IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter

2016 #6 March #2

In this newsletter:

  1. From the Editors
  2. 3rd Face-to-face Meeting of the Regional Offices of Astronomy for Development
  3. Deputy Director of the International School for Young Astronomers — Vacancy
  4. National Outreach Contact Corner: News from Canada
  5. Beyond Cosmic Light: Global Science Opera
  6. Get ready for Global Astronomy Month 2016
  7. e-book 100 Educational Activities about Light and Photonics
  8. Multiwavelength Universe
  9. Preparing for 2017’s All-American eclipse
  10. AuthorAID online course in research writing 2016
  11. Meetings & global events for 2016
      a. Recently added
      b. Important deadlines
      c. Upcoming
  12. Contributions to IAU Outreach Newsletter for 2016

 

0) From the Editors

We hope you had a very Happy Pi day on 14 March and that you had the chance to have lots of fun with the Pi in the Sky challenge (if you did, you might like to check the answers here).

In this issue, we highlight Global Astronomy Month, organised by Astronomers without Borders.Throughout the whole month of April we can count on a lot of great activities in this global celebration of astronomy. We encourage you to take a look at the Universe Awareness’s e-book version of the 100 Educational Activities about Light and Photonics — lots of great activities there. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) has launched a brand new resource in English— the Multiwavelength Universe, where you can explore the Universe in different wavelengths.

Clear Skies!
Lina Canas & Sze-leung Cheung
IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach

1) 3rd Face-to-face Meeting of the Regional Offices of Astronomy for Development

The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) currently has nine Regional Offices and Language Expertise Centres around the world. These offices work closely with the OAD to implement the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Strategic Plan. With the establishment of five new regional offices in 2015, this marked the largest gathering of Astronomy for Development stakeholders in South Africa, where participants discussed strategies and developed a roadmap for the future of astronomy for development.

Read more about it here: http://www.astro4dev.org/blog/2016/02/28/iau-oad-regional-offices-meeting/

2) Deputy Director of International School for Young Astronomers — Vacancy

The Office for Young Astronomers (OYA) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) invites suitable candidates to apply for the vacant post of Deputy Director of the International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA). The position is not salaried, but all travel and accommodation costs will be covered. The closing date for applications is 22 May 2016.

Learn more: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann16011/

3) National Outreach Contact Corner: News from Canada

From 19–23 May, Fanshawe College, London, Ontario, will host the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s (RASC) General Assembly 2016, together with AstroCATS, the Canadian Astronomy and Telescope Show. The RASC is renowned for its excellence in science communication, with its members mostly engaging in outreach activities on a volunteer basis. The General Assembly presents an excellent opportunity for the community to share their experiences from both national and local programmes. The Canadian Astro Photography Schools (CAPS) will also be held on the first and second days of the meeting, with the different courses on offer led by internationally respected astrophotographers.

For more information, please go to: http://events.rasc.ca

4) Beyond Cosmic Light: Global Science Opera

During 2015, schools, universities, and art institutions joined forces to create and perform a science opera inspired by the International Year of Light. The project culminated in a beautiful display that proved that creative science learning can bring people together, with an estimated 400 active participants in 30 countries and 2000 viewers from around the world. As a result of the project’s great success, a second Global Science Opera production is already scheduled for November 2016. The theme will be Ghost Particles: Higgs Boson, Neutrinos, Photons and the project is supported by the art@CMS program at CERN, along with several other institutions.

Learn more about the Global Science Opera here:: http://www.globalscienceopera.com/

5) Get ready for Global Astronomy Month 2016

Let yourself be inspired by the Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) motto “One People, One Sky” and join the worldwide celebrations. All is set for the April 2016 edition of AWB’s Global Astronomy Month 2016. This year you can count once more on the various engaging programmes — the Global Star Party on 16 April, Kids AstroArt Contest from 1 to 30 April; Cosmic Concert on 28 April, and many more special celebrations throughout the month.

Learn more: http://astronomerswithoutborders.org/global-astronomy-month-2016.html

6) e-book 100 Educational Activities about Light and Photonics

The International Year of Light in Europe 2015 Project (LIGHT2015), together with Universe Awareness, has released the e-book 100 Educational Activities about Light and Photonics. This e-book comprises a list of 100 educational activities about the wonders of light and photonics, curated for the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL2015).

Read more about the project here: http://www.unawe.org/updates/unawe-update-2016-07/
You can download the activities here: http://www.unawe.org/resources/guides/100light/

7) Multiwavelength Universe

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) has created an English version of the special website Multiwavelength Universe. This website introduces various beautiful images of the Universe seen at several different wavelengths by using observations of the Antennae Galaxies as an example.

Learn about the project here:: http://www.nao.ac.jp/en/news/topics/2016/20160316-multiwave.html
Visit Multiwavelength Universe: http://www.nao.ac.jp/study/multiwave/en/index.html

8) Preparing for 2017’s All-American eclipse

On 21 August 2017, there will be a total eclipse of the Sun visible from the US. The path of this “All American” total eclipse goes from Oregon to South Carolina, crossing the country diagonally. The partial eclipse will be visible to 500 million people in other parts of the US and North America. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is making a popular-level introduction available to help explain the eclipse, and how to view it, to students and the public.

You can download the free booklet here: http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/extras/files/solarscience/SolarScienceInsert.pdf
And explore an Eclipse Resource Guide here: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/eclipse-resource-guide/

9) AuthorAID online course in research writing 2016

Don’t miss the upcoming online course in research writing. This course will cover all aspects of writing research papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals. The AuthorAID online course is aimed at early-career researchers in developing countries and it lasts six weeks, from 1 April to 12 May 2016. Enrollment is free and online. You can register up until 31 March 2016.

If you want to join, please download the course announcement and follow the Instructions at http://www.authoraid.info/en/news/details/1024/.

10) Meetings & global events for 2016

Here is a list of astronomy outreach & education conferences and events for 2016.

a. Recently added

World Space Week
Date: 4–10 October
Location: Worldwide
More Information: http://www.worldspaceweek.org/theme/

b. Important deadlines

International Meteor Conference (IMC) 2016
Deadline for Registration: 15 April 2016
Date: 2–5 June 2016
Location: Egmond, Netherlands
More Information: http://imc2016.imo.net/

c. Upcoming

a) Global Astronomy Month< br/>Date: April 2016
Location: All around the world
More information: http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/

b) Yuri’s Night
Date: 12 April
Location: All around the world
More information: https://yurisnight.net/

c) 9th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics
Date: 14—16 April 2016
Location: Campos de Goytacazes, Brazil
More Information: http://9imaa.eventbrite.com/

d) Robotic Telescopes in Education workshop
Date: 18—19 April 2016
Location: Leiden, the Netherlands

More Information: https://lcogt.net/blog/robotic-telescopes-in-education-workshop/

f) International Meteor Conference (IMC) 2016
Date: 2—5 June 2016
Location: Egmond, Netherlands
More Information: http://imc2016.imo.net/

g) International Planetarium Society Conference
Date: 19—25 June 2016
Location: Warsaw, Poland
More Information: http://www.ips2016.org/

h) .Astronomy 8
Date: 21—23 June 2016
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
More Information: http://dotastronomy.com/events/eight/

i) SPIE Astronomical Telescopes +Instrumentation 2016
Date: 26 June – 1 July 2016
Location: Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
More Information: http://spie.org/SPIE-ASTRONOMY-conference

j) Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2016
Date: 27 June to 1 July 2016
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
More Information: https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/2730-national-astronomy-meeting-2016

l) European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (EWASS)
Date: 4—8 July 2016
Location: Athens, Greece
More Information: http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2016/

m) International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC)
Date: 24 July to 13 August
Location:  Exmoor National Park, Somerset, UK
More information: http://www.iayc.org/

n) 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly
Date: 30 July — 7 August 2016
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
More Information: https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/content/cospar-2016-0

o) Global Hands-On Universe Conference (GHOU 2016) & Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP) International Workshop
Date: 22 to 27 August 2016
Location: Stord, Norway
More information: http://handsonuniverse.org/ghou2016/registration/

p) Twenty Fourth Annual Conference (SEAC 2016)
Date: 12–16 September 2016
Location: Bath, England
More Information: http://www.seac2016.com/

q) International Conference on Artificial Light at Night (ALAN 2016)
Date: 26—28 September 2016
Location: Cluj, Napoca, Romania
More Information: http://www.artificiallightatnight.org/

r) LARIM 2016: XV Latin American Regional IAU Meeting
Date: 3—7 October, 2016
Location: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
More Information: http://larim.unal.edu.co/

s) World Space Week
Date: 4–10 October
Location: Worldwide
More Information: http://www.worldspaceweek.org/theme/

t) International Observe the Moon Night
Date: 8 October 2016
Location: All around the world
More Information: http://observethemoonnight.org/

u) DPS-EPSC Joint Meeting 2016
Date: 16—21 October 2016
Location: Pasadena, CA, United States
More Information: http://www.epsc2015.eu/

v) IX International Conference on Oriental Astronomy
Date: 15–18 November 2016
Location: Pune, India
More Information: http://icoa2016.tifr.res.in

Have we missed something? Then share your astronomy outreach and education international meetings or events with us via outreach@iau.org.

11) Contributions to IAU Outreach Newsletter for 2016

Here at the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, we are always looking for more news about astronomical education and outreach events around the world. Please continue to share your stories with us in 2016! If you are organizing any large-scale events at a regional or international level, offering astronomy education or communication job positions, have any innovative projects or inspiring stories, looking for professional–amateur collaboration in astronomy, or have created any educational resources, let us know by sending an email to outreach@iau.org.