100 Hours of Astronomy Update

28 March 2009

NEW! 100 Hours of Astronomy Event Awards Announced
The 100 Hours of Astronomy team with support from our sponsors Celestron and Explore Scientific are pleased to announce the 100HA award categories for all registered global 100 Hours of Astronomy Sidewalk Astronomy and Star Party events taking place between 2 and 5 April, 2009. (special circumstances may apply if your dates are outside the official event period) To check the award categories and the rules of the competition, please check back on our site in a few hours for the Awards page which will be published live Over the next few days the '100HA Award Application Form' will be available for download. There are eight categories. Each event application will be made on one application form. You can make as many individual event applications as required and enter all categories or just a few. Winners will be announced by Mike Simmons 100HA Co-Chair in August at the IAU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We wish you all the best of luck.

NEW! 100 Hours of Remote Astronomy (or 100HRA)
Here is an opportunity for you to control remote telescopes around the world, and take pictures with them. Several observatories have very kindly agreed to give global free time on their telescopes during 100 Hours of Astronomy! You don't need any experience or astronomical background, just an appreciation for the beauty of the night sky. And it will not cost you anything! Click here to check what telescopes are on offer - http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/program/228-100-hours-of-remote-astronomy
We wish to thank the following observatories for their generosity and the use of their wonderful telescopes for the 100 Hours of Astronomy
* Bellatrix Observatory - Italy           * Cherry Mountain Observatory - Texas
* GRAS - Australia                              * GRAS - New Mexico
* Light/Buckets- Australia                 * Light/Buckets - New Mexico
* Mytelescope.com - Canada

100HA on Twitter and Around the World in 80 Telescopes
Now you can follow the "100 Hours of Astronomy" events on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/100Hours
This also includes the latest from the "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" webcast: http://www.twitter.com/telescopecast
At your event, why not show the webcasts from our Ustream.tv channel, such as the 24-hour "Around the World in 80 Telescopes"? All you need is a computer with an Internet connection (300kbps or faster) and a web browser with the Flash plugin. For the best view, you can play the video stream full screen on a large screen or projector. Visit the "100 Hours" website for more information.
During "Around the World in 80 Telescopes", send us messages or questions, to 80t-msg@eso.org (or Twitter @telescopecast). We'll read out as many as we can during the webcast. For example, tell us where you are, how many of you are watching if you're in a group, and what else you're doing for "100 Hours"!

How to Register Your Event - Korean Translation A big thank you to Hong-Kyu Moon, the IYA 2009 Republic of Korea National Node Steering Committee Chair for translating our 'How to Register your 100HA Event' in Korean. We now have 15 different translations if you require them. They can be found here http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/eventsmain

News Bite From New York - Lights out in a Manhattan Park Jason Kendall from Inwood Astronomy in New York, has informed us that he has managed to get the authorities to agree to turn all the lights off in Dyckman Fields, New York on April 3, for their 100 Hours of Astronomy Event which starts at 8.00pm. Jason Kendall said, "This is the first time that the lights are being turned off in a NYC park for astronomy purposes in the history of the Parks" To find out more, check the Inwood Star Fest - A Celebration of Astronomy here http://www.moonbeam.net/InwoodAstronomy/events-100hours.shtml

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