“Shagi / Steps” the Journal of the SASH

SHAGI/STEPS 7(4)

Keywords: comets, asteroids, astronomy, impact event, disaster discourse, media, media culture, astroculture, science fiction

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of media images of small celestial bodies — comets, asteroids and meteorites. Special attention is paid to the “impact” representation of these space objects, which depicts their probable or occurred collision with the Earth. The article answers a number of questions: since when, in what contexts and images does the appearance of these celestial bodies occur in the culture? How is impact discourse formed in astronomy and what is the role of science fiction in its origin and popularization? What are the features of media representations of space threats, and what kind of difficulties arise in the communication of astronomers and journalists? By what actors and in what ways is an impact event constructed in the era of the Internet, mobile technologies, and social media? The study reveals a number of trends in the production and reception of the comet-asteroid hazard discourse. The analysis involves various media and texts: popular science books, fiction, news media content and social media. The author comes to the conclusion that following the joint efforts of scientists, science fiction writers and journalists, impact discourse, which emphasizes the risks of cosmic hazards, has firmly established itself in the public consciousness. In addition, a significant role in the creation of an impact media event is presently played by its witnesses using available digital technologies, as demonstrated by the case of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. Depending on the degree of risk and severity of the consequences of the fall of a celestial body, the genres and rhetoric of its media coverage vary. Studying media images of comets and asteroids in general allows us to better understand how people imagine the cosmos and their place in the universe.

Acknowledgements: The research was carried out within the project “Space in Media Culture: Practices of Imagination and Representation” of the Faculty of Communications, Media and Design, the Higher School of Economics in 2020–2022.

To cite this article: Nim, E. G. (2021). When celestial bodies meet the media: Impact discourse on comets and asteroids. Shagi/Steps, 7(4), 221–237. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2021-7-4-221-237.