Humour and Cartoons to Communicate Astronomy

This is a poster presented at the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/7th-shaw-iau-workshop/). Title: Humour and Cartoons to Communicate Astronomy Presenter:B S Shylaja (Visiting Scientist, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, High Grounds, Bengaluru, India) Humorous cartoons offer a very effective means of communication of a difficult concept. There are plenty of such ideas centred around the sun and the moon, generally based on the misconceptions and superstitions. Some authors are known for their special skill in this art. We made an attempt introduce cartoons in an otherwise serious book covering all astrophysical aspects of astronomy. This was for an encyclopedia, the first of its kind in the regional language, covering from historical aspects to gravitational waves, with contributions from scientists. Every chapter commenced with a cartoon which added to the attraction of the book. Some of the cartoons will be shown and the evolution of the theme will be discussed. About the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop:The 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop took place 18 - 21 November 2025. The Shaw-IAU workshops focus on astronomy education for primary and secondary school students and teacher training both in universities and in service. This year's Education focus session on Teaching with authentic data and the Science focus is on Galaxies.More details can be found on: https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/Keep up to date with future Shaw-IAU Workshops and other opportunities at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education by joining our mailing list https://astro4edu.org/mailing-list/ Follow the IAU OAE on Bluesky and Facebook under @astro4edu