IYA2009 Updates

Best practice guidelines for outreach activities targeted at schools and teachers

24 September 2010

The Europlanet Outreach Team and Steering Committee have teamed up with the Galileo Teacher Training Programme (GTTP) to produce this set of best practice guidelines for outreach activities targeted at schools and teachers. 

 Please feel free to share it with others that may have an interest in developing their communication skills: http://www.europlanet-eu.org/outreach/images/stories/best_practice_guide_schools.pdf

A new TWAN publication is released: Zauber der Sterne (Magic of Stars)

24 September 2010

MEARIM-2: the 2nd Middle-East and Africa Regional

24 September 2010

IAU Meeting

Cape Town Ritz Hotel, South Africa   April 10-15, 2011

The last decade has seen revolutionary advances in astronomical capabilities within the Middle-East and Africa. In particular, the completion of HESS and SALT, together with the construction of KAT-7 and the bid to host the SKA, has transformed the region, bringing world-class capability in ultra-high energy gamma-rays, optical/near-IR and radio wavelengths to southern Africa. The timing is thus ideal for MEARIM-2, to build on these developments and to exploit them for the benefit of the entire region. The latter requires huge effort on the education and outreach front, which will be a significant topic at the meeting.

The Scientific Organizing Committee is taking shape, and organization plans are advancing rapidly. Details can be found at the conference web site: http://mearim2.saao.ac.za

The conference organizing supporters are the IAU and the South African SKA Project (and we hope to receive support from the SALT Foundation and South Africa's National Research Foundation and Department of Science and Technology). In this official announcement, we are contacting you with information on important deadlines, and inviting you to register, and submit an abstract for one of the science sessions listed below.

SCIENCE SESSION TOPICS

S1: Galaxies and Large-Scale Structure

S2: Space Astronomy&  High Energy Astrophysics

S3: Sun, Stellar Interiors&  Heliosphere

S4: Virtual Observatory&  Data Handling (including the African VO, pipeline processing, archival research)

S5: Optical/NIR Telescopes&  Instrumentation (including SALT, robotic facilities)

S6: Astronomy for the Developing World (linked to the IAU plan)

  A - Astronomy Research/Cooperation in Space/Education in Africa

  B - Training for MEA young astronomers

S7: Radio Telescopes&  Instrumentation (including SKA, MeerKAT, HartRAO, C-BASS, PAPER)

S8: Stellar Astrophysics&  Galactic Structure:

  A - stellar evolution

  B - interacting binaries

  C - star formation

S9: Planetary Astronomy&  Exoplanets

S10: Theoretical Cosmology

S11: Observational Cosmology

FORMAT

Participants would arrive by the Sunday afternoon when there will be a welcome reception that evening at SAAO. It is then planned to cover the sessions listed above over the following 5 days, with the mid-week (Wednesday) afternoon free for excursions and other activities. In order to maximise interactions between different fields, there will be morning plenary (including invited) talks and the remainder in parallel sessions, with the detailed scheduling amongst the session topics to be decided based on the abstracts submitted.

Conference Hotel and Accommodation

The conference will take place at the Cape Town Ritz Hotel, located in Sea Point, Cape Town, very close to the promenade, and with access to the V&A Waterfront area. Full details can be found at http://www.africanskyhotels.com/hotels/cape-town-ritz-hotel

A set of rooms has been reserved at the hotel for conference participants at very favourable rates, which will be available until the end of this year (or until fully booked!).

Rooms can be secured at this special rate by using reservation code "SAAO": . R650.00 per single room per night (incl. breakfast&  taxes). R750.00 per double room per night (incl. breakfast&  taxes)

You have to book your room directly with the hotel by contacting Micky Rudolph by email at ritz@africanskyhotel.com or by phone on +27 (0)21 439 1162.

Sharing Rooms

We have also set up a system on the registration page through which participants interested in finding room-mates can pair up.

More accommodation options can be found on the Cape Town Tourism website at http://www.capetown.travel/accommodation/

REGISTRATION FEE

The deadline for early registration is February 1, 2011. The early-registration fee is equal to R2500 (R3000 for later registrations). This fee will cover the conference room, all coffee breaks, lunches, the reception on the evening of April 10, and the proceedings.

If you need to cancel your registration, the LOC must be notified by 15 March 2011 for a refund of registration costs (less a R200.00 processing fee).

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Limited financial support is available, preferentially to support students and those presenting an oral or poster paper. A completed application, which is part of the registration form, must be received by 15 November 2010.

IMPORTANT DATES/DEADLINES:

22 September 2010    Registration opens

15 November 2010    Abstract submission&  financial support application deadline

31 December 2010    Deadline for hotel bookings at conference rate

1 February 2011      Early bird registration closes

15 March 2011       Registration closes (earlier if meeting is oversubscribed)

SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

This is still being constructed, but will essentially bring together the organisers of the parallel science sessions. Those committed so far, together with their relevant sessions (and session panel members) are:

Phil Charles (chair)

Erwin de Blok       S1   (Renee Kraan-Korteweg, Hartmut Winkler, David Block)

Piet Meintjies      S2   (Okkie de Jager, Ramotholo Sefako)

Thebe Medupe       S3   (Chris Engelbrecht, Stefan Ferreira)

Sudhanshu Barway     S4   (Steve Crawford)

David Buckley       S5   (Darragh O'Donoghue)

Kevin Govender      S6A  (Carolina Odman)

Peter Dunsby       S6B  (Patricia Whitelock)

Justin Jonas       S7   (Roy Booth, Anja Schroeder)

Patricia Whitelock    S8A  (Mike Feast)

Patrick Woudt       S8B  (Brian Warner, Phil Charles, Steve Potter)

Amanda Gulbis       S9   (John Menzies)

Chris Clarkson      S10  (Peter Dunsby)

Kavi Moodley       S11  (Bruce Bassett)

Ahmed Hady       MEARIM-1 co-ordinator

and we are hoping for involvement in all the session panels from astronomers throughout the MEA region, as well as from the IAU itself. We welcome further volunteers to join the session panels.

Please contact relevant SOC members above with suggestions/proposals regarding potential plenary topics/speakers and content for the parallel sessions.

LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Phil Charles

Shireen Davis (chair)

Simon Fishley

Thembela Mantungwa

Nazli Mohamed

Glenda Snowball

The World at Night Newsletter

21 September 2010

News and Report

• New TWAN Events in September and October 2010: The World at Night exhibitions travel across the world from the European Astronomy Meeting in Lisbon, to Stockholm and Pecs, to Shiraz in Iran, and to Pasadena in California.
• Photo Report: TWAN Exhibition in ALCON 2010: The traveling exhibition of The World at Night photos was on display for the first time in Arizona in June 2010.
• Solve a Mystery: Each month TWAN brings you a photo with a mystery. Share your thoughts with us and our global viewers. The explanation or the final conclusion will be posted at the month’s end. This program is a collaboration with Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (UAP) international project.
• New Topics Galleries:  Each month there will be new topical galleries on TWAN to make searching through TWAN enlarging archive easier. The new topical galleries are Moon, Milky Way, Meteors, Comets, Eclipses, Aurora, and stunning Virtual Reality animations of night sky.
• The Guest Gallery reached the milestone of 500 images from around the world.
• Join TWAN fans on Facebook: Learn about the latest updates on the project and communicate with TWAN photographers at The World at Night page on Facebook page.
• Host a TWAN event: TWAN events have travelled to about 30 countries since 2008. New planning for TWAN exhibits and educational workshops is started and we seek for the best venues around the world with interest to host TWAN events in 2010 and beyond. Contact us

Latest Photos and Videos

There are new stunning photos and time-lapse videos on the TWAN website, featuring starry nights of our planet's landmarks from around the world:

Africa

Spain

- Sky Rotation above Teide Observatory  by Stefan Seip

- Telescopes of Tenerife  by Stefan Seip

- Sky Photographers in Tenerife  by Stefan Seip

- Sky above Teide Volcano  by Juan Carlos Casado

Tanzania

- Kilimanjaro Fireball  by Kwon O Chul

- Zodiacal Light from Slopes of Kilimanjaro  by Kwon O Chul

- African Galaxy  by Kwon O Chul

Americas

Canada

- Alberta Moonrise  by Yuichi Takasaka

- Celestial Trails above Payto Lake  by Yuichi Takasaka

- Meteor Train in Motion  (VR/video)  by Yuichi Takasaka

- Circumpolar Trails above Canadian Rockies  by Yuichi Takasaka

- Waterfall Moonbow  by Yuichi Takasaka

Chile

- The Site for Future Giant Telescope  by Serge Brunier

- Rising above Altiplano  (VR/video)  by Stephane Guisard

- Meteor above the Very Large Telescope  by Stephane Guisard

- Patagonia Meteor  by Stephane Guisard

- Night Colors of Patagonia  by Stephane Guisard

Ecuador

- Fireball at the Celestial Pole  by Stephane Guisard

USA

- Galactic View of Mount Shasta  by Wally Pacholka

- Stellafane Shooting Star  by Dennis di Cicco

- Jupiter above Mount Shasta  by Wally Pacholka

- Sky Above St. Helens  by Wally Pacholka

- Jupiter Rises above Oregon  by Wally Pacholka

- Milky Way Creek  by Wally Pacholka

- Meteor and Aldebaran  by Wally Pacholka

Australia and Pacific

Chile

- Moon and Pleiades above the Easter Island  by Stephane Guisard

Cook Islands

- Planets and Zodiacal Light  by Tunc Tezel

- Heavenly View above the Pacific Ocean  by Tunc Tezel

- Island Universe  by Tunc Tezel

Europe

Finland

- Squashed Sun  by Pekka Parviainen

France

- The Celestial Ball  by Laurent Laveder

- Moon Clock  by Laurent Laveder

Hungary

- Star Trails and Flower Fields in Hungary  by Tamas Ladanyi

- Meteor and Milky Way  by Tamas Ladanyi

- Deer, Oak Tree, and the Moon  by Tamas Ladanyi

- Perseid Meteors above Hungary  by Tamas Ladanyi

- Starry Sky above a Ruined Monastery  by Tamas Ladanyi

- Rotunda Startrails  by Tamas Ladanyi

Spain

- Meteor Shower Composite above Spain  by Juan Carlos Casado

Sweden

- Big Dipper above Baltic Sea  by P-M Heden

- Milky Way Onlooker  by P-M Heden

- Jupiter in the Baltic Waters  by P-M Heden

- Awed by the Sky  by P-M Heden

- Windmill Galaxy  by P-M Heden

- Moon and the Fog Bow  by P-M Heden

Middle East

Iran

- Shooting Star and Historic Ruins  by Oshin D. Zakarian

- Meteor and Swan  by Oshin D. Zakarian

- Old Time Sky  by Oshin D. Zakarian

- Practical Astronomy  by Oshin D. Zakarian

- Outdoor Astronomer  by Oshin D. Zakarian

- Zodiacal Light and Perseid Meteors  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- Planets and Moon in the Evening Sky  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- Beware the Mars Hoax!  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- Deep in the Galaxy  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- Space Station, Meteor, and Planets  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- Trails at Both Sides of Equator  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Sky Framed by Flowers  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Moon and Venus in Trails  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Petroglyph Trails  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Sky Bridge  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Meteor Shower above Alumut Fortress  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Trails to and above Alamut  by Amir H. Abolfath

- Colorful Startrails  by Oshin D. Zakarian

- The Space Station Crosses Desert Sky  (VR/video)  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- Trailing Space Station  by Babak A. Tafreshi

- The Goddess of Love  by Babak A. Tafreshi

Turkey

- Comet and Capella  by Tunc Tezel

- Moon and Triple Planetary Conjunction  by Tunc Tezel

- Stars and Civilizations  by Tunc Tezel

The Guest Gallery is a well-received section on the TWAN website, featuring selected outstanding Earth and sky photos by non-TWAN creative photographers from around the globe. If you have such remarkable photos to share with the TWAN Guest Gallery then please contact us. There are new featured photos in the Guest Gallery:

- TSE over Tahai Archeological Complex  (Easter Island, Chile)  by Matt Ventimiglia

- Protected Sky above Protected Land  (Ghasr-e-Bahram Caravansary, Iran)  by Mahdi Zamani

- Halo Moon over Cheshmeh-Ali  (Cheshmeh-Ali, Damqan, Semnan, Iran)  by Mahdi Zamani

- Arrabida Mountains Lights  (Serra da Arrabida, Setubal, Portugal)  by Miguel Claro

- Zanjan Sky  (Sohrein, Zanjan, Iran)  by Amir Ali Nasiri

- Orion and Sirius  (Taftan, Khash , Iran)  by Arman Golestaneh

- Comet Hale-Bopp goes to School  (Port Chester, New York, USA)  by Joel Seligmann

- Radkan Tower  (Radkan village, Mashhad, Iran)  by Ariana Ahangary

- Ursa Major rising over Tijara Fort  (Tijara, Alwar, India)  by SPACE/C. B. Devgun/Sachin Bahmba

- The Mittens  (Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah border, USA)  by Chip Porter

- Star Trails over LFO  (Schoepfl, near Vienna, Austria)  by Peter Wienerroither

- Epidaurus Ancient Theatre  (Epidaurus, Greece)  by Chris Kotsiopoulos

- Great Tomb of Sirus  (Passargad, Iran)  by Hossein Noshir

- El Cielo de los Antiguos Navegantes  (Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)  by Victor Gabriel Bibe

- Ketchikan August Full Moon  (Ketchikan, Alaska, USA)  by Chip Porter

- Venus over West Vancouver  (West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)  by Masoud Rafiei

- Setting Sirius  (Locho Mountain, Zahedan, Iran)  by Mojtaba Moghadasi

- Reaching for the Milky Way  (Yengejeh Village, Mashhad, Iran)  by Ariana Ahangary

- Full Moon Skyscape  (Portinho da Arrabida, Setubal, Portugal)  by Miguel Claro

- Star Trails and Meteor  (Dizelo, Isfahan, Iran)  by Ata Moghtaderi

- Moon Setting over La Jolla  (San Diego, California, USA)  by John Grasberger

- The Milky Way at Glacier Point  (Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, USA)  by Pascal Christian

- Laser at the Galactic Center  (ESO Paranal Observatory, Chile)  by Yuri Beletsky

- Historic Reflection  (Lost Lake, Oregon, USA) by Ben Canales

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), a NASA’s world-known website, has featured new images by TWAN photographers:

- Brighter Than Mars by Babak Tafreshi

- Perseid Prelude by Tunc Tezel

TWAN is featuring 13 special galleries:

Latest Images
Cosmic Motions

Our Cosmic Neighbor (Moon)

Milky Way

Meteors

Comets

Eclipses

Aurora

Virtual Reality

Dark Skies Importance
World Heritage Sites
TWAN APODs

TWAN on National Geographic News

TWAN is a global program of Astronomers Without Borders (www.astrowb.org) and a Special Project of International Year of Astronomy, an initiative by IAU and UNESCO. The World at Night is to produce and present a collection of stunning photographs of the world's most beautiful and historic sites against the nighttime backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events. The eternally peaceful sky looks the same above all symbols of different nations and regions, attesting to the truly unified nature of Earth as a planet rather than an amalgam of human-designated territories.

Building bridges through the sky
The World at Night
www.twanight.org

GHOU/ GTTP Updates

21 September 2010

GTTP@ESA 2010

I am very glad to inform you the 2010 edition of GTTP@ESA training session is already announced. Although the session this year is not open to nations that are not members of ESA or cooperating states we are working to enlarge this offer to nations around the world. GTTP@ESA will continue in the following years and great plans are on march.

GHOU 2011

Next GHOU meeting will take place during the last week of July in Yerkes Observatory (USA). The LOC is already starting to work and we hope to have more information for all of you very soon.

GHOU 2010

Last August we had our  yearly Global Hands-on Universe meeting in Munich. We had a very productive meeting preceded by  a GTTP session.  We had wonderful resources an tools presented to the trainees. Among them: Salsa J, AntMe, Thinking Worlds, Google Wave, etc. We have also successfully approved GHOU Association by laws, so we are now ready for the admission of new members. We have also set up an amazing communication team …

GHOU communication team

Global Hands-on Universe has now an amazing communication team. Some will help with the newsletter, some will help on social networks. Here is the team so far :

Kathan Kothari – India

Avivah Yamani – Indonesia

Susan Murabona – Kenya

Thillina Heenatigala – Sri Lanka

Oana Sandu – Romania

Rosa Doran – Portugal

WOW … how impressive .. truly international .. and of course … other volunteers will be appreciated. Our main goal is to have the whole community connected all along the year. Let’s try to make this a success.

GTTP @IYA2009 Report

IYA2009 final report is finally out and it is truly very impressive. I had it in my hands and is really breath taking to see all the wonderful work so many people have put together. A big congratulation to the International Coordination. What a unique example of global cooperation. GTTP and GHOU are very present there. We can all be very proud by our achievements,

Now the future lies ahead of us and everyone’s help and advices is important to keep this momentum going. I am bold enough to say that we are indeed changing the world to a better place.

Rosa Doran

www.nuclio.pt
www.globalhou.net
www.galileoteachers.org

New TWAN Events in September and October 2010

21 September 2010

The World at Night exhibitions travel across the world from the European Astronomy Meeting in Lisbon, to Stockholm and Pecs, to Shiraz in Iran, and to Pasadena in California.

http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/news.asp?newsID=6057

New Media in a digital world: Tool or Threat for Learning?

21 September 2010

The Media & Learning Conference taking place in Brussels on 25 and 26 November 2010 addresses how new media can contribute to improve learning. Media literacy and digital fluency are amongst the most important skills young people can learn in order to find, use and create accurate information to become the creative citizens of a future society. But how can educators be sure that learners are learning better thanks to media?

2010 ESA/GTTP workshop for science teachers

20 September 2010

ESA along with the Galileo Teacher Training Programme are organising a workshop for science teachers at the NEMO Science Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 7–10 December 2010.

The workshop is aimed at science teachers of students aged between 11 and 19 years old. A limited number of places will be available and an invitation to apply for a place will be issued on 1 October. 

Develop new skills and network with teachers from across Europe

The workshop is the second to be organised by ESA with the Galileo Teacher Training Programme (GTTP). The GTTP was initiated in 2009 with the long term aim of promoting and supporting astronomy education in classrooms around the world.

Participants in the workshop will have the opportunity to gain practical skills to enable them to enhance their teaching of the physical sciences. New, innovative and inspiring tools and methods will be presented using astronomy and space science as the means for engaging students with science. The programme is designed to provide participants with ample time during the workshop to test the activities and become sufficiently confident with the material to enable them to adapt it to the requirements of their national curricula. During the 2010 workshop teachers will participate in a diverse programme of activities that will include sessions about how to access and use the ESA science data archives, ESA Education Resources, image processing software, using robotic telescopes in the classroom and much more.

How and when to apply

Places at this ESA/GTTP Teacher Training Workshop are limited; an announcement inviting teachers to apply for a place will be made on 1 October 2010, check the 'How to apply' page. The deadline for receipt of applications will be 09:00 CEST on Monday 18 October 2010. Successful applicants will be informed that they have secured a place at the workshop on or before 1 November. The application process will require teachers to briefly describe why they would like to attend and how they could use their new knowledge and skills after the workshop.

Who can apply?

The workshop will be open to teachers of the physical sciences in secondary schools (teaching students aged between 11 and 19 years old) of ESA Member States and Cooperating States*.

The working language of the workshop will be English; participants must have a sufficient command of the English language to enable them to fully participate in the hands-on activities. There is no fee for the workshop and some financial support may be available.

Contact

Rebecca Barnes, sciedu @ esa.int

Information Systems, Communication and Education Support Service

Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration, ESA

Beyond IYA2009 Update

17 September 2010

International Year of Astronomy 2009 Final Report Released
A 1300-page final report for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 is available here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/resources/documents/detail/iya2009_final_report/

Observe the Moon Night Goes Global
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). Read more: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1038/

Eyes on the Skies Receives Prize at TechFilm 2010
The movie Eyes on the Skies – 400 Years of Telescopic Discovery, initiated as part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, has received the International Association for Media in Science’s Award at the TechFilm 2010 Festival. The award ceremony took place on 16 September 2010 at the National Technical Library in Prague. Read more: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1043/

Galileoscope - A Year Later: A review 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

Moon Zoo Challenge
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

Competition winner – Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2010
Read more: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/astronomy-photographer-of-the-year/winners/

Science Mag: International Year of Astronomy Claims Record Numbers of Citizen Stargazers
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

Submit your Science Education Project for the eLearning Awards 2010 Competition
Read more about the eLearning Awards and submit your entry at http://elearningawards.eun.org.

Educational Material of European Virtual Observatory
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.More information: http://wwwas.oats.inaf.it/aida4you/index_eng.html?fsize=medium

Recent Papers and an Announcement from Astronomy Education Review
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.
More information: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1036/

EPO Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems
7 - 11 November 2010 / Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) 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. More information: http://www.adass.org/

Cosmic Diary Anthology Released as a Free Book: Postcards from the Edge of the Universe
The book, Postcards from the Edge of the Universe, was launched last week. A legacy of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone project Cosmic Diary, the book features articles from astronomers around the world about the hottest astronomical topics of the moment.
More information:

• http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iya1007/
• http://www.postcardsfromuniverse.org/

Eyes on the Skies Receives Prize at TechFilm 2010

17 September 2010

The movie Eyes on the Skies – 400 Years of Telescopic Discovery, initiated as part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, has received the International Association for Media in Science’s Award at the TechFilm 2010 Festival. The award ceremony took place on 16 September 2010 at the National Technical Library in Prague.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 marked 400 years since Galileo Galilei first looked at the sky through a telescope, andEyes on the Skies explores the many facets of the instrument that changed our view of the world we live in — its historical development, the scientific importance, the technological breakthroughs, and also the people behind it with their triumphs and failures.

The Eyes on the Skies movie is presented by Dr J, aka Dr. Joe Liske from ESO, host of the Hubblecast and the ESOcast video podcasts. The DVD runs for 60 minutes and includes subtitles in 32 languages. The DVD was originally launched together withthe Eyes on the Skies book, which is available in English, German, Finnish, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. High international demand has ensured that tens of thousands of copies of the book and more than 450 000 copies of the movie have been distributed worldwide.

Eyes on the Skies was produced in a unique collaboration between the European Southern Observatory, the European Space Agency’s Hubble outreach office and the International Astronomical Union.

The 47th International Festival TechFilm 2010 took place in Prague between 13 and 17 September 2010. The aim of the TECHFILM festival is to collect, present, award and make accessible the latest programmes from the fields of science, technology and arts as well as multimedia and training products contributing to a better education.

Links

• Eyes on the Skies website

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

Global Sponsors

IYA2009 Patron