IYA2009 opens in Ireland!

14 January 2009

 

On Wednesday 7 January 2009 the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) was officially opened in Ireland, in the presence of the Irish President Mary McAleese and the Northern Ireland Minister for Education, Caitriona Ruane in a most impressive launch ceremony, at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in Dublin.

Thursday 8 January saw the launch of another two International Year of Astronomy highlights in Ireland. Professor Michael Redfern, Director of the Centre for Astronomy, National University of Ireland Galway and IYA2009 Single Point of Contact, launched the Faulkes Telescope Universe Challenge. This is a competition for students to undertake astronomy projects using the state of the art 2 metre telescopes in Hawaii and Australia. The prize, which is very generously sponsored by the European Southern Observatory, even though Ireland is not a member, is a trip to see the world's largest telescope in Chile.

The main sponsors for the events of the International Year of Astronomy in Ireland are Discover Science & Engineering, the European Southern Observatory and BT.

More info: www.astronomy2009.ie

 

Organisational Associates:
ESO AAS INSU CAS STRW NOVA STFC SCNAT SPA NRC MEC CNES DLR ESA JAXA NAOJ APL PS ESF ISRO ICRAN NLSI NOT U Cluster NASAEAS ASI NRAO CEA  KASI EAE SPA AUI CROSCI


The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is endorsed by the United Nations and the International Council of Science.