Public communication of astronomy provides an important link between the scientific astronomical community and society, giving visibility to scientific success stories and supporting both formal and informal science education. While the principal task of an astronomer is to further our knowledge of the Universe, disseminating this information to a wider audience than the scientific community is becoming increasingly important. This is the main task of public astronomy communication — to bring astronomy to society.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 was a unique platform to inform the public about the latest discoveries in astronomy as well as to emphasise the essential role of astronomy in science education. However, as the astronomy outreach community expanded globally, it became increasingly important to establish a community of science communication experts.

In 2007, the now extinct IAU Division C Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal Working Group prepared a study assessing the necessity of a periodical focused on astronomy communication, outreach, and engagement. The conclusions were inescapable: there is a clear need for a publication addressing the specific needs of the public astronomy communication community. The Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (CAPjournal) was born out of these discussions.

The CAPjournal is undergoing some changes! We are adapting our policies and processes to align with the world’s leading journals in science communication and to bring you a more ethical and transparent journal. This started with our change in Submission Guidelines and continues with a change to our copyright policy. Starting in 2023, we will no longer publish CAPjournal under a CC-BY-ND-NC 4.0 license but rather a CC-BY 4.0 license. This change ensures that we maintain consistency with our parent organisation, the International Astronomical Union, while also aligning us with best practices in open-access publishing. We have additionally published our Ethics Policy, which you can view at this link.