English-speaking Wikipedia users’ interest in astronomy

Wikipedia users’ interest in astronomy is examined using data available for pageviews over the period 2016–2025. Interest, as measured by the level of engagement, is gauged by examining the top 30 astronomical terms as well as 50 terms that are central to the “Big Ideas in Astronomy.” The results confirm a particularly strong public interest in Solar System topics and relativistic astrophysics. The impact of public versus in-school use is examined by comparing (Northern hemisphere) holiday months with non-holiday months, with the (tentative) conclusion that most of the pageviews in question are not associated with school assignments. Top-30-term comparisons indicate that public interest in astronomy is significantly greater than in biology, chemistry, and geology. No difference to physics is found; this can be traced to a considerable overlap with the astronomical top-30 term list. Significant astronomy-related news events lead to clear peaks in Wikipedia pageviews for associated key terms.