IYA2009 Updates

Hubble resources ready to use

27 February 2010

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies has compiled a list of Hubble Space Telescope related resources to aid in the popularisation of astronomy and space education. The highlights of these resources have been listed on a single webpage. Examples include exploring the history of the telescope from Galileo to today, spacewalks, servicing missions, and IMAX ® Hubble 3D.

To see the list, and for additional information, please visit: http://topstars.strategies.org/resources.html

IYA2009 Updates

26 February 2010

First there is some excellent news we'd like to share: From Earth to the Universe has won the IYA2009/Bhaumik Prize for Excellence in Astronomy Education and Public Outreach. FETTU is a truly grassroots initiative, community-driven and has captured the spirit of the award as a whole. The prize is the acknowledgement of hard work from the small task group under the guidance of Kim and Megan, but it’s also rewarding the many hours and effort put in by countless individuals all around the world (from wealthy to developing countries) that made the more than 500 exhibits possible. Unfortunately, some projects and resources don’t make their products accessible, either by being difficult to translate or adapt to different languages and cultures. Often this is because either the original materials were not developed with portability in mind, or the source files are simply not available. FETTU considered this and had an innovative approach, making all materials freely available as an open source approach to education and public outreach. FETTU is an example of best practices to be followed by other international projects. Congratulations go to them!

More information: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iya1002/

The Hubble Classroom Collage Activity

Images from the Hubble Space Telescope inspired classes in the USA to create unique collages of their favourite Hubble photos. http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/iya/collage/

Join the Globe at Night 2010 campaign: March 3-16!

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. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. Even though light pollution is a serious and growing global concern, it is one of the easiest environmental problems you can address on local levels. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/810/

Upcoming events at Ireland's Blackrock Castle Observatory

Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, Ireland, have an exciting programme of events lined up. These include children's workshops, viewing sessions using a 16-inch rooftop telescope, and a movies by moonlight film club, among many other things. For the full list of events, please see: http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=04b967ac930576c096d46a270&id=085baedd31&e=c3a302e74f

Space Initiatives in the framework of IYA2009

Japanese UN COPUOS representative, in the session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, covered comprehensively the achievements of the United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative for 1990 - 2010 through the International Heliophysical Year 2007 , International Year of Astronomy 2009, and International Space Weather Initiative in the following two PowerPoint presentations. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/817/

Aesthetics of Astrophotography

The aesthetics of astrophotography is a one day symposium focusing on the relationship between Hubble images and the history of art. More information: http://www.aestheticsofastrophotography.co.uk/

Viewing the Universe Bit by Bit: New Directions and Uses of Astronomy Visualization Software

Activities of Greece's Hellenic Amateur Astronomy Association for IYA2009

During 2009 the Hellenic Amateur Astronomy Association (HAAA) organised a series of events dedicated to the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The main goal was to the spread to the public of Greece the meaning of observational amateur astronomy and the methods used, according to the constitution of the HAAA. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/813/

Algerian astronomy boosted during IYA2009

Enthusiastic Algerian IYA2009 supporters from the Sirius Astronomy Association have spearheaded a series of astronomical events, many within their country but some beyond. An online clearinghouse made specifically for IYA2009 activities is available. Members of the Sirius Astronomy Association hope that it will inspire others to engage in space-science outreach beyond 2009. See the website here: http://siriusalgeria.net/sirius09.htm

The World At Night confirms plans for 2010

The World At Night (TWAN) is an IYA2009 Special project which produces and presents collections of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s landmarks against the celestial attractions. The eternally peaceful sky looks the same above symbols of all nations and regions, attesting to the truly unified nature of Earth as a planet rather than an amalgam of human-designated territories. TWAN has announced its plans for 2010, and looks set to go from strength to strength. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/814/

International Astronomical Youth Camp 2010 - call for applications

Imagine spending three weeks of your summer in beautiful mountain scenery working with other students from all over the world on an astronomical project of your choice. The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) is a three-week long summer camp aiming to promote knowledge on astronomy and related sciences in an international atmosphere. Each year it takes place at a different European location, this year from 1 - 21 August in the small town of Klingenthal in the east of Germany, near the border of Czech Republic. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/809/

Young Irish stargazers bring telescope to Tanzanian peers

IYA2009 saw members of the public join astronomers to gaze at the stars and let themselves be inspired by the mysteries of the universe. While some events lasted just a few nights, a special initiative of Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) and Cork City Council in partnership with Cork Printmakers will have a lasting impact in the minds of young children in Cork and in the Arusha region of Tanzania. “Capture the Cosmos” was organised under the umbrella of the international Universe Awareness (UNAWE) programme, one of the IYA2009 cornerstone projects whose mission is to ‘broaden young children’s minds with the scale and beauty of the universe’. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/806/

Germany's largest IYA2009 exhibition celebrates its 500,000th visitor

It's called "Out of this World - Wonders of the Solar System" (or "Sternstunden - Wunder des Sonnensystems"), occupies a cylinder 100 metres high, and has been visited 500,000 times in just 10 1/2 months: the largest exhibition devoted to IYA2009 in Germany in the Gasometer in Oberhausen. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/807/

Upcoming events at Ireland's Blackrock Castle Observatory

26 February 2010

For the full list of events, please see: http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=04b967ac930576c096d46a270&id=085baedd31&e=c3a302e74f

Space Initiatives in the framework of IYA2009

26 February 2010

http://cirrus.mail-list.com/iswinewsletter/COPUOS2010-ODA.pdf 3.7 Mb
http://cirrus.mail-list.com/iswinewsletter/Talk-at-Vienna-by-ProfYumotoFeb2010.pdf 9.4 Mb

Aesthetics of Astrophotography

24 February 2010

Sackler Lecture Theatre, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK

The aesthetics of astrophotography is a one day symposium focusing on the relationship between Hubble images and the history of art.

More information: http://www.aestheticsofastrophotography.co.uk/

Viewing the Universe Bit by Bit: New Directions and Uses of Astronomy Visualization Software

24 February 2010

Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, Chicago, USA

April 28-30, 2010

New, visually rich, astronomical software environments coupled with large web-accessible data sets hold the promise of innovative and exciting ways to teach, collaborate, and explore the Universe. Exploring the Universe Bit by Bit will be a hands on workshop that will focus on four key visualization software environments: Google Sky, World Wide Telescope, Celestia, & Partiview, with the immediate goals of developing applications and seeding new collaborations during the workshop.

This interdisciplinary workshop is intended to bring together scientists, educators (formal and informal), and software developers to promote innovative uses of the emerging software platforms in scientific research and as tools for learning and teaching. With the help of developers of these applications, we will investigate their capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses; and identify future directions. A primary focus will be the creation of tours, classroom applications, collaborative research environments, and laboratory exercises during the workshop. These development efforts will be supported by mini-tutorials and one-on-one instruction by the creators of these products. The principal developers of Google Sky (Noel Gorelick, Andrew Connolly, and Ryan Scranton), World Wide Telescope (Jonathan Fay), Celestia (Chris Laurel), Partiview (Stuart Levy) will lead the instruction. This workshop is modeled after the successful "Viewing the Universe:via the World Wide Web" workshop held at the University of Chicago in 2008.

Goals of the Workshop:
    • Developing new ways of using astronomical software environments in research and education, incorporating current cutting-edge research and data
    • Seeding new collaborations, especially cross-cutting & cross-disciplinary
    • Identifying strategies to reach underserved communities with this technology (e.g., rural and inner city)
    • Incorporating current research data into publicly accessible forums
    • Providing feedback to software developers from educators and scientists
    • Expanding the current user base

Who Should Apply:
Educators and scientists who are using (or are very interested in starting to use) these new software platforms for scientific collaboration, education, data sharing, and public outreach.

One of the goals of the workshop is to foster expansion of the current user base. We will be looking for participants who have a wide range of innovative ideas. We are especially interested in ideas with the potential for significant impact (e.g., on how the new software platforms are used in different environments or in audiences reached).

This workshop will explore Google Sky, WorldWide Telescope, Celestia and Partiview with the developers of these platforms.

Web site : http://kicp-workshops.uchicago.edu/universe2010

Applications are due 15 March 2010

Activities of Greece's Hellenic Amateur Astronomy Association for IYA2009

23 February 2010

1. Chios Island - “Star Celebration”
The Prefecture of Chios island organised a celebration addressed mostly to the students of elementary school named “Star Celebration”. The event was scheduled for the 23rd of December 2008 at 20:00 local time and the HAAA was responsible to present a talk and provide telescopes for observation. Despite the bad weather the experience excited our young friends as it was their first contact with astronomy.

2. Haidari city of Attiki - “100 Hours of Astronomy”
In collaboration with the Cultural Center or Municipality of Haidari city of Attiki the HAAA organised a four-day educational event called “100 Hours of Astronomy”, from Thursday the 2nd of April until Sunday the 5th. The event was part of the international call for organising such events around the globe in order to give a chance to the public to experience contact with the Universe.

3. Piraeus City - “A Travel through the Universe”
A major event, open to the public, was held at the “Apollon” Building of Municipality of Piraeus city on the 9th of May 2009. That was a collaboration of the HAAA and the Trekking Club of Piraeus (Odoiporikos Syllogos Peiraia) who celebrated 80 years of activities.

4. Gymno village of Argolida - “Young Astronomers”
That event was successfully realised on Thursday the 28th of May 2009, in the yard of the village's elementary school, along with a talk and observation of the sky through telescopes.

5. Paros island - “A Travel through the Universe”
HAAA in collaboration with the Public Library of Paros Island organised an event on the 30th of May 2009. The event took place in the Library's yard and included a conversation about astronomy, an exhibition of astronomical images, astronomical content video-projections and a public observation of the sky through HAAA's telescopes.

6. Keratea city of Attiki - “Introduction to Observational Astronomy”
After an invitation from the Cultural Association of Keratea City “Hrisi Tomi”, along with the support of the Municipality of Keratea city of Attiki, HAAA organised an event at Ovriokastro village on Saturday the 13th of June. The event included a talk, a practical lesson on uranography (or celestial cartography, and observation of the sky.

7. Melissia city of Attiki - “3rd Youth Festival of Melissia City”

The local office of UNESCO invited us to participate in the 3rd Youth Festival of Melissia City which was held the weekend 19-20 of June, 2009. HAAA organised a stand with astrophotography exhibition, magazines and HAAA's telescopes.

8. Anavra village of Fthiotida - “3rd Panhellenic Meeting of Amateur Astronomers”
According to the decision of the Panhellenic Convention of the Boards of all the Associations in Alexandroupolis City in 2008, HAAA took over the organisation of the 3rd Panhellenic Meeting of Amateur Astronomers (PMAA) for the year 2009. The meeting was successfully realised on the 26th, 27th and 28th of June 2009 at the Mountain Retreat of Trekking Club of Piraeus at the Anavra village of Fthiotida, including talks, workshops, conversations and observations. It is also important to note the presence of professional astronomers at the meeting.

9. Voula city of Attiki - “Introduction to Astronomy & Astrophotography”
The photography department of Municipality of Voula city and HAAA organised
talks to amateur photographers of Municipalities of Voula and Glyfada cities, on Wednesday the 16th of December 2009. These activities aimed to introduce the participants in astronomy and the night sky, along with the explanation of the methods used in the photography of celestial bodies and astronomical events. There will, also, be a practical of activities for hands-on experience in astrophotography realised during 2010.

Further activities:
The events that are presented above concern only the HAAA's contribution to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Moreover, HAAA's activities are not limited in 2009 only, but there are constantly held since the establishment of the association in 2003 and will continue, of course, in the future. In addition to these kind of activities, the members of the association contact every day through internet or/and by phone, along with regular meetings that are held inside the cities and outside for observations. One of the main targets of HAAA is to spread to the Greek public the mentality and the methods of observational amateur astronomy, according to the standards of similar associations outside Greece, in order to produce finally scientifically useful results for astronomy. More on these can be found in HAAA's site at http://www.hellas-astro.gr/ (mostly in Greek).

An important contributor and supporter to HAAA's activities is the Trekking Club of Piraeus (Odoiporikos Syllogos Peiraia), who offer their offices and their mountain retreat at the mount Kallidromo (Anavra village of Fthiotida) for meetings and observations.

Last but not least, all our actions are performed in such a way to fulfil our dream that every Greek citizen will notice how astronomy affects his/her everyday life and will understand how the scientific knowledge can contribute to a balanced and peaceful society.

Algerian astronomy boosted during IYA2009

23 February 2010

Enthusiastic Algerian IYA2009 supporters from the Sirius Astronomy Association have spearheaded a series of astronomical events, many within their country but some beyond.

An online clearinghouse made specifically for IYA2009 activities is available online. Members of the Sirius Astronomy Association hope that it will inspire others to engage in space-science outreach beyond 2009.

See the website here: http://siriusalgeria.net/sirius09.htm

The World At Night confirms plans for 2010

23 February 2010

Exhibitions
TWAN travelling exhibitions will continue in the US, Canada, Iran, Chile, Korea, Hungary, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, and Hong Kong. Several new countries will host TWAN exhibitions including China, UAE, and Iceland. The first major TWAN exhibition and workshop in the Middle East will be in Zanjan, Iran, in March 2010. The exhibit will include over 35 large light boxes and 40 other 1-2 metre mounted prints. TWAN image are also contributing to "1001 Inventions: Discover the forgotten story of 1000 years of science from the Muslim world" (http://www.1001inventions.com/) in National Science Museum, London, which began in January 2010.

Publications

A TWAN book/exhibition catalogue in Korea was completed in January. March 2010 will see a TWAN and landscape astrophotography feature article in BBC's Sky At Night magazine. Discover magazine is featuring a short interview about TWAN and landscape astrophotography with TWAN director in April 2010. And in the Autumn a TWAN book will be released in Germany.

Media
There is a growing collaboration with National Geographic's website. TWAN contributes as a source of night sky images. The film "Acquainted With the Night" by a Canadian film company, in production now and will include a section about TWAN. Also, a TWAN TV documentary starts production in summer 2010.

Tours
TWAN tours to see and photograph stunning night skies from most beautiful landscapes start in autumn 2010. The first considered destinations are Nepal, Chile, and Canada.

Website
New images, reports, and newsletter every two to three weeks. New sections allow for more interaction with visitors.

Contests
The winners of IYA2009 International Earth and Sky Photo Contest will be announced in February 2010. New TWAN contests are planned for the Global Astronomy Month project of Astronomers Without Borders.

Visit the TWAN website here: http://www.twanight.org/

Join the Globe at Night 2010 campaign: March 3-16!

22 February 2010

Less of Our Light for More Star Light: Join the 5th worldwide Globe at Night 2010 campaign: March 3-16!

What: The Globe at Night Campaign

When: 8pm to 10pm local time, March 3-16, 2010

Where: Everywhere

Who: You! (Everyone!)

How: See http://www.globeatnight.org

Why:

Globe at Night is an annual 2-week campaign in March that helps to address the light pollution issue locally as well as globally. This year the campaign is March 3-16, 2010. You are invited along with everyone all over the world to record the brightness of your night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Orion with star maps of progressively fainter stars found at http://www.globeatnight.org/observe_magnitude.html. You then submit your measurements on-line at http://www.globeatnight.org/report.html with your date, time and location. A few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide. Over the last four 2-week Globe at Night campaigns, volunteers from over 100 nations have contributed 35,000 measurements.

To learn the five easy steps to participate in the Globe at Night program, see the Globe at Night website at http://www.globeatnight.org. You can listen to our 10-minute audio podcast on light pollution and Globe at Night at http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/02/03/february-3rd-the-globe-at-night-campaign-our-light-or-starlight/

For activities that have children explore what light pollution is, what its effects are on wildlife and how to prepare for participating in the Globe at Night campaign, see the new activities at http://www.darkskiesawareness.org/DarkSkiesRangers.

Monitoring our environment will allow us as citizen-scientists to identify and preserve the dark sky oases in cities and locate areas where light pollution is increasing. All it takes is a few minutes during the March 2010 campaign to measure sky brightness and contribute those observations on-line. Help us exceed the 15,000 observations contributed last year. Your measurements will make a world of difference.

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