Date: 31 October 2009 2:13:40 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Iya2009_newsletter] IYA2009 Updates
Dear friends,
Here are some IYA2009 updates from the last week.
*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:
*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:
*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:
*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
*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:
*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:
*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:
*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:
*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
*StarPeace newsletter*
*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:
*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
*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
*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
*Report from the Women in Astronomy and Space Science conference*
Read the report by Dr. Hashima Hasan (NASA IYA2009 Single Point of
*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:
If you need any assistance, remember that the Secretariat is always
available for you.
Pedro, Mariana and Lee
IYA2009 Secretariat
--
_________________________________________________
Pedro Russo
International Year of Astronomy 2009 Coordinator
Editor-in-Chief CAPjournal
International Astronomical Union
p. +49 (0) 89 320 06 195
f. +49 (0) 89 320 06 703
a. IAU IYA2009 Secretariat
ESO education and Public Outreach Department
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
D-85748 Garching bei München
Germany
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