Breaking down the barriers to science

This video series introduces different CTA members working to build the world’s largest gamma-ray observatory. In each episode, different “People of CTA” will drive you through their professional and personal experiences, and delve into the science and technology of CTA.

You can find the videos and more information in the dedicated “People of CTA” tab.

Colour blindness (or colour vision deficiency, CVD) refers to a reduced capacity or complete incapacity to distinguish colours and affects approximately one in 12 men and one in 200 women [1]. The most common type of CVD is the red-green colour blindness, which despite its name, does not only affect the visibility of red and green but the whole spectrum of colours, as red and green are part of every other colour to some extent.

Considering that the Cherenkov Telescope Array is an international and diverse collaboration, whose work reaches the public worldwide, all CTA members are encouraged to keep the following best practices in selecting suitable patterns and colour palettes for the publication of scientific and outreach plots in papers, posters and presentations, as well as to provide inclusive descriptions. These guidelines are considered during the review of material by the Speakers and Publications Office (SAPO) and the Outreach, Education and Communication Office.

The document is made available so that anybody can read, share and follow the guidelines to reach a more inclusive work space. If you have any comments or suggestions, send an email to Alba Fernández-Barral, CTAO Outreach, Education and Communication Officer.

>> Download “CTA’s Best Practices for Colour Blind Friendly Publications and Descriptions”

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[1] https://www.color-blindness.com/

The pioneering event for this annual initiative honouring the International Day of Women and Girls in Science was initiated in Bologna on 11 February 2019. “Women of CTA” gathers three experts from the astrophysics and engineering fields to share their academic, professional and personal experience in science and contributions to CTA.  The event was created as part of the global effort to raise awareness and find solutions to gender inequality and the overall under-representation of women in science. Despite international efforts to move equality forward, which is fundamental to developing a healthy and productive environment to achieve social and scientific goals, women still represent less than 30% of the total researchers worldwide [1]. Moreover, according to a United Nations study in 14 countries around the world, the probability of female students graduating with a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or Doctorate degree in science are 18%, 8% or 2%, respectively, against the 37%, 18% or 6% for male students [2]. The disparity is also visible through the so-called “Leaky Pipeline:”  a metaphor used to illustrate how women enter the field at a higher percentage but drop off as they move to the higher stages of their career. And at an even more fundamental level, girls run into gender stereotypes before starting undergraduate degrees, deterring them from pursuing scientific/technological careers compared to degrees in humanities. As one of the important factors that gives rise to these disparities is the reduced visibility of female leaders and their achievements in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, we hope that highlighting women who are leading and contributing to CTA will create a spark for girls and women interested in or already pursuing a STEM career.

(Photo credit: Tiziana Abegg, CTAO)

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[1] http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/women-science 

[2] http://www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/index.shtml 

“AMANAR: Under the same sky” is an initiative to promote and support the scientific education and the development of scientific skills of children living in the Saharawi refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria) through the observation and understanding of the Universe, as well as to encourage peace, common understanding and a sense of world citizenship under the same sky. Conceived by the international organization GalileoMobile and the Asociación Canaria de Amistad con el Pueblo Saharaui (ACAPS), the project combines outreach activities and visits to the Canary observatories with the children in July and August as part of  their summer in the Canary Islands with the “Holidays in Peace” program, as well as visits to the refugee camps by a group of scientists and experts. The CTAO is an active partner in this project, supporting the organization of activities in the Canary Islands and the provision of educational material for the camp visits. The program initiated in 2019 and is expected to last three years.

On 11 February 2022, the CTAO livestreamed the fourth edition of the “Women of CTA” event via the CTA YouTube and Facebook channels. This year’s “Women of CTA” gathered three female astrophysicists, who share their work on the gamma-ray astronomy, challenges of the science education and their professional and personal experience in the field: Anna Wolter (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera), Heide Costantini (Aix-Marseille University and CPPM/IN2P3) and Judit Pérez (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and IFT). Read more on our website.

On 11 February 2021, the CTA Observatory (CTAO) livestreamed the third edition of the “Women of CTA” via the CTA YouTube and Facebook channels. Due to the pandemic restrictions, this year’s event could not be hosted in-person in Bologna (Italy) as the former two editions. Nevertheless, just like so many others, the CTAO took this year’s event virtual. This virtual “Women of CTA” gathered three speakers at different stages of their career in the areas of physics, software and hardware: Elina Lindfors (University of Turku, Finland), Mireia Nievas (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Spain) and Leslie Paige Taylor (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA). Read more on our website.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected countries worldwide and prevented non-essential humanitarian actions, the “AMANAR: Under the Same Sky” (conceived by GalileoMobile and the Asocicación Canaria de Amistad con el Pueblo Saharaui (ACAPS) and co-funded by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the IAU’s Office of Astronomy for Development) became an online project to keep working with teachers at the Sahrawi Refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria). The programme consisted on a 4-months Astronomy training with lectures shared with local teachers through WhatsApp, an efficient app for limited internet connection environments. The pilot programme of e-AMANAR was proven to be very successful and showed that, even remotely, the long-term goals of the AMANAR project could be supported. Lear more about e-AMANAR in the contribution to the Shaw-IAU Workshop.

On 11 February 2020, in recognition of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, CTAO hosted the second edition of the annual “Women of CTA” event at the Scuderia – Future Food Living Lab, in Bologna (Italy). This edition gathered three astrophysicists working in different subject areas and at different stages of their careers, with the goal of sharing their work and experience in science and CTA, as well as providing a complete view of the academic career’s evolution: Carla Aramo (Researcher and CTA group leader at INFN-Naples), Ambra Di Piano (Master student at INAF-Bologna) and Roberta Zanin (CTAO Project Scientist). Read more on our website.

In July 2019, the project “AMANAR: Under the Same Sky” (selected as a “Special Project” within the IAU’s 100^th Anniversary activities), conceived by GalileoMobile and the Asocicación Canaria de Amistad con el Pueblo Saharaui (ACAPS) and co-funded by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the IAU’s Office of Astronomy for Development, kickstarted in Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria. As one of the participating partners, the CTAO supported the organization of activities for children that came to the Canary Islands (Spain) within the “Holidays in Peace” program and provided educational material for the visit to the refugee camps that took place in October (check full list of all partners here). Read more in our Newsletter or read press release on our website.

On 11 February 2019, on the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science, CTAO hosted the first edition of its “Women of CTA” meeting at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna (Italy). The annual event, is part of a worldwide effort to empower women in STEM, to recognize their achievements and to raise awareness of gender inequality in science, especially in leadership roles. On this occasion, three experienced experts in astrophysics and engineering, who contribute to CTA, joined the panel: Patrizia Caraveo (INAF representative in the CTA Consortium Board and CTAO Council), Emma de Oña Wilhelmi (CTA Science Coordinator) and Chiara Montanari (CTAO Interface Manager). Read more in our Newsletter or on our website.