IYA2009 Updates

18 December 2009

*Stunning video takes us to the edge of the Universe*
The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the Universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History.
The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010. See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U&fmt=22

*IYA2009 news from Uruguay*
http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/691/

*The sky is the limit for students in Hungary*
To celebrate IYA2009, Hungary's Konkoly Observatory offered a opportunity to young enthusiasts of the starry sky. High-school students were invited to apply for one hour of telescope time to record their favourite celestial object with the 60/90/180cm Schmidt telescope and CCD camera located in Piszkesteto Mountain Station. This is one of Hungary's largest telescopes. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/690/

*Generating global interest in the night sky and astrophotography*
While TWAN exhibitions, workshops, and media contacts exposed many people to the beauties of the universal message of night sky, the project website displays an enlarging collection of over a thousand stunning images. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/689/

*Taking The World at Night to the land of Himalaya*
One of the last major TWAN activity during IYA2009 was a collection of programs including a night sky imaging workshop, public presentation and starparty, media contact, and imaging mission in the land of Himalaya. Through collaboration with a group of active young astronomers in the Nepal Astronomical Society, The World at Night travelled to Kathmandu and Mount Everest region of Himalaya during November 2009. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/688/

*Call for Papers: Science and the Public 2010*
Imperial College, London, 3rd and 4th of July 2010.
Now in its fifth year, the Science and the Public conference aims to bring together the various strands of academia which consider science’s relationships with groups generally called "the public". http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/687/

*Index to Astronomy in Scientific American Magazine*
Scientific American magazine often presents readable overviews of new ideas and discoveries in astronomy. However, astronomy articles are randomly scattered among the magazine's coverage of all other fields of science and the titles of articles do not always provide a perfect guide to their contents. As a service to the astronomy education community, we have compiled a subject index of astronomy articles in the magazine from the late summer of 1999 to the late summer of 2009, with brief descriptions of their contents. The index is published in the online journal, Astronomy Education Review, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2009060

*Galilean Nights: Astrophotography Competition shortlist announced!*
On 22-24 October 2009, the Galilean Nights Cornerstone Project took place all over the world and was a great success, with over 1300 events in almost 90 countries. Alongside the public observing sessions where hundreds of thousands of people looked to the night sky, many also turned their cameras to the stars and took part in the Galilean Nights Astrophotography Competition. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/686/

*Cosmos in the Classroom Symposium*
As you are planning your 2010 calendar and budget, we wanted to let you know that plans are moving along for the 122nd Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), July 31 - Aug. 4 at the University of Colorado in Boulder, in one of the most beautiful settings in the U.S., and featuring two concurrent 3-day conferences Aug. 2 - 4. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/684/

*Ethiopian astronomers bring IYA2009 to the masses*
The Ethiopian Space Science Society (ESSS) has been celebrating IYA2009 throughout the year. In the case of Ethiopia, it is considered a prime way of promoting astronomy by stimulating interest, especially among young people and as well using the appreciation of the inspirational aspects of astronomy. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/680/

*IYA2009 logo adorns German observatory*
IYA2009 enthusiasts from Dresden, Germany, decided to go one step further than most in celebrating this special year. They took it upon themselves to decorate their observatory by painting the IYA2009 logo, and inscribing the slogan on the side. Anyone passing by will be left in no doubt as to IYA2009's importance. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/682/

*Young astronomers meet for International School*
The International School for Young Astronomers 2009 is currently taking place in St Augustine, West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago. It will be running until 18 December. The objectives of the School include encouraging astronomy to grow in the region, allowing students from the Caribbean to network with professional astronomers, increasing collaborations, showing that astronomy promotes transferrable skills, enhancing research, and to expose local students to training not available locally. For more information, please see: http://sta.uwi.edu/fsa/physics/ISYA2009.asp

*Netherlands host IYA2009 concerts*
An IYA2009-themed concert given in September together with the Grieg Pianoduo was a huge success. The world premier of Sisask's "Sombrero Galaxy" was presented, together with other works by him and by Schubert, for a sold out hall in Groningen, in the Netherlands. The composer attended, as well as the ambassador of Estonia. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/679/

*Celebrating 5000 years of astronomy*
In a fitting finale for IYA2009, astronomers and archaeologists will celebrate the five millennia of astronomical heritage at Stonehenge, the most sophisticated stone circle in the world and amongst Europe’s most important Neolithic sites. The attractions include a free public astronomy exhibition and expert-led tours of the site and surrounding landscape. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/678/