Abstract Summary/Description
Astronomy captivates the public mind, enlightens our relationship to the Universe, and allows us to explore fundamentals of the world. Climate change often terrifies the public, harms our relationship to the Earth, and is forcing us to rapidly change our actions within the world. These topics may seem unrelated, but astronomers are uniquely positioned to play a key role in teaching and talking about the climate crisis. In this presentation I will discuss (1) my doctoral astronomy research into the long-term brightness variations of nearby stars, (2) how these variations could influence the atmospheres and habitability of exoplanets, (3) how my research and astronomy in general offers a unique connection to discussing climate change with students and the public, and (4) efforts within astronomy to expand our teaching of climate change topics in the classroom. For example, I have revealed that the decades-long brightness changes of nearby small stars are often radically stronger than those of our Sun, offering context to discuss how these variations on the Sun are not causing modern climate change on Earth. My ongoing pedagogical studies in this area will help bridge the gap between astronomy and climate change in education, demonstrating a novel approach to advancing this interdisciplinary space. Astronomers study the Universe but cannot do this when our telescopes quite literally burn to the ground because of climate change -- we study the cosmos in part to understand humanity, but we must also help humanity so we can ultimately continue to study the cosmos.
