IYA2009 Updates
Moon Zoo Challenge
17 September 2010
To celebrate International Observe the Moon Night we have launched the Moonometer™. Between September 15th and 19th we are challenging the Moon Zoo community to classify a huge chunk of the Moon: http://www.moonzoo.org/moonometer
Educational Material of European Virtual Observatory
16 September 2010
What is EuroVO-AIDA/WP5?
EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 is a project developed within the framework of the European Virtual Observatory (EuroVO) with the aim of diffusing EuroVO data and software to the public, in particular students, teachers and astronomy enthusiasts.
EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 offers use cases, pedagogical units, and simplified professional software that will allow a taste of the emotion of scientific research even to those approaching astronomy for the first time or simply wishing to wander between stars.
The educational material of EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 has been designed specifically for teachers in support of an effective presentation of astronomy in the classroom. However, amateur astronomers too will appreciate both the EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 software tools that simulate the night sky giving useful information during observations, or during their planning, and the simple and intuitive access and visualization of EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 data.
What to find in this site?
| _ | EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 free software for the public | |
| _ | use cases consisting of a general presentation of an astronomical problem and a step by step guide on how to use the EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 software tools needed to solve the problem. Use cases can be easily transformed into pedagogical units for middle- and highschools. | |
| _ | the latest EuroVO-AIDA/WP5 news | |
| _ | a selection of interesting and useful links | |
| _ | a brief presentation of the EuroVO-AIDA project | |
More information: http://wwwas.oats.inaf.it/aida4you/index_eng.html?fsize=medium
Some educational examples:
Submit your Science Education Project for the eLearning Awards 2010 Competition
16 September 2010
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the eLearning Awards, European Schoolnet invites all schools and teacher training institutions to present their best projects that use ICT for teaching and learning. In a special category for science projects awards will be given for the best initiatives in maths, science and technology education.
The winners, selected by an international jury of experts, will win thousands of euros in cash prizes and ICT equipment. The top 50 entries will also be included in the Learning Exchange Resource Library, to give increased visibility to teachers’ innovative practices and to encourage others to follow their lead.
Read more about the eLearning Awards and submit your entry at http://elearningawards.eun.org.
The deadline for entries is 28 September 2010.
Science Mag: International Year of Astronomy Claims Record Numbers of Citizen Stargazers
15 September 2010
by Sarah Reed on 8 September 2010
The International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009 is the biggest public science outreach event ever, with more than 815 million people in 148 countries taking part, says its concluding report released yesterday at the Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting in Lisbon. Organizers say its decision to focus IYA2009’s €18 million budget on communicating astronomy to the public, rather than splitting funding between outreach and research, and appointing a global coordinator to oversee the project, is a successful model that should be adopted by future public science outreach events.
Read more: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/09/international-year-of-astronomy.html
Observe the Moon Night Goes Global
15 September 2010
On September 18, 2010 the world will join the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., as well as other NASA Centers to celebrate the first annual International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN).
"InOMN provides the opportunity for the general public, our partners, and amateur astronomers to learn about lunar science and to view the Moon - many for the first time - through telescopes!" said Brooke Hsu, the Education and Public Outreach lead for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and principle investigator for InOMN.
What started as a celebration of LRO's successful journey to orbit around the Moon last August has grown to into an astronomical event this year. After LRO's launch, Goddard's Education and Outreach Team hosted the event, "We're at the Moon!" The same day, the event "National Observe the Moon Night," was hosted at NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC) in Moffett Field, Calif. by the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) teams. NLSI is based at NASA Ames. This year, the teams have decided to expand the event by partnering with other NASA institutions, organizations and communities around the world.
"The goal of both of these events was similar: engage the local public and amateur astronomer communities in an event to raise awareness of NASA's involvement in lunar research and exploration. The events were so successful we've decided to do it again. Only better and much, much bigger," said Doris Daou, the director of communications and outreach for NLSI.
The event, which is free to the public, will be from 6:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. EDT and include guest speakers and astronomers discussing lunar science, hands-on activities using binoculars and amateur astronomy telescopes and a public unveiling of new LRO images. There will even be a number of tours to the Laser Ranging facility at the Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory and presentations on the always fascinating Science on a Sphere globe at the Visitor's Center.
"I think it's important to have an event like this at Goddard for two reasons. One, Goddard is leading the LRO mission to the moon, and it's important for the public to be exposed to the amazing results of that mission. Secondly, I really like the idea of exposing the public to a diverse range of topics covered at a NASA center," said Dr. Noah Petro, a research scientist at the Goddard Planetary Geodynamics Branch.
Petro will be giving a presentation on recent lunar discoveries and discussing images of the lunar surface at the "New Light" activity station.
Partnering with Astronomers Without Borders, Hsu and her team were able to advertise to amateur astronomers across the United States, who then shared their links to international astronomers. In all, there will be 278 InOMN events globally. China, Germany, Egypt and at least 39 other countries will participate in the festivities. Among the NASA Centers, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will also take part.
Daou hopes that the huge effort will engage the public in science and hopefully incite and encourage their interest in what science generally and lunar science specifically is achieving these days.
"The Moon has been the first stop in humanity's effort to know more and explore our Universe. It has provided us with so much knowledge, but there is so much more to know about it," she added.
For more information visit:
observethemoonnight.org/
EPO Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems
14 September 2010
ADASS XX
7 - 11 November 2010
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) conference provides a forum for scientists and developers concerned with algorithms, software and software systems employed in the acquisition, reduction, analysis, and dissemination of astronomical data. The program will include invited talks, contributed oral and display papers, tutorials user group meetings and special interest group meetings.
Education and Public Outreach - The Education and Public Outreach (EPO) session covers a variety of activities by research institutes, universities, and institutions, aimed at promoting public awareness, understanding, and education in astronomy. This session provides material on the latest developments in EPO for astronomy and the tools and techniques used to create the EPO material for the public.
Recent Papers and an Announcement from Astronomy Education Review
14 September 2010
Astronomy Education Review (AER), the web-based journal/magazine about astronomy education and outreach, continues to publish significant papers and articles as it moves into the second half of its 9th volume.
There is currently no charge for reading or downloading the full articles in the journal and there are no page charges to publish, thanks to the generosity of its publisher, the American Astronomical Society
A partial table of contents for Volume 9 is below. You can see the entire current issue and all past volumes at: http://aer.aip.org
AER actively solicits interesting papers and articles on all aspects of astronomy and space science education and outreach. All papers are refereed, and a set of guidelines for contributing to AER is available on the site. Thomas Hockey of the University of Northern Iowa is the Editor in Chief. Andrew Fraknoi of Foothill College serves as Senior Editorial Advisor. Judy Johnson of the American Astronomical Society is the Managing Editor.
The journal is pleased to announce that it is actively soliciting papers and articles on results from the International Year of Astronomy. Such papers should meet the regular guidelines of the journal's sections, and should, whenever possible, include analysis that goes beyond a single project or single institution.
________________________________________
Papers and articles in the current volume include:
________________________________________
A National Study Assessing the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Astronomy, Part II: The Connection between Student Demographics and Learning
What It Would Take to Increase the Number of High School Astronomy Courses: A Survey of Principals
Galaxy Zoo: Exploring the Motivations of Citizen Science Volunteers
Student Ideas about Kepler's Laws and Planetary Orbital Motions
Survey of the Goals and Beliefs of Planetarium Professionals Regarding Program Design
The AstroLrner E-Community: A 10 Year Retrospective
Using Visual Assessments and Tutorials to Teach Solar System Concepts in Introductory Astronomy
The Impact of Stereo Display on Student Understanding of Phases of the Moon
Covering the Standards: Astronomy Teachers' Preparation and Beliefs
Good Readings on Astronomy Education from Other Journals in 2009
Catching Cosmic Rays with a Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera
The Pulsar Search Collaboratory
Postcards from the Edge of the Universe book available for free
13 September 2010
From sunspots to black holes, planets around other stars, supernovae and dark matter, Postcards from the Edge of the Universeunveils the mysteries of today’s research, looking at cutting-edge astronomy from around the world. Twenty-four frontline astronomers from all corners of the globe explain their science in accessible language in articles edited by veteran communicators Lee Pullen, Mariana Barrosa and Lars Lindberg Christensen.
This book is based on the science carried out by a hand-picked selection of the best bloggers from the Cosmic Diary (www.cosmicdiary.org), one of the twelve Cornerstone projects of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The contributions have been compiled into an edited anthology that gives a unique snapshot of contemporary astronomy. The four-page popular-science articles all have a personal flavour, as each contributor has selected their own favourite astronomical topic, giving the reader a personal insight into work on the frontline of astronomy.
On the web site of the book, www.postcardsfromuniverse.org, you can send an electronic postcard from space and send it for free to your family and friends — the only postal service that makes light speed deliveries.
Postcards from the Edge of the Universe was produced in a collaboration between ESO, the International Astronomical Union and the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
Postcards from the Edge of the Universe is available as an electronic book for free download from this link and can be ordered in hardcopy form from ESO’s shop.
Bonafide members of the press can request review hardcopies of the book from osandu@eso.org
Competition winner – Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2010
13 September 2010
Congratulations to Tom Lowe who wins the title Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2010 with this spectacular image of ancient trees silhouetted against the bright star clouds of the Milky Way. Competition judge Marek Kukula says: ‘I think this beautiful picture perfectly captures the spirit of Astronomy Photographer of the Year, linking the awe-inspiring vista of the night sky with life here on Earth. The bristlecone pines in the foreground can live as long as five thousand years. But they are babies compared to the starlight shining behind them, some of which began its journey towards us almost 30,000 years ago.
Read more: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/astronomy-photographer-of-the-year/winners/
Galileoscope - A Year Later: A review
13 September 2010
By David Treviño
I expect many of you know by now what is the Galileoscope. It was one of the cornerstone projects of the International Year of Astronomy (2009). An inexpensive put-it-together-yourself telescope with decent optics designed to make observing the night sky to an as wide audience as possible worldwide. It was even nominated as of Cloudy Nights Reader’s Choice in 2009.
Read more here: http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2515
Search IYA2009 Updates
National Nodes: 148
Organisational Nodes: 40
Organisational Associates:33
National Websites: 111
Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
Special Projects:16
Official Products:8
Media Partners:22
IYA2009 Patron
