IYA2009 Updates

Official IYA2009 comic, “The Lives of Galileo”, goes from strength to strength

15 September 2009

Everybody is familiar with the name of Galileo. But what do we know about him? Artist and author Fiami decided to answer this question in an accessible way by creating a well-illustrated and factually accurate comic providing a tour through the history of astronomy across Babylon, Alexandria, Kusumapura, Venice, Greenwich, and a classroom in 2009.

This IYA2009-endorsed comic has enjoyed much success of late. Already available in English, French, Dutch, Finnish, and Galician, an Italian version will be out soon and Fiami has just received the first Thaï translation, from Chiang Mai University.

Fiami's work is even being used by the Musée d'histoire des sciences de Genève. Their Galileo exhibition, running since 13 May until 31 December, features large poster boards of Fiami's illustrations and text, adding an additional layer to the more conventional exhibits.

SwissTV have also seized the opportunity of using The Lives of Galileo to educate a wide audience. This autumn they will be showing six broadcasts adapted from the comic.

Copies of The Lives of Galileo are attractively priced, and available to purchase directly from Fiami: http://www.fiami.ch/

 Additional Musée d'histoire des sciences de Genève information:
http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhs/expo_2009_galilee.php
http://www.fiami.ch/EINSTEIN/musee_expo.html

Telescope amnesty beats the weather to attract an eager audience

15 September 2009

The Michiana Astronomical Society from Indiana, U.S.A, realised that many people in their community possessed telescopes but did not know how to use them. In support of IYA2009's aim to make the Universe accessible to all, they decided to take action.

The idea, recently put into action, was to run an all-day drop-in event where anyone could bring their underused telescopes, learn how to use them, and, if necessary, have them repaired by expert volunteers.

Adding to this, the organisers planned to run sidewalk astronomy events. Unfortunately heavy rain prevented this from occurring, although a portable planetarium and hands-on educators helped to keep the information and enthusiasm flowing despite the bad weather. An empty storefront area was also borrowed for educational activities.

Every 15 minutes or so a new person would arrive with a telescope in need of attention. Some had damaged telescopes, several had been assembled incorrectly, and a great many people simply wanted a lesson on how to correctly use them. Thanks to this group of keen amateurs, now more people are getting the most from the sky.

The Michiana Astronomical Society encourages other amateur organisations to run similar events, reintroducing telescopes into the lives of would-be stargazers.

To see images of the event, please visit: http://www.lettherebenight.com/telescope.html

Author Bob Crelin promotes IYA2009 on US TV

14 September 2009

Eyewitness News 3 on WFSB has made available online an interview with IYA2009 supporter and author Bob Crelin. During this, Bob talks about IYA2009 and his educational book, "Faces of the Moon".

Since its launch on 1 July 2009, the book has helped many children, and indeed adults, to understand why the Moon has different phases as seen from Earth. Written in rhyming verse and with illustrations by Leslie Evans, it is an enjoyable interactive lesson about our nearest celestial neighbour.

Bob is also a member of the IYA2009 Dark Skies Working Group, and his children's book/DVD, "There Once Was a Sky Full of Stars" is used as an outreach resource for public education on dark skies.

View the video here: http://www.wfsb.com/video/20264638/index.html
Visit Bob's website here: http://www.bobcrelin.com/

TWAN Update

14 September 2009

IYA2009 Update

12 September 2009

365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Wins Prestigious Parsec Award

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast, an official podcast IYA2009, won the prestigious Parsec Award for Best Infotainment Podcast on 5 September. This community-produced podcast brings together the voices of astronomers and astronomy lovers all around the world. Each day a different voice discusses their favourite corner of astronomy. The show can be found at www.365DaysofAstronomy.org

The World at Night attracts media coverage
The World At Night (TWAN) is a special project of IYA2009. It exhibits a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world's most beautiful and historic sites against a nighttime backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events. NewsHour, a long-standing and respected Public Broadcasting System programme, has given coverage to TWAN. This includes feature videos available to view online: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/share.html?s=news01pb58

Rare Saturn ring plane crossing occurred during IYA2009
On 4 September, an impressive cosmic coincidence took place. For Earth-bound observers, Saturn's rings will appeared edge on. As they are so thin compared to the planet, they effectively seemed to disappear from view. So, the ringed planet appeared ringless! These occurrences are infrequent, with the next not happening until 23 March 2025. For more information about Saturn's rings and plane crossings, please visit: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/saturn/faq.html

Astronomy webcast from Bareket Observatory available online
Israel's Bareket Observatory recently hosted a live webcast, exploring the amazing objects within, and indeed beyond, our Solar System. To help as many people as possible view the footage, event organisers recorded the entire broadcast and have now made it available to view online. The source file can even be downloaded to view at any time. To see the video, please follow the link: http://live-internet-telescope.com/

IYA2009 News Round-up

12 September 2009

The BBC has made another video about IYA2009. Called "She's an astronomer: A typical day", it follows a day in the life of Dr Catherine Heymans, from the Royal Observatory at Edinburgh University's Institute of Astronomy. Go to 1:03 and note her novel monitor stand. She's an innovative one! Watch the video NOW.

Next to SFGate, apparently home of the San Francisco Chronicle. Astronomers of both professional and amateur variety are meeting in Millbrae for public observing through telescopes and also talks about hot topics in space science. Respect to the article for mentioning IYA2009 in the opening paragraph. No footnotes for IYA2009 when SFGate is concerned!

Appropriately named The Comet has run a story about the UK's Letchworth and District Astronomical Society holding a public star party, featuring their very own observatory. Tantalisingly, "refreshments" will be on sale. Specifics aren't given, but we can only hope for a killer cake / pie combination.

Across the pond and in the States, YourWestValley is advertising an astrophoto exhibition called ""Focus on the Universe: A Photographic Exhibit Celebrating the International Year of Astronomy". There are 35 images in total, enough to cover some of the most interesting phenomena out there in the depths of spaaaace. The accompanying picture shows a man who is *very* happy to be pointing at a picture of a nebula.

Congratulations to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, who have won the 2009 Parsec Award for the Best "Infotainment" podcast. And congratulations to Universe Today for covering this story. There were 50 nominated shows but 365DoA beat the competition to win first place. Is that the best picture they have of the trophy? Looks like they've laid it out flat on the carpet and snapped it with a mobile phone.

Finally, Shetland Times has a rather lovely walkthrough of the night sky for beginner stargazers. What to see and how to observe is discussed, along with a plug for Shetland Astronomical Society's IYA2009 activities. "Specifically this month, on the 21st, at the Asta Golf Clubhouse, there is an observing session be­tween 7pm and 10pm - remember to take your telescope or binoculars." It's not clear whether golf clubs are also needed. 

Well, that's your weekly fix of news snippets. Remember to check local news outlets for non-English language stories.    

365 Days of Astronomy Podcast Wins Prestigious Parsec Award

9 September 2009

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast, an official podcast of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), won the prestigious Parsec Award for Best Infotainment Podcast on September 5. This community-produced podcast brings together the voices of astronomers and astronomy lovers all around the world. Each day a different voice discusses their favorite corner of astronomy. The show can be found at 365DaysofAstronomy.org

The 365 Days of Astronomy (365 DoA) podcast is unique in how it brings together listener-created content to produce each daily show. "365 Days of Astronomy is a testament to the passion and knowledge that many people have about astronomy and space exploration," says 365 DoA team member Davin Flateau. "The daily podcasts are produced not only by scientists and educators, but also by many people who just want to share their excitement about the Universe. Listening to such diverse perspectives on my computer and music player continues to be a daily treat."

Contributors to 365 DoA include Diane Duane (author of the Middle Kingdoms series), Brother Guy Consolmangno (Vatican Observatory), Dr. Ed Stone (JPL, Voyager mission), and Dr. Chris Lintott (Sky at Night and Galaxy Zoo). The show has also featured interviews with Michael Turner (cosmologist, winner of the Lilienfeld prize), Tim Russ (Tuvok from Star Trek), and Robert Zubrin (Mars Direct).

"365 Days of Astronomy is undeniably the most ambitious and successful daily user-contributed podcast in history," says Michael Koppelman. "It really speaks volumes to the enthusiasm that people have for science and astronomy." Koppelman, along with Dr. Pamela Gay, are co-chairs of the IYA2009 New Media Task Group and are part of the 365 DoA production team.

The 365 DoA podcast has strived to be international in what it presents. "The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast has given the global astronomical community a voice," says British team member Rob Simpson. "In response they have shown themselves to be creative, insightful and entertaining; providing us daily with novel and interesting tales on a wide range of topics. It has really shown how online media can provide a whole new way of listening and participating, and can break down barriers in lots of ways."

The Parsec Award itself is an international award, with recipients coming from all around the globe.The 365 DoA team received their Parsec Award at the Dragon*Con convention in Atlanta. The award was accepted by George Hrab, composer of the show's theme song. (The 365 DoA theme song, "Far," can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF2HG1PVZok.) The 365 DoA podcast was one of five finalists for this award, with 50 shows receiving nominations.

"Although it is just three years old, the Parsec Awards have quickly become one of the most recognizable honors in science and fiction podcasting," said Gay. "To have our community production receive this award was an amazing experience. This is everyone's award."

Key contributors include Nancy Atkinson, Georgia Bracey, Davin Flateau, Kortney Hogan, Michael Koppelman, Emily Lakdawalla, Stuart Lowe, Martin Ratcliffe, and Robert Simpson. The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the New Media Working Group of th International Year of Astronomy 2009 at Southern Illinois University

Edwardsville, with audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth is donated by libsyn.com and Wizzard Media. Web design is by Clockwork Active Media Systems. Podcasts maybe reproduced and distributed for non-commercial purposes.

The Parsec Awards were established in 2006 by Mur Lafferty, Michael R. Mennenga, and Tracy Hickman to celebrate speculative fiction podcasting. Podcast shows are nominated by fans, and finalists are chosen by an annually-selected steering committee. An independent panel of judges then votes upon those finalists. Awards are given in several categories, ranging from content to audio quality. The Parsec

Awards are presented with the support of Farpoint Media in conjunction with Dragon*Con. For more details, see the Parsec Awards website at parsecawards.com.

Note: the entire 365 Days of Astronomy team can be reached at info@365daysofastronomy.org

TWAN attracts media coverage

7 September 2009

The World at Night attracts media coverage

The World At Night (TWAN) is a special project of IYA2009. It exhibits a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world's most beautiful and historic sites against a nighttime backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events.

NewsHour, a long-standing and respected Public Broadcasting System programme, has given coverage to TWAN. This includes feature videos available to view online: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/share.html?s=news01pb58

Saturn ring-plane crossing

4 September 2009

Rare Saturn ring plane crossing occurs during IYA2009

On 4 September, an impressive cosmic coincidence will take place. For Earth-bound observers, Saturn's rings will appear edge on. As they are so thin compared to the planet, they effectively seem to disappear from view. So, the ringed planet will appear ringless! These occurrences are infrequent, with the next not happening until 23 March 2025.

For more information about Saturn's rings and plane crossings, please visit: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/saturn/faq.html

Bareket Observatory webcast

4 September 2009

Astronomy webcast from Bareket Observatory available online

Israel's Bareket Observatory recently hosted a live webcast, exploring the amazing objects within, and indeed beyond, our Solar System. To help as many people as possible view the footage, event organisers recorded the entire broadcast and have now made it available to view online. The source file can even be downloaded to view at any time.

To see the video, please follow the link: http://live-internet-telescope.com/

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