Welcome to the Abstract Submission Site for ASP2024
Astronomy Across the Spectrum: Education & Outreach Everywhere, All at Once

ASP2024: A Virtual Conference
Astronomy Across the Spectrum:
Education & Outreach Everywhere, All at Once
ASP’s 136th Annual Meeting: August 22-24, 2024

ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES

The ASP strongly recommends that you read these Abstract Submissions Guidelines
prior to submitting your Abstract
The ASP invites abstract submissions in three categories:

• 50-minute Interactive Session (Workshop, Webinar, or Discussion)
• 10-minute Oral Presentation
• 1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea

Proposals for abstracts must be submitted via our online system, and not via regular mail or email. The Program Committee will rate submissions based only on the information you provide, so please complete the abstract form carefully. Abstract submissions will be accepted through June 20, 2024, 8:59 pm PT, and reviewed right after. Late abstracts will be accepted through July 22, but will be considered later than others and on a space-available basis, so you are encouraged to submit earlier if possible.

NOTE: When you submit an abstract, you will receive a receipt and a separate registration number for that abstract. Registering an abstract is NOT the same as registering for the conference. All approved lead presenters will still need to register for the conference. Those who decline to register will have their session or presentation removed from the final conference program, though you can request a co-presenter assume the lead presenter role as long as they don’t already have a separate approved abstract as lead presenter in the program (see Limit section below).

Abstract submission character limits:

• Title – 100 characters (including spaces)
• Abstract - 2000 characters (including spaces)

Feel free to compose your submission in a word-processing program and then copy it onto the online form. Exceeding a character limit will be flagged and prevent successful submission of your abstract.

Abstract Submissions Options

50-minute Interactive Session (Workshop, Webinar, or Discussion):
We are emphasizing and prioritizing the interactive nature of these sessions, which should not be just didactic presentations. Please plan to engage with your audience as best you can in whichever format you choose. In your abstract, please describe: (a) how your session will be run, in which format, Workshop, Webinar, or Discussion; (b) how you will make it interactive, and (c) what goals you have. As for interactive strategies, examples could include zoom annotations, jamboards, survey/poll questions, kahoots, breakout rooms, etc.

More than one presenter is encouraged (though not required), to help provide more perspectives, and to monitor your audience (e.g. typed-in chat questions) as well as time. Panel discussions of important topics are a key strategy that is encouraged, with perhaps two or three panelists/presenters stimulating the discussion, and with solicitation and incorporation of audience questions and perspectives. For any 50-minute Interactive Session, there should be 5 or more minutes of Q&A with the audience.

Fitting your content and discussion into 50 minutes might seem a difficult challenge, but we expect tightly-constructed Interactive Sessions with focused content and discussion. Keep in mind that larger subjects possibly warranting more discussion can be split up into 2 or more Interactive Sessions on different parts, as long as the lead presenter is different for each abstract submitted. Each abstract will be considered on its own merit.

10-minute Oral Presentation:
For short summaries of programs, experiences, evaluation results, research findings, or ideas to share that include a series of visuals or slides, the 10-minute oral option may be the most appropriate option. These presentations should be targeted to run 5-8 minutes, followed by a few minutes of Q&A with the audience (more Q&A time if the presentation is on the shorter side).

1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea:
NEW for 2024: Inspired by fun and interesting experiences hearing peers and colleagues share 1-minute summaries in “stand-up” meetings and with 1-minute “Poster Previews” we used to offer in face-to-face ASP conferences, we’re offering this new option for ASP2024 participants.

Submitting an abstract for a 1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea will NOT count against your limit on abstract submissions as a lead presenter. You are invited to submit both an abstract for a Session/Presentation AND a 1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea.

A facilitator will carefully monitor the time for each Summary/Reflection/Idea, keeping them to a limit of 60 seconds. Speakers are invited to just do verbal sharing, but if a visual aid could be helpful, no more than 1 slide can be shared during your minute.

You can use the 1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea to do one of the following (or a concise combo of more than one of these):
• Summarize briefly some new finding(s), conclusion(s), or question(s) arisen with your education/outreach work.
• Share a quick reflection of an experience with the 2024 total solar eclipse, or some other education/outreach activity.
• Provide an intriguing, innovative, or even provocative idea to others to consider, based on your education/outreach work.
• Mention or uncover for others a “blocker” or particular challenge you are facing in your work.

ASP2024 Annual Meeting - Program Strands
When entering your abstract information, you will be asked to choose one of the conference program strands most appropriate to associate your abstract with. The program strands for 2024 are as follows:

• Teaching Astronomy – New Opportunities, Challenges, Tools, and Innovations
• Reflecting on the Solar Eclipse and Applying Lessons Learned Going Forward
• Modern Astronomy and Big Data: New Challenges in Science Communication
• Advancing Informal Astronomy Learning
• The Planetarium at 100: Moving the Field Into Its Next Century
• Communicating Astronomy through New Media and Social Media
• Engaging the Public in Science via Amateur Astronomy & Community Science
• Embracing More Inclusive Astronomy and Diverse Ways of Knowing & Learning
• Addressing Climate/Environmental Science and Preserving Dark Skies

Presenter’s Target Audience(s)
With that, you will also be asked to identify which type of audience(s) you are targeting or have targeted with the work described in your abstract. You may choose more than one type of audience, or just the one type most appropriate, from the following:

• College teachers & students
• K-12 teachers & students
• General public
• Children & families
• Amateur astronomers
• Informal educators & visitors

Limit on Abstracts Submitted
For this conference, you may be the lead presenter on just one abstract, not counting those for a 1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea (i.e. you may do both a Session/Presentation AND a 1-min Summary/Reflection/Idea). We may receive more good abstracts than the Meeting can accommodate. Thus the Program Committee reserves the right to decline some abstracts or request a different format for the proposed session/presentation (e.g. 10 minute presentation instead of a 50-minute session). There is no limit on the number of abstracts an individual may be listed as a co-presenter. Collaboratives are welcome to submit more than one abstract on related content, as long as each abstract has a different lead presenter identified, and each abstract has sufficiently clear and distinct content. Each abstract will be considered on its own merit.

How to Write Effective Abstracts
Ideal abstracts give a concise description of what you propose to do or say in your session or presentation, and best written so people not familiar with your work become interested in hearing what you have to say. It may contain a website URL for more information, although do not rely on a reader actually visiting that site before the meeting. An abstract can be up to 2000 characters in length (including spaces), but you do not need to make it unnecessarily long – especially if you are proposing a 1-minute Summary/Reflection/Idea. Use the abstract text to attract people to learn more about your work, your ideas, etc.

ASP2024 Annual Meeting - Conference Proceedings
The conference will publish proceedings through the ASP Conference Series to provide a record of the conference and a ready reference for those attending as well as those unable to attend. It also provides a publishing opportunity for those submitting an abstract and making a presentation during the conference.

After the virtual conference, all presenters who wish to have their work published in the ASP Conference Series volume must submit by October 1, 2024. This should be in the form of a short paper directly associated with your conference session or presentation. All contributed papers will be collected into a conference proceedings volume. Attendees will be able to pre-order the proceedings at a conference discount.

A conference proceedings webpage will be set up for paper submission and editorial details.