Write for APOD
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 2:48 am
Professional astronomers are sought for writing future Astronomy Pictures of the Day (APODs) on a volunteer basis. Specifically, it is expected that in the near future, some Wednesday APODs will be written by volunteers who have a deep knowledge in some or all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. These volunteers will not be paid but will have bylines and links to their outreach page(s) or home institutions.
Potential volunteers include astronomy faculty and current astronomy outreach specialists or bloggers. Submission of a writing sample is encouraged. Note, though, that we are more interested in a deep and broad knowledge of astronomy -- as well as a demonstrated passion for communicating astronomy accurately and succinctly.
It is expected that selection will continue on a rotating basis, based on interest and readability of the resulting APOD hypertext. It is also expected that individual volunteers will contribute at most one APOD per month. Experience indicates that volunteers should expect to allocate about two hours writing and linking individual APODs. Resulting APOD texts will be submitted to -- and potentially edited by -- the existing APOD editors. Reasons for volunteering include practice writing and summarizing popular-level astronomy, sharing your astronomy passion with a large astronomy-interested audience, expanding the outreach segment of your CV, and alerting APOD's readership to your column, outreach program, or blog. Also, the current APOD writers and editors (RJN and JTB) are now starting to keep an eye out for potential replacements.
APOD has a total daily viewership measured in millions, is translated by volunteers daily into about 20 world languages, and is mirrored on most major social media platforms.
Interested astronomers are requested to email RJN at nemiroff at mtu.edu.
Potential volunteers include astronomy faculty and current astronomy outreach specialists or bloggers. Submission of a writing sample is encouraged. Note, though, that we are more interested in a deep and broad knowledge of astronomy -- as well as a demonstrated passion for communicating astronomy accurately and succinctly.
It is expected that selection will continue on a rotating basis, based on interest and readability of the resulting APOD hypertext. It is also expected that individual volunteers will contribute at most one APOD per month. Experience indicates that volunteers should expect to allocate about two hours writing and linking individual APODs. Resulting APOD texts will be submitted to -- and potentially edited by -- the existing APOD editors. Reasons for volunteering include practice writing and summarizing popular-level astronomy, sharing your astronomy passion with a large astronomy-interested audience, expanding the outreach segment of your CV, and alerting APOD's readership to your column, outreach program, or blog. Also, the current APOD writers and editors (RJN and JTB) are now starting to keep an eye out for potential replacements.
APOD has a total daily viewership measured in millions, is translated by volunteers daily into about 20 world languages, and is mirrored on most major social media platforms.
Interested astronomers are requested to email RJN at nemiroff at mtu.edu.