also  writes  and  posts  its  own  Twitter,  Facebook  and  Blog  content,  managing  comments  and  feedback.  We  will  now  describe  some  of  our  experiences.  

TWITTER  :  LETTING  OTHERS  DO  YOUR  WORK  FOR  YOU    Sydney  Observatory’s  Twitter  account  has  a  growing  list  of  followers  but,  what  is  more  important,  is  that  the  followers  represent  a  defined  target  audience  of  leaders  in  their  social  or  professional  group,  have  a  good  number  of  followers  themselves,  and  are  engaged  in  topics  relating  to  astronomy  and  the  physical  sciences.  But  it  is  advantageous  to  let  others  do  the  Tweeting  and  Facebook  entries  directly  if  they  are  experiencing  an  event  at  your  site.    

During  major  events  at  Sydney  Observatory  our  participants  can  attach  their  android  or  smart  phone  to  an  eyepiece  and  take  their  own  photograph.  The  specially  adapted  Geoff  Wyatt  designed  VuVu  Venus,  as  seen  in  Figure  8,  offers  a  very  easy  way  to  view  daytime  astronomical  events  safely  with  a  mini-­‐back  projection  screen  fitted  to  the  eyepiece  of  a  telescope  which  has  a  Solar  filter.  This  enabled  people  who  attended  the  event  to  take  images  and  Tweet  or  Facebook  them.  By  posting  images  to  Twitter  taken  using  both  those  methods  my  very  amateur  mobile  phone  images  of  the  transit  of  Venus  and  a  partial  Solar  eclipse  were  picked  up  and  featured  on-­‐line  by  newspapers  around  the  globe.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By  involving  people  and  organisations  that  have  mass  following  you  can  get  others  to  reach  the  audience  for  you.  On  10  May  well-­‐known  science  communicator  Dr  Karl  Kruszelnicki  and  news  crew  attended  the  partial  solar  eclipse.    @DrKarl  tweeted  to  over  185,000  followers.    In  March  this  year,  during  Earth  Hour  @Earth  Hour  retweeted  my  mobile  phone  photograph  of  Sydney  with  some  of  its  lights  off  to  over  100,000  followers.  

We  are  careful  to  abide  by  the  Twitter  rules  and  include  #trends  when  suitable  to  maximise  exposure  and  the  potential  for  others  to  know  you  are  tweeting.    The  Sydney  Observatory  staff’s  experience  is  that  good  

FIGURE  8:    THE  VUVU  VENUS  AND  AN  IMAGE  OF  ‘FIRST  CONTACT’  TAKEN  DURING  THE  TRANSIT  OF  VENUS  IN  2012.  PHOTOGRAPH  ©TONER  STEVENSON  

 

 

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questions  are  asked  through  social  media  and  that  it  does  not  take  much  time  to  engage  with  audiences,  nor  to  answer  any  queries.  

FACEBOOK  :  THE  HIGH  ACHIEVER.  Sydney  Observatory’s  experience  with  Facebook  is  a  story  of  looking  not  only  at  how  many  people  who  are  regular  ‘friends’  but  how  often  they  look  at  the  Facebook  page  and  send  our  links  to  their  friends.    

Regularly  5,000  to  8,000  people  see  what  is  happening  on  Sydney  Observatory’s  Facebook  page.  The  entry  may  be  an  image  of  a  new  moon  with  Jupiter  or  a  spectacular  event  such  as  a  solar  eclipse.    Even  though  Sydney  Observatory  has  around  8,000  Facebook  direct  ‘likes’,  almost  50,000  people  saw  and  liked  Sydney  Observatory’s  Facebook  page  during  the  partial  Solar  Eclipse,  which  occurred  on  10  May  2013  due  to  friends  sending  the  link  to  other  friends,  spreading  the  word.    

Facebook,  Twitter  and  other  social  media  platforms  are  powerful  but  require  a  solid  content  base  to  link  to.  We  will  now  relate  how  Sydney  Observatory  has  been  developing  new  content  on  blogs,  podcasts  and  apps.  

BLOGS  AND  PODCASTS  Blogs  are  a  well-­‐honed  interpretation  media  in  most  Museums,  and  a  method  used  by  Sydney  Observatory  community  to  post  astronomy  and  heritage  content  in  more  depth  than  can  be  achieved  on  Facebook  or  Twitter.    Once  linked  to  Facebook  and  Twitter  accounts  the  astronomy  blog  adds  considerable  depth  of  content  and  provides  a  platform  for  discussion  and  publishing  research.  

Sydney  Observatory’s  astronomy  blog  was  instigated  by  Powerhouse  Media  Manager  Seb  Chan,  and  launched  on  21  June  2006.  The  first  blog  was  about  light  pollution  and  posted  by  astronomy  curator  Nick  Lomb.    Nick  is  the  Museum’s  most  prolific  blogger,  having  posted  well  over  a  thousand  blogs  in  the  six  years  following.  The  blog  site  has  grown  substantially  with  contributions  from  other  authors  such  as  the  affiliated  societies.  Every  day  a  ‘Cosmobite’  or  major  article  is  published.  Regular  features  are  a  monthly  sky  guide  and  podcast.    

The  night  sky  podcasts  are  recorded  observations  by  Sydney  Observatory  education  staff  recorded  and  edited  by  Powerhouse  Museum  microsite  producer,  Irma  Havlicek.  There  are  monthly  maps,  which  are  tailored  to  suit  each  podcast  designed  in-­‐house  by  Dr  Martin  Anderson.  These  are  downloadable  and  provide  an  easy  to  use  map  of  the  night  sky.    

During  night  tours  at  Sydney  Observatory  we  are  able  to  show  people  how  to  navigate  around  the  visible  sky,  then  what  that  sky  looks  like  in  radio  wave  frequency,  which  removes  the  ‘dust’  and  is  how  many  researchers  view  our  Universe.    Conclusion  

To  date  Sydney  Observatory  has  used  on-­‐line  technology  to  provide  content  to  a  broad  audience  and  answer  questions  from  a  small  number  of  individuals.  We  have  only  tinkered  with  citizen  science  but  this  paper  would  be  negligent  not  to  include  engagement  with  on-­‐line  citizen  science  site  as  part  of  the  technology  mix.  

CITIZEN  SCIENCE  AND  LARGE  DATA  SETS  “We  are  the  Zooniverse,  the  world's  most  awesome  and  successful  citizen  science  organisation.  Ask  us  anything!”8  These  claims  on  reddit  (November  2013)  are  true.    The  Zooniverse9  is  a  suite  of  citizen  science  projects  where  volunteer  on-­‐line  participants  identify  the  morphology  of  phenomenon  such  as  galaxies.  The  Galaxy  Zoo  site  went  live  in  2007  and  it  is  now  just  one  project  within  the  Zooniverse.  

 

 

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According  to  Caren  Cooper,  a  Research  Associate  at  the  Cornell  Lab  of  Ornithology,  people  participating  in  Zooniverse  projects  are  deeply  involved  in  the  first  stage  of  real  science  (2013)  10.  Cooper,  who  uses  citizen  science  in  her  study  of  birds,  argued  that  science  is  a  collective  process  and  that  the  stereotype  idea  of  a  single  scientist  making  a  ‘discovery’  is  a  false  premise,  particularly  in  contemporary  science  where  large  datasets  are  required  to  identify  phenomenon  and  trends.    

There  are  projects  where  the  Powerhouse  Museum  has  engaged  on-­‐line  volunteers  to  identify  and  add  content  to  photographs  within  the  collection  but  Sydney  Observatory  does  not  have  a  citizen  science  program  of  its  own.  Instead  the  Zooniverse  is  promoted  on  Sydney  Observatory’s  website.  

KEEPING  THE  WEB  IN  TACT  There  are  a  few  simple  ideas,  which  have  been  adopted  at  Sydney  Observatory  to  ensure  the  media  presence  is  maintained  and  effective.  The  staff  have  been  prepared  to  get  out  of  the  office,  work  unusual  hours  on  occasion  and  embrace  different  work  methods.  Individuals  have  taken  responsibility  for  specific  areas  and  instigated  new  strategies,  such  as  Nick  Lomb’s  daily  ‘Cosmobite’.  Planning,  discussion  and  collaboration  has  been  important.  

Relevant  staff  members  spend  a  maximum  of  fifteen  minutes  a  day,  every  day,  on  Twitter  and  Facebook  posts,  although  the  thinking  about  them  may  happen  at  any  time  and  any  staff  member  can  contribute  posts.  Images  are  included  wherever  and  whenever  possible.  The  writers  try  to  be  personable,  have  a  sense  of  humour  and  respond  to  questions  and  interactions,  and,  finally,  we  check  accuracy,  acknowledge  all  sources  and  double-­‐check  spelling  and  grammar.  It  has  been  acknowledged  that  we  are  all  publishers,  no  matter  how  short  the  post  or  which  web-­‐based  platform  is  the  host.    When  required  the  technology  experts  have  been  called,  but  we  have  also  tried  to  stay  as  independent  as  possible  and  increase  the  Observatory’s  capabilities  in  the  technology  required  for  live  feeds  and  all  other  aspects  of  the  on-­‐line  content.  

CONCLUSION  In  this  paper  we  have  examined  Sydney  Observatory’s  modest  but  eventful  journey  into  social  and  on-­‐line  media.  We  have  argued  that  by  streaming  astronomical  events  live  on-­‐line  and  collaborating  with  other  organisations  Sydney  Observatory  has  re-­‐enforced  its  position  as  a  place  where  timely  content  about  astronomy,  especially  relevant  to  an  Australian  audience,  can  be  found.    The  live  on-­‐line  streaming  of  astronomical  events  has  also  substantiated  that  Sydney  Observatory’s  collection  includes  the  stars,  planets  and  other  astronomical  phenomenon  as  well  as  technology  and  heritage  artefacts  and  buildings.  

The  astronomy  blog  site,  the  monthly  podcast  of  the  night  sky,  Facebook  and  Twitter  posts  have  been  presented  as  offering  a  continuum  of  information  and  engagement  for  virtual  visitors.  Links  to  citizen  science  projects  developed  by  others  have  been  presented  as  offering  experiences  not  able  to  be  developed  within  our  own  resources  and  capability.    

Our  experience  has  substantiated  that  an  on-­‐line  presence  can  be  developed  and  enhanced  with  minimal  resources.  There  has  been  no  increase  in  staff  numbers  or  lessening  of  other  duties  at  Sydney  Observatory  to  achieve  a  relatively  strong  presence  on-­‐line  and  manage  what  was  once  peripheral,  but  is  now  core  business.  The  expertise  provided  by  the  wider  Powerhouse  Museum  Digital  Imaging  and  IT  Departments  has  been  vital,  but  the  web-­‐based  projects  have  all  relied  on  the  content  and  continuity  provided  by  a  handful  of  observatory  staff.      

Much  less  is  known  about  the  on-­‐line  visitors  than  the  ones  who  step  over  the  heritage  Sydney  Observatory  threshold.  But  we  do  know  that  on-­‐line  and  on-­‐site  visitor  experiences  are  tangibly  linked  through  the  text  

 

 

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and  images,  which  are  posted  on  social  media.  Social  Media,  which  was  once  the  domain  of  the  few,  has  now  become  the  norm  for  the  privileged  view.    

NOTES  AND  LINKS                                                                                                                            1  This  paper  is  derived  from  a  presentation  delivered  at  the  Museums  Australia  Conference,  May  2013,  in  Canberra.  2  The  Red  Giant  campaign,  developed  by  the  Powerhouse  Museum’s  marketing  team  for  Sydney  Observatory  and  designed  by  the  Wood  Agency,  won  bronze  in  the  2013  International  Design  and  Communication  Awards  (IDCA)  in  the  ‘Best  Exhibition  Communication’  category.  This  award  recognises  the  best  marketing  and  communications  talent  within  the  museum  world.  3  Colmar  Brunton  are  an  Australian  Market  research  agency  who  were  commissioned  to  research  the  market  segments  for  Sydney  Observatory  and  the  Powerhosue  Museum  in  2006  using  qualitative  and  quantitative  research  methods.  Their  report  is  held  by  the  Powerhouse  Museum  Research  Library.      4  http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Space-­‐Archaeology-­‐Alice-­‐Gorman    5  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNZBSZD16cY    6  On  3  November  2013  a  Hybrid  Solar  eclipse  in  Africa  was  to  be  streamed  live  from  Slooh  Telescope  to  websites  and  television  stations  around  the  World.  Just  prior  to  totality  a  dust  storm  swept  the  area  and  the  equipment  had  to  be  put  into  a  tent  so  there  was  no  live  feed,  but  what  we  did  see  was  astronomer  Paul  Cox,  who  was  very  anxious  when  clouds  almost  obscured  the  eclipse,  but  elated  when  he  could  actually  view  it.  http://events.slooh.com/stadium/total-­‐solar-­‐eclipse-­‐highlight-­‐paul-­‐cox    7  http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/2012/the-­‐sydney-­‐observatory-­‐november-­‐2012-­‐total-­‐solar-­‐eclipse-­‐video/    8http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1pvge6/we_are_the_zooniverse_the_worlds_most_awesome_and/    9  https://www.zooniverse.org/    10  http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-­‐blog/2013/02/28/pearls-­‐across-­‐the-­‐zooniverse-­‐when-­‐crowdsourcing-­‐becomes-­‐citizen-­‐science/