Monday

Astronomy related images have been a source of inspiration for millennia. In recent years, the importance of seeing sky, capturing the concept of skyscape (Fabio, 2015), has become more popular. Such illustrations of the sky tend to convey a more powerful message of awe and wonder and serve to anchor the celestial within an accessible, terrestrial context (as carried out by Daniel Brown in Brown 2015,16 and Mukundu 2016). They also act as a rich source of inspiration within science education and light pollution education (Brown 2015). We aim to understand the way in which the viewer engages with skyscapes captured in paintings or photography.
We analyse the already existing, rich image database of the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award, which is run by Royal Museums Greenwich. The competition provides a substantial database of skyscape imagery created by photographers and research will be carried out using these images as primary sources to investigate the question: How can imagery of skyscapes inspire to create awe and wonder?
This project will impact upon science communicators and creative practitioners alike by exploring how contemporary skyscapes communicate awe and wonder. It will clarify methods of accessing the concept of skyscapes rather than defining what the concept actually is, therefore allowing contemporary investigations to inform explorations closer to archaeoastronomy.