Communicating astronomy: Knowing your audience

Abstract

Science communication practitioners are always looking for better ways to engage their public. This is the case for astronomy communicators, a community of practice that is interested in engaging with those who are traditionally out of the science radar, including the less privileged ones. One of the major challenges astronomy communicators face when addressing the public is related to knowing what their interests are, whether they have and which are their misconceptions and ideas about astronomy, if any. Building strategies to know one’s audience may be decisive for the success of an astronomy communication practice, both in formal and informal settings. In this article, we present some of the challenges practitioners may face when communicating astronomy to today´s audiences and suggest approaches to address them.