The Astronomy & Astrophysics group at Warwick has an active outreach programme that engages with different audiences.

Astronomy societies and adult education

Members of the group give frequent talks to astronomical societies and other organisations across the midlands and south of England. We offer talks on subjects related to our research programme, including aspects of interacting binary stars, supernovae, exoplanets, black holes and gamma-ray bursts. A list of offered talks is given below. If you would like to arrange one of these talks for your own society, please contact the named group members directly.

11-16 year olds

We offer talks to local schools and GCSE work experience placements, giving secondary school students direct experience of scientific research. If you would like to arrange for a talk to school students, please contact one of our group members directly. If you are interested in work experience, please contact Ayesha Rahman.

Wider public

Whenever possible we like to share our discoveries with the wider public through press releases. A recent press release, linked to a paper in the journal Science, announced the discovery of a metallic gas disc around a white dwarf star, providing a glimpse of the ultimate fate of our own Solar System. The story was picked up globally, including coverage in the scientific press (Scientific American, New Scientist, National Geographic, Discovery Channel) and in mainstream news media (The Guardian, Stern, Die Welt, El Pais). Our press releases are routinely picked up by regional newspapers and radio stations (e.g. Coventry Observer, Coventry Times, BBC Coventry), especially stories highlighting our research collaborations with amateur astronomers (our work with a Birmingham-based amateur was recently featured by BBC Midlands Today). You can also find interviews with group members in the University of Warwick podcasts, Warwick iCasts and the astronomy jodcast from Jodrell Bank.

Science in society

Warwick astronomer Danny Steeghs took part in the Royal Society MP-Scientist Pairing Scheme. Established as part of the Royal Society's Science in Society programme , the MP-Scientist Pairing Scheme aims to build bridges between research scientists and members of the UK parliament and to encourage the flow of scientific information that could guide policy decisions. The scheme comprises of three activities: a briefing by the Royal Society, a Week in Westminster, and reciprocal visits to the constituency office and the campus.