IYA2009 Update

22 November 2009

Official Closing of the International Year of the Planet Earth in Lisbon
From 20 to 22 November 2009, a worldwide event will be held to highlight main results of the International Year of the Planet Earth (IYPE) and to launch new initiatives building on the IYPE legacy. Invited by the Government of Portugal, the Planet Earth Lisbon Event 2009 (PEL2009) is being organised by IYPE, the Portuguese National Committee for IYPE and Bombazine, a professional event organising company. More information: http://www.planetearthlisbon2009.org/

Romanian IYA2009 enthusiasts release new web pages
The Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM) has launched five new web pages in its international super-project (led by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe coordinator, Valentin Grigore SARM President, and Florin Stancu web designer), continuing the sky chronology of 2009 through astrophotography, artworks, astronomical poetry, journalism, mini-dramas, humorous debates, and essays, including framing pages, pillar pages and special pages. See these pages via http://www.cosmopoetry.ro/astropoetrytoiya/

Scotland's Galloway Forest awarded Dark Sky status
Galloway Forest Park is the first place in the UK landscape where dark skies are now safeguarded for people to experience for themselves after being awarded Dark Sky Park status by the International Dark-Sky Association. This marks a new high in the growing interest in the UK's dark skies. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/617/

Meteoroid explosion inspires Sudanese IYA2009 activities
On 7 October 2008 a meteoroid exploded in the atmosphere 37 km above Sudan's Nubian Desert. More information is available here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/616/

Stunning new photos and time-lapse videos on TWAN website
There are new stunning photos and time-lapse videos on TWAN website, featuring starry nights of the planet's landmarks from across the world. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/615/

Telecommunication conference now registering attendees
The conference "Wireless, Telecommunication, Spare: Frontier Research from Marconi to the Future" will be held in Brussels on 3 December 2009. Organised by the Embassy of Italy, it will celebrate the first centenary of the award of the Nobel Prize for Physics to Guglielmo Marconi.
For more information please visit http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/613/

Limburg among the stars during IYA2009
Europlanetarium in Genk, Belgium, has done something particularly special. Noting that there are about 55 constellations visible from the northern hemisphere and there are exactly 44 cities/communities in the province of Limburg, Belgium, they asked every area to "adopt" their own constellation. The aim was to place the province of Limburg in between the stars! Every city/community in Limburg gladly accepted and all 44 now have their own constellation in the sky. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/612/

40 years of Space Age & Beyond celebrated in Sri Lanka
In support of IYA2009, the Royal College Astronomical Society has organised an innovative programme called "40 years of Space Age & Beyond". This is the largest school-based IYA2009 programme in Sri Lanka and it consists of a workshop, science fiction competition and an exhibition of Apollo 11 Moon rocks which will be held from 8 to 9 December 2009. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/611/

Pakistan celebrates World Space Week in style
As a part of IYA2009, Pakistan fully embraced World Space Week during 5-10 October. Many activities pertaining to space awareness were carried out during the week. Students and teachers from various schools participated fully in the entire event. For details please visit: http://www.suparco.gov.pk/pages/wsw.asp?wswlinkid=2

Video interview with Fiami, author of The Lives of Galileo
Talented artist and author Fiami has been interviewed for a Swiss Italian channel. His comic "The Lives of Galileo" shows that the history of science is about sharing knowledge across the Earth over the centuries. The sky and astronomy have no owners; we belong to the sky and not the other way around. "The Lives of Galileo" shows this in a humorous yet educational way. See the video here: http://info.rsi.ch/it/home/networks/la1/telegiornale.html?po=6c0f5869-e5e6-486d-bc42-0d6d33e3dd36&pos=d23e09b8-52bd-4311-ae9d-1d21515f55c3&date=&stream=low#tabEdition

New Russian IYA2009 resources help to promote space science
A pair of new websites containing Russian-language resources are proving to be popular.
Astronomical blog Nebula Cast: http://www.nebulacast.com/
Accompanying YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bizbur08
These feature a monthly vodcast "Pulse of the Live! Universe" devoted to most important astronomical news. There are almost no Russian speaking analogues to this available on the internet. The YouTube channel is currently averaging 1200 visits per day, impressive statistics which demonstrate the potential in digital media.

BLAST! educational DVD now for sale
BLAST!, a spectacular and suspenseful story of space exploration and IYA2009 Special project, is now available on DVD in a double disc set, specially designed for the educational and institutional markets. Five-time Emmy winner Paul Devlin follows his brother Mark Devlin, PhD to five continents, from the Arctic to the Antarctic to launch a revolutionary new telescope on a NASA high altitude balloon to reveal a hidden Universe. From catastrophic failure to transcendent triumph, their adventure reveals the real life of scientists. To buy the DVD, please visit: http://www.blastthemovie.com/buy.html