Social Networking for Astronomers

By Bill Pellerin

Houston Astronomical Society

GuideStar Editor

You think that social networking on the Internet is only used by those who want to chit-chat about what they had for breakfast? Think again. Social networking covers a lot of ground and there is plenty of material that is of interest to astronomers. Think of this as a new mode of communications. We’ve had web sites and email for a while, but these communications capabilities allow astronomers, and others, to communicate with large groups of people in near real time.

A lot of astronomy clubs, including my home club – the Houston Astronomical Society, are working on attracting new members and are taking advantage of as many communication avenues as possible, including social networks. Professional observatories, working on public outreach as part of their mission, are also using social networking as a tool to communicate with other professionals and with the public.

These are great times for astronomy enthusiasts who want to keep up with what’s going on. The problem may be that there is too much information coming our way. You have to be selective about what you pay attention to. If you are a lunar and planetary observer, information on that subject may get your attention. If you are a double star observer, you will pay attention to information on that subject.

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