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Educating the Public About Interference to Radio Observatories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2016

David G. Finley*
Affiliation:
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P. O. Box 0, Socorro, New Mexico 87801 USA

Abstract

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Educating the public about interference to radio observatories is a different and more difficult task than educating the public about light pollution. Convincing and successful arguments against light pollution can be based on aesthetic, economic, cultural, safety and security considerations without relying solely on the need to preserve the environment for astronomy. In contrast, it is necessary to first convince members of the public of the value of radio astronomical research before making the case for interference protection. Once this is done, arguments about interference must be presented in ways understandable to a public that is, by and large, woefully uninformed about the technology involved. Successful approaches often borrow from the language of environmental protection and draw parallels to such issues as air and water pollution in justifying the expense of engineering measures to protect radio astronomy.

Type
Part 5. Outreach
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2001 

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