IYA2009 Updates

30 October 2009

Register for Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010!
The 'Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010' (CAP2010) conference will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 15 to 19 March, 2010. Following the previous conferences in this series, it aims to address the modern challenges in astronomy communication through a global perspective. Major themes of CAP2010 will be the outcome and legacy of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) as well as techniques for how to make public astronomical knowledge global and accessible to everyone across national, language, political, social and cultural borders and to those with impairment limitations. For more information and important dates, please visit: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/569/

Canada surpasses goal of 1,000,000 Galileo moments
Late on 27 October 2009 the Canadian IYA2009 partnership of amateur and professional astronomers and their many collaborators saw the "Galileo Moment" surpass the goal of having at least 1,000,000 Canadians enjoy an engaging astronomical experience during IYA2009. For more, see: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/564/

The EYE 3D - Life and Research on Cerro Paranal
The production companies parallax raumprojektion and fact&film, in close cooperation with ESO, have produced a unique 3D documentary about the most powerful visible-light telescope in the world, ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). One of the world's largest telescopes, capable of taking some of the sharpest pictures of the night sky, the VLT is located in a breathtaking, arid environment, providing astronomers with superb sky conditions as they study the deep Universe. For more information and a trailer, please see: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/562/

Infinite suns, innumerable worlds: a special event held in Rome
"Infinite Suns exist. Innumerable worlds orbit those Suns, like the seven planets orbit our Sun. These worlds are inhabited by living beings". With these words, in 1584 Giordano Bruno foresaw by centuries one of the most fascinating frontiers of current research in astrophysics, the search for extrasolar planets, and also because of this idea he was accused of heresy. Just in the same place where the great Italian philosopher was burned at the stake, the historic square Campo dei Fiori, the Planetarium of Rome presented a public event called "Infinite Suns, Innumerable Worlds" on 8 October from 8:30pm to midnight. See more here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/570/

The contribution of space science to astronomy
In the context of IYA2009, COSPAR is organising a symposium entitled "The Contribution of Space Science to Astronomy". Open to the general public, this symposium is co-organised by UNESCO. It is one of the closing events of IYA2009 and will be held on 14 and 15 January 20010 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. More information: http://www.iap.fr/cospar-iya/index_en.html

Latin-American astronomy journal helps improve education
Education is a vital part of society, and journals are an important way of disseminating information and best practises. A journal dedicated to astronomy education in Latin America is at the forefront of this effort. Aiming to reverse an apparent trend toward scientific illiteracy while enhancing debate within the science communication field, the Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education is valuable reading material for many. Visit the journal's website here: http://www.astro.iag.usp.br/~foton/relea/english/index.htm

United Nations report for the International Heliophysical Year 2007 released
The book about the international aspects and achievements of the "International Heliophysical Year (IHY) 2007" can be regarded as a compendium of the fertile impacts of conducting research in this field. The main focus is international cooperation, which has emerged from this grassroots initiative. North and South, industrialised and developing countries have been coordinating their efforts and have been learning from each other in a mutual partnership under a joint understanding of sharing the scientific benefits. Through this, trans-border networks have been created and scientific as well as cultural exchange took place. For more information, please see: http://www.springer.com/springerwiennewyork/engineering/book/978-3-211-99179-4

Hungarian IYA2009-themed stamp design wins award
PostEurop, the association of European public postal operators, decided to mark IYA2009 by selecting astronomy as the theme of its 2009 stamp competition. Hungarian designer Peter Nagy emerged successful with a composition featuring a portrait of Galileo, a spacecraft, and Jupiter with its Galilean satellites. More information is available here: http://english.mti.hu/default.asp?menu=1&theme=2&cat=25&newsid=265195

Astronomy cartoons in Spain
The famous characters of Quino (Argentina), Schulz (USA) and some of the best Spanish cartoon artists (Forges, Ramón, Mingote, Jiménez) celebrate IYA2009. Mafalda, Charlie Brown, Manolito, Hipo, Popo... wonder about the great mysteries of the Universe in a series of cartoons donated by their creators. They share in this way their talent to communicate astronomy during this special year. See http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/563/ for more.

StarPeace newsletter
Read it here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/561/

Scientific American's in-depth report about Galileo and IYA2009
The magazine Scientific American has released an in-depth report about Galileo and The International Year of Astronomy 2009. It looks at the legacy of Galileo Galilei, 400 years after the Italian astronomer turned his spyglass toward the heavens. Read more here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/report.cfm?id=galileo-iya-1609

European Society for Astronomy in Culture Conference
In an attempt to revive the astronomy vital role in our 21st century high technology culture, the European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC) will hold its 17th annual meeting on 4-10 October 2009 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), Alexandria, Egypt. This event will be an International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) activity. SEAC 2009 is to demonstrate the chronological evolution of astronomy throughout history and the rising and falling of different civilizations. SEAC 2009 has chosen the BA as located on the Mediterranean coast at the meeting point of Eastern and Western civilization. The conference organizing committee will allocate a day open to the public to present the conference's outcomes and the speakers' experiences in the field of astronomy. More information: http://www.archeoastronomy.org/

Presidential IYA2009 in Iran
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given a speech during the 3rd International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad in Tehran. Pointing to designation of 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, he said holding of such scientific events as the present Olympiad provided a chance for young scientists to develop a more vivid vision of man's future. More information about the 3rd International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad: http://ioaa2009.ir/

Twitter Moonwatch 26/27 October
As part of Autumn Moonwatch (24 October - 01 November 2009), IYA2009 in the UK, in association with Newbury Astronomical Society, ran Twitter Moonwatch on the evenings of 26 and 27 October 2009. See http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/557/ for more.

Report from the Women in Astronomy and Space Science conference
Read the report by Dr. Hashima Hasan (NASA IYA2009 Single Point of Contact) here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/556/

International Earth and Sky Photo Contest on Dark Skies Importance
Two global projects of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, The World at Night and Dark Skies Awareness, jointly organise the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest. Participating photographs should focus on TWAN style. Therefore the photos must combine some elements of the night sky (e.g., stars, planets, the Moon or celestial events) set against the backdrop of a beautiful, historic, or notable location or landmark somewhere in the World. They must show both the Earth and the Sky. This style of photography is called "landscape astrophotography". More information: http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/news.asp?newsID=6029

Infinite suns, innumerable worlds: a special event held in Rome

30 October 2009

"Infinite Suns exist. Innumerable worlds orbit those Suns, like the seven planets orbit our Sun. These worlds are inhabited by living beings". With these words, in 1584 Giordano Bruno foresaw by centuries one of the most fascinating frontiers of current research in astrophysics, the search for extrasolar planets, and also because of this idea he was accused of heresy. Just in the same place where the great Italian philosopher was burned at the stake, the historic square Campo dei Fiori, the Planetarium of Rome presented a public event called "Infinite Suns, Innumerable Worlds" on 8 October from 8:30pm to midnight.

More than 1000 people crowded Campo dei Fiori to attend. The evening started off with the evocative scene of the fire enveloping the statue of Giordano Bruno and a reconstruction of his theories and his ill fated story by journalist Corrado Augias and music by Fabio Tricomi. Afterwards the focus lifted off from the statue up to the sky in order to detect, even among the lights of Rome, the new Suns.

Throughout the evening the public was involved in an ambitious astronomical observation: the detection of the transit of a distant extrasolar planet, TrES-3b, in front of its Sun's disk. In a symbolic way, this observation gives finally justice to Giordano Bruno, marking the climax of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Rome.

The event was realised with the contribution of INAF - National Institute for Astrophysics, the patronage of the Municipality of Rome and the Sovrintendenza ai Beni Culturali of Rome. Special thanks to ACEA spa for switching off the public illumination and to Auriga spa for providing the telescopes for public observing.

Planetarium website: http://www.planetarioroma.it/

Register for Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010

30 October 2009

The 'Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010' (CAP2010) conference will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 15 to 19 March, 2010. Following the previous conferences in this series, it aims to address the modern challenges in astronomy communication through a global perspective. Major themes of CAP2010 will be the outcome and legacy of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) as well as techniques for how to make public astronomical knowledge global and accessible to everyone across national, language, political, social and cultural borders and to those with impairment limitations.

Important Dates
Abstract Deadline: 1 November 2009
Registration Deadline: 15 November 2009

Rationale
This conference builds on the astounding success of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). It will bring together producers of astronomical information (research scientists), public information officers (connected with large observatories and space missions), and mediators (science reporters and writers, staff members from museums, planetariums). CAP2010 will focus on the outcome of the IYA2009 activities, their evaluation and plans for future work. Furthermore, as this meeting will be held in South Africa, another major theme will be 'stimulating astronomy communication in the emerging world'.

Some of the key topics of CAP2010 are:
- Reports from IYA2009 National Nodes, Organisational Nodes, Cornerstone Projects and Special Projects with an emphasis on the IYA2009 legacy
- Challenges and successes: Case studies from around the world
- Crowdsourcing/Citizen science projects
- Communicating in the social networking/Web 2.0 mediascape: twitter/youtube/facebook/vodcasting
- Audiovisual & multimedia communication incl. tools and techniques
- New ways to exploit and visualize astronomical data
- Social impact of astronomy communication
- Alternative ways of communicating astronomy
- EPO Clearinghouses: Portal to the Universe, COMpadre, etc.
- Evaluation of IYA2009 and lessons for the future
- Communicating across national, language, political, social and cultural borders

'Astronomy communication 101' courses
One of the specific goals of CAP2010 is to create an IYA2009 legacy by actively promoting astronomy communication in the Developing World and this will feature throughout the meeting. Linked to, but not directly part of CAP2010, will be an "Astronomy communication 101" school directed at participants from the Developing World. Selected conference participants will be invited speakers. This school will take place over 3 days from 10th to 12th March 2010, just before the main conference, at the South African Astronomical Observatory.

For more details on the courses and the conference in general, please visit: http://www.communicatingastronomy.org/cap2010/index.html

The registration form is available on: http://www.communicatingastronomy.org/cap2010/registration.html

The Contribution of Space Science to Astronomy

30 October 2009

The contribution of space science to astronomy In the context of IYA2009, COSPAR is organising a symposium entitled "The Contribution of Space Science to Astronomy". Open to the general public, this symposium is co-organised by UNESCO. It is one of the closing events of IYA2009 and will be held on 14 and 15 January 20010 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

More information: http://www.iap.fr/cospar-iya/index_en.html

Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education helps improve astronomy education.

30 October 2009

Education is a vital part of society, and journals are an important way of disseminating information and best practises. A journal dedicated to astronomy education in Latin America is at the forefront of this effort. Aiming to reverse an apparent trend toward scientific illiteracy while enhancing debate within the science communication field, the Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education is valuable reading material for many.

Visit the journal's website here: http://www.astro.iag.usp.br/~foton/relea/english/index.htm

The book about the international aspects and achievements of the “International Heliophysical Year

30 October 2009

The book about the international aspects and achievements of the "International Heliophysical Year (IHY) 2007" can be regarded as a compendium of the fertile impacts of conducting research in this field. The main focus is international cooperation, which has emerged from this grassroots initiative. North and South, industrialised and developing countries have been coordinating their efforts and have been learning from each other in a mutual partnership under a joint understanding of sharing the scientific benefits. Through this, trans-border networks have been created and scientific as well as cultural exchange took place.

Another focus of the book shows, how much astronomy contributes to the basis of knowledge society as today's concept for mastering the future. Heliophysics has been and will be attracting large numbers of young people to enter an education and career in science and engineering. Such attractions we desperately need in all countries around the world, and we have to appreciate initiatives like IHY, which are successful in raising awareness, interest and fascination.

For more information, please see: http://www.springer.com/springerwiennewyork/engineering/book/978-3-211-99179-4

Hungarian IYA2009-themed stamp design wins award

30 October 2009

PostEurop, the association of European public postal operators, decided to mark IYA2009 by selecting astronomy as the theme of its 2009 stamp competition. Hungarian designer Peter Nagy emerged successful with a composition featuring a portrait of Galileo, a spacecraft, and Jupiter with its Galilean satellites.

More information is available here: http://english.mti.hu/default.asp?menu=1&theme=2&cat=25&newsid=265195

Canada Surpasses Goal of 1,000,000 Galileo Moments

29 October 2009

Late on 27 October 2009 the Canadian IYA2009 partnership of amateur and professional astronomers and their many collaborators saw our "Galileo Moment" meter (see http://www.astronomie2009.ca/) surpass our goal of having at least 1,000,000 Canadians enjoy an engaging astronomical experience during the IYA2009. When we set the ambitious goal back in 2007 we were unsure if it were achievable. That it has been met with two more months to go is a sign of the unprecedented success of IYA2009 in Canada - and a sign of the hard work and dedication of thousands of volunteers throughout the country who have created and delivered (and continue doing so) amazingly diverse events of very high quality in their communities. While certainly savouring this fleeting moment of success, we are increasingly turning our focus to ensuring the legacies of IYA2009 by building upon the many new connections and partnerships formed.

Astronomy cartoons in Spain

28 October 2009

The famous characters of Quino (Argentina), Schulz (USA) and some of the best Spanish cartoon artists (Forges, Ramón, Mingote, Jiménez) celebrate IYA2009. Mafalda, Charlie Brown, Manolito, Hipo, Popo... wonder about the great mysteries of the Universe in a series of cartoons donated by their creators. They share in this way their talent to communicate Astronomy during this special year.

The cartoons, together with other related Astronomy material, are shown in a special travelling
exhibit which has just been inaugurated on October 25th in the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos (Tenerife, Spain), the promoter of this special initiative. This is one of the Spanish emblematic IYA2009 national projects.

Most of the material belonging to the exhibit (including 11 out of all 12 cartoons) is available in the Spanish IYA2009 portal web. Two interviews with Forges and Ramón can also be found there. More information: http://www.astronomia2009.es/Noticias_AIA-IYA2009/Ya_esta_aqui:_Astronomia_en_Vinetas.html

The EYE 3D — Life and Research on Cerro Paranal

28 October 2009

The production companies parallax raumprojektion and fact&film, in In close cooperation with ESO, have produced a unique 3D documentary about the most powerful visible-light telescope in the world, ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). One of the world's largest telescopes, capable of taking some of the sharpest pictures of the night sky, the VLT is located in a breathtaking, arid environment, providing astronomers with superb sky conditions as they study the deep Universe.

This IYA2009 Special Project, The EYE 3D - Life and Research on Cerro Paranal, stars the young scientist and ESOcast host Joe Liske. In June 2009, the German film crew who specialise in making 3D movies accompanied Dr J on a trip from ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany, to the landscapes of the Atacama Desert in the North of Chile, one of the driest sites on Earth and home to the VLT observatory.

The film was co-financed by the film subsidy agencies of the German federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bremen, several charitable and public organisations and ESO. It has been appointed Special Project of the International Year of Astronomy.

The EYE 3D, directed by Nikolai Vialkowitsch, will have its world premiere on Wednesday 28 October 2009 at the Film Festival in Biberach, Germany. It will be shown in 3D theatres across Germany from 29 October 2009 and all over Europe later this year. An international version in English language is available, and further translations in other European languages are in production.

More information:

The movie's ESO web page: http://www.eso.org/public/events/special-evt/theeye/index.html
The movie's web page: http://www.theeye3d.eu
The EYE 3D press kit (German, PDF, 13.8 MB): http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/products/publ/brochures/pdf/theeye_de_lowres.pdf

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