Wonder and Awe observing the sky

Abstract

"Wonder” is well known to practitioners in astronomy education activities. Expressions of emotions, such as of awe and wonder, play an important role in engaging audiences, yet there exists no systematic study of these phenomena in the astronomy education literature. In this paper we analyse moments where these emotions are displayed – what we call “Awe Moments” – in observations with telescope. Using an interactional perspective, we analyzed 10 hours of video recordings of these events, collected in different institutions in Portugal. The way these emotions are produced interactionally by guides and the public is described. The data show that these interactions are recurrent and that guides and public validate, enhance and prolong these emotional moments. This work contributes to the literature on emotions in educational settings, to the training of guides and the evaluation of astronomy educational events.