News round-up

8 May 2009

It's Friday, and the Sun is shining! It's a perfect day for a) going to the zoo, b) eating pretzels and raspberry jam sandwiches in the park, and c) reading an IYA2009 news round-up!

We shall begin with Huliq News, as they've been promoting a new National Portrait Gallery (London) exhibition named Portraits of Astronomers. Paintings and photographs of the world's stargazers will be dominating the (possibly) esteemed Room 38a from 12 July. It's the place to be!

The Daily Herald has kindly plugged an Astrofest day being organised by an astronomy professor from the wonderfully named town Spanish Fork, in the U.S. We are promised fun for the whole family with activities including planetarium shows and observing with solar telescopes. More information can be found on the Brigham Young University site. Go go go!

Petaluma360.com has a brief story about members of the Sonoma County Astronomical Society sharing their knowledge and telescopes with eighth-grade students from Kenilworth Junior High School. Unfortunately, this tale has been overshadowed on the site by a story about a sprinkler malfunctioning and getting an antique book dealer a bit wet.

Do you have one of those flashy iPhone gadgets? Would you like a groovy application for it? Cult of Mac recommends Star Walk, a mobile astronomy guide to the night sky. It's also an official IYA2009 product, so go and download it! After finishing the news round-up.

The Inner West Courier is flying the flag for Australia this week by advertising what sounds like an excellent exhibition from The Nicholson Museum, at Sydney University. Called "The Sky's The Limit: Astronomy in Antiquity", it explains about ancient myths, calendars, and superstition, among other topics. A selection of artefacts will be on show, including ancient Greek pots celebrating celestial goddesses. We should make a pot celebrating IYA2009.

Also Down Under, the land of kangaroos and sunnies, is an astronomy-themed exhibition opening at the National Gallery of Victoria, artdaily.org reliably informs us. Focussing on photographs taken during the 1960s and ‘70s, the exhibition celebrates IYA2009 and the 40^th anniversary of the first Moon walk. But mostly IYA2009, we like to think.

Here's a good one! The San Diego Space Society is running a presentation from California, called "The International Year of Astronomy and You". You'll learn all about the Cornerstone Projects, and other IYA2009 events happening in the area. If you're in the vicinity, be sure to attend and show your support.

Now let's tune into Elites TV. They've been talking about NASA's Great Observatories (Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra) providing superb images which have been printed on large scales by NASA and sent to more than 100 institutions such as planetariums and schools.

Educators interested in astronomy may like to consider attending a conference currently being advertised by redOrbit. Held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the IYA2009 theme means that topics are centred on ways to convey the inspirational aspects of astronomy to the public. WARNING: there is an apostrophe error in the second sentence. Be prepared for it.

Remember that these news round-ups are English-language based, so for wider coverage be sure to check local news sites.

That's all for this week! Once again, the IYA2009 news coverage has surprised us beyond our wildest imagination.

Lee Pullen
IYA2009 Staff Writer

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