Twitter and #MeteorWatch, Socializing Astronomy

The scoop: Ian O'Neill chats with Richard Fleet (@dewbow on Twitter), Chairman of the UK's Newbury Astronomical Society. Early in August, the society's Twitter account (called @NewburyAS) caused a massive stir on the web, motivating international Twitter users to go outside and look up.

The event called #MeteorWatch became a social media phenomenon, resulting in a huge number of participants during the Perseid meteor shower which peaked on August 11-12. The BBC even followed the event, interviewing one of the lead organizers, Adrian West, also a member of Newbury AS.

Could Twitter be the perfect way for a huge number of amateur astronomers and casual observers to share their experiences worldwide?

It would appear so.

Ian O'Neill: Hi Richard!

Richard Fleet: Fire away.

Ian: Great!

I suppose my first question would have to be, from the Newbury AS Chairman's point of view, was the response to #MeteorWatch a surprise?

Richard: Well we knew that it could work from our earlier experience of #moonwatch but the scale of the response really was a surprise, but a welcome one.

Ian: Twitter really has surprised me on so many levels, mainly because it gives an individual a chance to share his/her opinions with the whole world in an instant.

Do you think that events like #moonwatch and #meteorwatch boost an interest in astronomy?

Richard: I think the interest is there anyway but it can prompt people to do something themselves, like going outside and looking at the sky. All we hoped for #meteorwatch was that a few people would get to see a meteor for the first time.

Ian: Personally, I was stuck in New York at the time of #MeteorWatch (not the best night-sky viewing location!), yet I still went outside to see if I could spot the meteor shower... I didn't see any, but I was still captivated by the reports flooding in from Twitter!

Were there many participants in Newbury AS itself, or do you think #meteorwatch was more of a catalyst for an international stage, rather than a local one?

Richard: Yes that's a good example of what we hoped would happen. The responses of those who didn't see anything were just as interesting and I was struck by the good humour of it all.

There were about 8 participants from Newbury AS and a few people in the Newbury area but the vast majority came from around the globe. One of the striking things was the way people joined in so enthusiastically.

Ian: That's great, I think you guys really proved that a local astronomical society can have a true global reach!

Also, it was fantastic to see that @NewburyAS almost acted as a tour guide of the astronomical event, was nice to see questions flooding in from people who wouldn't necessarily have an interest in astronomy. :)

So who came up with the idea to use Twitter during an astronomical event in the first place?

Richard: It was originally Maggie Philbin's suggestion. Maggie is a reporter for BBC Radio Berkshire who interviewed us after a public star party a few months ago.

While we were waiting between interviews she asked whether we had tried using Twitter for astronomy events. After a brief discussion we decided there was nothing to lose by giving it a try. The moon was going to be close to Saturn the following Saturday and the weather forecast was good, so three days later we tried #moonwatch. The rest, as they say, is history!