IYA2009 Updates

12 March 2010

GLOBE at Night featured on Earth Science Picture of the Day
A photo of the constellation Orion high above Portugal's noble Cape Espichel Lighthouse has been selected as today's Earth Science Picture of the Day. The picture illustrates GLOBE at Night. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/844/

10 ways to participate in Global Astronomy Month this April!
With three weeks remaining until Global Astronomy Month (GAM) begins in April, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) has developed Global Programs everyone can take part in. Professional and amateur astronomers, educators and all astronomy enthusiasts worldwide can chose between global star parties, meteor watching, events dedicated to the Moon, the Sun and to Saturn, dark sky pledges, virtual meetings with famous astronomers, remote observations of exoplanets, asteroid discoveries and much more. Below are 10 highlights of these global programs, and there’s much more on the GAM website. Join the global celebration of the Universe this April! http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/843/

Calling all young European radio astronomers
YERAC, the Young European Radio Astronomers' Conference, has been held annually since 1968, circulating around Europe. 20 years ago, in 1990, it was held in Guadalajara (Spain), organised by the National Astronomical Observatory (OAN-IGN). This year, 2010, is special because the 40º edition of YERAC is held. Spain hosts it in Alcalá de Henares, birth-city of Cervantes, organised by OAN-IGN on July 5-8 2010. A special celebration is planned and a visit to Yebes Observatory, where a 40-m radio telescope has been recently built. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/838/

My name is Galileu Galilei
In the framework of IYA2009, a biographic children book about the life and work of Galileo Galilei has been publish in the framework of IYA2009 in Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/842/

Less of Our Light for More Star Light
Over 3700 Globe at Night measurements from around the world so far! Help us reach 10,000 by March 16. With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonderment of pristinely dark skies and maybe never will. Light pollution is obscuring people’s long-standing natural heritage to view stars. The GLOBE at Night program is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by encouraging everyone everywhere to measure local levels of night sky brightness and contribute observations online to a world map. All it takes is a few minutes to participate between 8–10 pm, March 3–16. Your measurements will make a world of difference. For more information, visit the website at: http://www.globeatnight.org/

Interview with Robert Naeye, Editor-in-Chief of Sky & Telescope
The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast has featured an interview with Robert Naeye, Editor-in-Chief of Sky & Telescope magazine, an IYA2009 Media Partner. He talks about amateur astronomy, its past and future. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/837/

Upcoming tribute to the late Arthur C Clarke
19 March 2010 marks the 2nd year death anniversary of late Sir Arthur Clarke. It is hard to imagine we have already made two orbits around the Sun without his presence. Of course his contributions still lives on and will continue to do so. As a tribute to him, the Sri Lanka Astronomical Association in partnership with Arthur C Clarke Estate and the British Council has organised an event for 17 March. This will feature, among other things, an illustrated talk by Arthur C Clarke's research assistant, a question and answer session, and a screening of the film 2010: The Year We Make Contact. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/836/

Hubble's 20th Anniversary brings special opportunity for European science centres and planetariums
This April will mark 20 years in orbit for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope! In honour of this incredible milestone, ESA, along with American partners NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) will offer a limited number of high-quality large Hubble prints to selected European science centres and planetariums. Click on the link below for more information and to sign up for this exciting opportunity. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/840/

Beyond IYA2009 shop now taking orders
Demand for Beyond IYA2009 logo-adorned items has resulted in the creation of a shop specifically tailored to cater for those who wish to express their support of continuing astronomy popularisation. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/839/

International Women’s Day: science's talents celebrated on AthenaWeb
Together with the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme AthenaWeb would like to take the opportunity of this International Women’s Day to celebrate the major contributions of women scientists by featuring the videos of the five laureates of the 2010 For Women In Science awards. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/835/

ISU’s 14th Annual International Symposium "The Public Face of Space" resources are online
Resources from the recent symposium "The Public Face of Space" are now online. These include the programme of events, copies of the 48 presented papers, additional manuscripts, copies of the 26 posters, compressed video files of the keynote address and the panel discussions at the end of each session, and a full list of participants. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/833/

Explore our Universe with the University College London
UCL is running a series of free events for schools, families and the general public on 12, 13 and 14 March 2010 as part of the UK's National Science and Engineering Week. These include seeing how scientists are advancing our knowledge, holding rocks older than our planet, building scale Solar System models, using telescopes, and learning about careers in astronomy. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/youruniverse/