Public Engagement & Outreach
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Overview
Astro-COLIBRI actively connects professional astronomy with the
broader community, engaging in citizen science, amateur astronomy, and
public outreach. By providing real-time alerts on transient
astrophysical events, we empower amateur astronomers to contribute
valuable observations to scientific research. Our platform is
showcased at public events, including science festivals and amateur
astronomy gatherings, where we demonstrate its capabilities and foster
discussions on time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics. Through
these efforts, we aim to bridge the gap between experts and
enthusiasts, making cutting-edge discoveries more accessible to all.
Below, you’ll find a selection of our past and ongoing public
engagement activities, featuring brief descriptions and photos from
each event.
We are always happy to participate in new events and collaborate with
amateur astronomy clubs, schools, and science outreach initiatives. If
you’re an organizer and would like to invite us to your event, feel
free to contact us!
Astro-COLIBRI is an official partner of the
Open Universe, an initiative of the United Nations under the auspices of the UN
Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). We are also a member of the
Executive Committee Working Group on Professional-Amateur Relations
in Astronomy (PARC)
of the International Astronomical Union.
The Astro-COLIBRI team is happy to support observations of time domain
and transient phenomena by amateur astronomers across the globe. We
are for example close partners of the
GEMINI ProAm program, the
RAPAS network. We
are also collaborating with the
Unistellar
citizen science program on Cosmic Cataclysms supported by SETI.
Astro-COLIBRI is committed to sharing the excitement of time-domain
and multi-messenger astrophysics with the general public and
especially young audiences. Through hands-on activities, interactive
demonstrations, and collaborations with science festivals, we aim to
inspire the next generation of scientists, promote STEM topics and
engage the broader community in the wonders of the universe. A
selection of our outreach initiatives and events is given below.
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Free AR Mode Access for Educational Projects
Astro-COLIBRI's
Augmented Reality (AR) mode
offers an immersive way to explore the night sky and the Universe from
your device. Point your camera at the sky to identify stars,
constellations, planets, the Sun, the Moon, and a wealth of other
astronomical objects overlaid with rich contextual information. The AR
mode also visualises the astronomical coordinate system, helping users
develop an intuitive understanding of how we map the sky. On top of
that, it provides real-time alerts on transient astrophysical events,
making it a uniquely versatile tool for classroom demonstrations,
school projects, and science outreach activities. To support educators
and educational initiatives, we are happy to provide
free access to the AR mode for qualifying educational
projects.
If you are an educator, teacher, or organizer of an educational
programme and would like to use the AR mode for your project, please
submit a request using the form below. We will review your application
and get back to you as soon as possible.
Apply for free AR mode access
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Explor'Espace (Paris/Montrouge, Nov. 2025)
The Astro-COLIBRI and CTAO teams at IRFU took part in the 2025
Explor’Espace festival, a major astronomy event held in
Paris/Montrouge. At our joint stand we presented real-time
multi-messenger astronomy and highlighted how observations across
photons — particularly in the very-high-energy gamma-ray domain — as
well as neutrinos and gravitational waves allow us to probe the most
extreme environments in the Universe. Throughout the weekend, we had
many lively and insightful exchanges with students, families, and
astronomy enthusiasts. A total of more than 13,000 visitors attended
the event.
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STELLAR (CERN, July 2025)
19 July 2025, a special, public event was organized at CERN: STELLAR,
“a chance to meet astronauts, Nobel Prize laureates and other
world-class scientists. Discover with them how astrophysics and
particle physics are shaping the future, from exploring the Universe
to transforming our daily lives in a surprising range of diverse
fields including healthcare and climate modelling, disaster relief,
transportation and global safety.” We were excited to have been
invited to participate in the event with a dedicated lab where we
showcased our platform, discussed time domain astrophysics and how
citizen scientists can participate in the exciting endeavour to
understand the most violent phenomena in the Universe. Throughout a
single evening more than 850 visited our stand within the CERN Science
Gateway Education Lab.
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Rencontres du Ciel & de l'Espace (Cité des Sciences, Paris, Nov.
2024)
Astro-COLIBRI participated in the 2024 Rencontres du Ciel & de
l'Espace, a major astronomy festival held at the Cité des Sciences in
Paris. Our team presented the Astro-COLIBRI platform to a diverse
audience of science enthusiasts, and amateur astronomers. We showcased
the latest developments in time-domain astronomy and multi-messenger
astrophysics, and engaged with visitors through interactive
presentations, hands-on activities, and live demonstrations of the
Astro-COLIBRI platform. Colleagues and friends from various ProAm
projects gave presentations about the use of Astro-COLIBRI in their
work. We also introduced the integration of
Smart Home devices for visual
alerts of cosmic events.
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Fête de la Science (ENS Paris-Saclay, Sept. 2024)
Astro-COLIBRI was proud to participate in the 2024 Fête de la Science,
a national science festival in France that celebrates scientific
research and discovery. Our team participated in the "Village des
Sciences" at ENS Paris-Saclay with interactive presentations, hands-on
activities, and live demonstrations of the Astro-COLIBRI platform. In
dedicated sessions we engaged with several groups of students at
different high school levels, and introduced them to the exciting
world of time-domain astronomy and multi-messenger astrophysics and
STEM topics in general. We also showcased the latest developments in
the Astro-COLIBRI platform, including the integration of
Smart Home devices for visual
alerts of cosmic events.
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Explor'Espace (Paris/Montrouge, Nov. 2023)
The Astro-COLIBRI team was again delighted to participate in the 2023
Explor'Espace festival, a major astronomy event held in
Paris/Montrouge. Our team presented the Astro-COLIBRI platform to a
diverse audience of science enthusiasts, families, and students. We
illustrated the ever changing sky with a live demo of our platform and
engaged with the young audience through Gamma-Catcher, our own
online
and
smartphone
game.
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Firmamento (NYU Abu Dhabi, April 2023)
A first contribution towards capacity building in the Middle East and
the Global South, the Astro-COLIBRI team was invited to participate in
the 2023 Firmamento workshop at NYU Abu Dhabi. We presented
Astro-COLIBRI to a diverse audience of researchers, amateur
astronomers and students. We illustrated how our open and free
platform can facilitate access to large datasets from ground and
space-based observatories and how it lowers the barrier to an active
participation in the exciting research of time domain astrophysics.
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Rencontres du Ciel & de l'Espace (Cité des Sciences, Paris, Nov.
2022)
The Astro-COLIBRI team participated in the 2022 Rencontres du Ciel &
de l'Espace at the Cité des Sciences in Paris. Our team engaged with
amateur astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts through interactive
demonstrations of the platform, showcasing how it can be used to
follow up on transient events in real-time. We received valuable
feedback from the amateur astronomy community and discussed potential
collaborations for future citizen science projects.
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Explor'Espace (Paris/Montrouge, Nov. 2021)
The Astro-COLIBRI team was delighted to participate in the 2021
Explor'Espace festival, a major astronomy event held in
Paris/Montrouge. Our team presented the Astro-COLIBRI platform to a
diverse audience of science enthusiasts, families, and students. We
illustrated the ever changing sky with a live demo of our platform.
