Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter Multimessenger

Our Exotic Universe – A Planetarium Show as an Outreach Activity of the Collaborative Research Centre 1491

Susanne Hüttemeister
Zeiss Planetarium Bochum & Astronomisches Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum

The Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) “Cosmic Interacting Matters – From Source to Signal” began its work in 2022. It brings together over 100 researchers from the universities of Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg-Essen, and Wuppertal. The main topics of the CRC’s research are very familiar to the attendants of this splinter meeting: A central goal is to understand energy transfer processes between magnetic fields, cosmic rays, baryonic matter, and dark matter. State of the art data from major projects such as IceCube and CTAO are interpretated in the light of the theoretical description of the nonthermal and multi-messenger signatures from astrophysical sources. This is clearly a subject that, despite its great relevance to current research, poses challenges for public communication. The CRC has therefore – to our knowledge as the first CRC – decided to produce a planetarium show as a core outreach initiative, titled “Our Exotic Universe”. The premiere will take place in early October. This talk presents the nearly completed production and reflects on the challenges of conveying elements of the CRC's actual research without overwhelming the audience. What foundational knowledge must be explained? Which cosmic phenomena playing a role in the CRC most successfully spark public fascination? How much simplification is possible – and how much is necessary? In discussing these questions, the presentation also briefly touches on fundamental questions of science communication.