In the past weeks, our team has been working on restructuring our National Outreach Coordinators network. The NOCs three-year term is coming to an end and the newly appointed coordinators will be announced during the IAU General Assembly. Stay tuned for more news on the appointment process soon.
Our friend and talented colleague Yukiko Shibata will take a leave from the office, starting this week. We wish you all the best, friend, and we will miss you! Yukiko has led the Astronomy Translation Network (ATN) brilliantly for the past year and will leave ATN in good hands with our colleague Berenice Himmelfarb.
In this issue, we highlight our project Astronomy Translation Network latest news, the II Latin-American Congress on Astrobiology (II CLA) in Colombia and the “Joint CIE – IAU Discussion and Workshop that will take place during the upcoming general assembly.
Our team would like to thank our NOCs from Armenia, Spain, Japan, Colombia, and Argentina for contributing news from their countries -- making this issue a somewhat special one, and proving once again, how astronomy education and outreach activities thrive locally and nationally, promoting inclusion and diversity using astronomy as a common ground for bringing people together.
Wishing you all Happy Reading & Clear Skies!
The IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
1) IAU Astronomy Translation Network (ATN) -- new resources available online
Thanks to the efforts of the nearly two hundred volunteer translators, proofreaders, scientific reviewers, and language coordinators active on the Astronomy Translation Network (ATN) platform, astronomical resources have been translated into several different languages and are now available on the ATN website. You are welcome to check them out and use them for your own astronomy outreach and educational activities.
More resources will be coming available in the upcoming weeks, so remember to visit our website for updates! Join us and help bring astronomy into your language! Comments, ideas and suggestions are most welcome. You can reach us at translation@oao.iau.org!
2) "Joint CIE – IAU Discussion and Workshop” and "Mitigating Light Pollution & Radio Interference through Site Protection and Education”
The International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Commission C.B7 on Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites invites you to a two-day meeting during the IAU’s General Assembly that will focus on light pollution and radio interference issues and solutions. The meeting will take place at Kuffner Observatory in Vienna, Austria on Friday, August 24 and Sunday, August 26, 2018. No registration fee or IAU membership is required. Three panel discussions on the second day will provide great opportunities for sharing issues and solutions. If you are attending, the organization invites you to submit a poster by sending a title and 200-word (maximum) abstract to Constance Walker (cwalker[at]noao.edu] before August 1, 2018.
3) News from Spain
Astronomy Classroom named after astronomer Caroline Herschel
Last March, the Astronomical Complex “La Hita” (La Puebla de Almoradiel, Toledo, Spain) opened to the public a new astronomy classroom named after astronomer Caroline Herschel. The classroom highlights the contributions of women astronomers from all epochs. The astronomical complex is open to the public and is visited mainly by school groups and University students. The data taken by its telescopes contribute to astronomical research projects led by amateur and professional astronomers.
II Latin-American Congress on Astrobiology (II CLA)
The II Latin-American Congress on Astrobiology (II CLA) “Life in the Universe from a Planetary Geology Point of View” will be hosted in Bogota, Colombia, from 23 to 28 July. This is an international event that brings together both students of science and engineering and professionals to discuss and share the latest results in astrobiology research. Considering the Latin American scientific community’s growing interest in the study, research and dissemination of topics related to astrobiology and planetary sciences, the II CLA represents an opportunity to share experiences among researchers, academic institutions, research centers, undergraduate students, postgraduate and college, science clubs and other interested people, and to expand networks and future research collaborations.
Find more information (in Spanish): http://cla.unal.edu.co/ (Thank you to Carlos Molina, our NOC from Colombia for sharing the news.)
5) News from Armenia
Lecture project "From Space to School"
The Armenian Astronomical Society together with Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory has successfully accomplished the lecture project "From Space to School" with the support of the Fund of Armenian Relief. A general presentation on “Wonders of the Universe” was presented in 30 schools by five lecturers. Presentations included information on modern astronomy and its history, present developments in astronomy, achievements of BAO led by the outstanding scientist Viktor Ambartsumian and other famous astrophysicists, and a lot of attractive photos of the Universe.
Find out more in the project’s report here. (Thank you to Sona Farmanyan, our NOC from Armenia for sharing the news.)
6) News from Japan
Science Pub Fukuoka
Since 2007, "Science Pub Fukuoka" has been held 31 times, with an average of three times a year. It is a free talk event with fine foods and drinks, in which the participants are astronomy researchers and the general public, including astro-photographers and amateur astronomers. Participants enjoy conversations about recent astronomical events, new results in astronomy research, and sharing their work in astrophotography. The next event (the 32nd) will be held on July 21, 2018, in the Hakata Station area, in Fukuoka, Japan. Newcomers are always welcome!
You can find more information here (Japanese): http://www.sciencepf.sakura.ne.jp/sci-pub/main.html or contact Dr H. Yamaoka (Japanese NOC) at hitoshi.yamaoka[at]nao.ac.jp . (Thank you to Hitoshi Yamaoka, our NOC from Japan for sharing the news.)
7) News from Argentina
3rd Workshop on Dissemination and Education of Astronomy (WDEA III)
After the success of the first editions, WDEA I in the city of Córdoba during the International Year of Astronomy (2009) and WDEA II in Esquel in 2017, in coincidence with the annular solar eclipse, the organisation invites you to participate in the Third Workshop for the Dissemination and Education of Astronomy (WDEA III). The workshop will take place in the city of San Juan, Argentina, on 4 and 5 July 2019, after the total solar eclipse that will cross the Argentine territory from West to East traversing ~ 1200 km on 2 July.
The University of Hong Kong is offering a free Massive Open Online Course called “Our Place in the Universe!” for science teachers and aspiring science teachers. This course focuses on the evolution of man’s perception of the world throughout the ages, as well as the development of scientific thinking through many examples of astronomical history. "Our Place in the Universe" takes participants on a four-week visual tour of the Universe.
Here you can find a list of astronomy outreach & education conferences and events around the world. Plan ahead for a year full of interesting events!
Recently Added:
3rd Workshop on Dissemination and Education of Astronomy (WDEA III)
Dates: 2 July (Solar Eclipse), 4- 5 July 2019
Location: San Juan, Argentina
More information at http://sion.frm.utn.edu.ar/WDEAIII/
Upcoming:
a) International Science Engagement Camp (ISEC) Dates: 6-22 July 2018
Location: Barcelona, Spain
More Information: www.isec2018.wordpress.com
b) 5th European Conference of Science Journalists
Date: 8 July 2018
Location: Toulouse, France
More Information: https://www.ecsj2018.eu/
c) ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) 2018
Dates: 9-14 July 2018
Location: Toulouse, France
More Information: https://www.esof.eu/en/
d) Committee on Space Research - COSPAR
Date: July 14-22, 2018
Location: Pasadena, California
More information: http://cospar2018.org/
e) Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) Conference & the InterNational Astronomy Teaching Summit
Dates: 22-27 July 2018
Location: Hilo, Hawai'i, USA
More information: rtsre.org
o) Starmus Festival V: A Giant Leap
Date: 24–29 June 2019
Location: Bern, Switzerland
More information: https://www.starmus.com/
p) 3rd Workshop on Dissemination and Education of Astronomy (WDEA III)
Dates: 2 July (Solar Eclipse), 4- 5 July 2019
Location: San Juan, Argentina
More information at http://sion.frm.utn.edu.ar/WDEAIII/
Have we missed something? Then share your astronomy outreach and education international meetings or events with us via outreach@iau.org.
10) IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages
- Translations into Serbian are available, by Dr Liliana Gracanin from Serbia: https://twitter.com/IAU_srpski ;
- Translations into Japanese are available, carried out by Akihiko Tomita through the Astronomy Translation Network: http://bit.ly/2xlNyCR. If you want to receive the Japanese newsletter translation, please subscribe to the Japanese Amateur Astronomers Association here: http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html, or the Japanese Society for Education and Popularization of Astronomy here: http://www.tenkyo.net/;
- Translations into Galician are available, by Agrupación Astronómica Coruñesa Ío, in Spain here: http://agrupacionio.com/gl/tag/boletin-iau
- Translations into Spanish are available by:
- Emílio Zuniga, The Association of Amateur Astronomers from León, Nicaragua: http://asafile.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_12.html;
- Basilio Solís-Castillo, Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, University of Bonn: http://astronomia-para-todos.blogspot.de.
If you are interested in translating our newsletter into your language, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
11) Contributions to the IAU Outreach Newsletter—looking forward to hearing from you in 2018
Here at the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, we’re always looking for news about astronomical education and outreach events around the world. Please continue to share your stories with us in 2018! If you are organising 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.
