More Than Your Eyes Can See: Outreach at the Space Infrared Telescope Facility

Communicating the world of infrared astronomy to the public comes with a unique set of pleasures and challenges. How do you begin to visualize the universe in a kind of light that is totally invisible to the human eye? At the SIRTF Science Center, we're answering that question with a wide variety of educational projects and products. We've produced a suite of award-winning websites (all of which can be accessed at sirtf.caltech.edu) that speak to audiences as varied as kindegarteners to amateur astronomers. We've also filmed and distributed a short video about infrared light that has become a favorite with NASA education specialists as well as classroom teachers. In the coming year, we will be collaborating with SOFIA to develop an internet-based astronomy course that will be part of an online master's degree in education.