Our team is back in Japan, after two busy weeks welcoming our colleagues from around the world at the IAU booth during the General Assembly in Vienna. We were happy to greet our colleagues and friends and return with new ideas, new collaborations, new friendships — excited by the science being done and inspired by the amazing projects being carried out around the world in outreach, education, and development.
The IAU 100 years celebrations have officially started and there is a lot of preparation underway for next years’ celebrations. Don't miss out! Follow our social media news and our newsletter and start preparing. Let us know how you’re going to celebrate one hundred years of Astronomy during 2019.
In this issue, we highlight the win a telescope signed by astronauts IAU100 contest, the Globe at Night campaigns, and the Dark Sky Simulator.
And don’t forget, you can join our team here in Japan! Apply to the International Outreach Coordinator position by October 15, 2019. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you!
Wishing you all Happy Reading & Clear Skies!
The IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach team
1) Open Call for Hosting the Communicating Astronomy With the Public (CAP) Conference 2020
The CAP Conference series is organised by Commission C2 of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) with the goal of facilitating the exchange of ideas and best practices in the field of astronomy and space communication, as well as informal education. The next conference is scheduled for May 2020 and the location will be established following an open call for proposals. Institutions interested in uplifting astronomy communication in their region by hosting CAP2020 should answer the initial bid questionnaire below and return it by email to cheungszeleung[at]oao.iau.org and osandu[at]partner.eso.org with the subject CAP2020. The deadline for applications is 15 October 2018.
2) IAU Vacancy: International Outreach Coordinator
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) is a hub for coordinating astronomy public outreach activities around the world. The aim is to make it easier for the public to access information about our Universe and local and global astronomy events while building networks to support and disseminate information to the amateur astronomy and public outreach communities. Interested candidates should send a cover letter and full CV, including the contact details of at least three references, by email to the IAU OAO Supervising Director, Hidehiko Agata (h.agata[at]nao.ac.jp). The selection process will begin after 15 October 2018.
3) Special IAU Prize Awarded to Carolina Ödman-Govender
Carolina Ödman-Govender has been recognised for her pioneering work in astronomy outreach, development, and education with the award of an IAU Prize by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The award, called the Special Executive Committee Award for Astronomy Outreach, Development and Education, was presented at the 2018 XXX IAU General Assembly in Vienna, Austria.
Have you ever wanted a telescope signed by astronauts? In collaboration with the Belgian initiative Sterren Schitteren voor Iedereen (SSVI) and Universe Awareness (UNAWE), we are giving away 10 Bresser Refractor telescopes, each bearing the signature of an astronaut, to support astronomy educational activities with children around the world. These will be used during the 100 Hours of Astronomy 2.0 Global Project on 18-21 January 2019.
The 'Dark Sky Simulator' is an IAU Office of Astronomy for Development–funded project aimed at building a LED-based physical simulator to show the effects of light pollution. The simulator consists of a LED-based model board simulating the starry sky and several LED model light fixtures. The board simulates the night sky using LEDs of variable brightness, simulating stars of various magnitudes and constellation patterns. The project has now completed a prototype and all the instructions and code are available on their website.
Planetarium Magazine in Portuguese
The Brazilian Planetarium Association (Associação Brasileira de Planetários, ABP) has launched its latest issue of “Planetaria”. Planetaria is an open source online magazine published in Portuguese every three months. With the e-magazine, APB intends to provide planetarium professionals with valuable information in the field of planetariums, allowing educators (mainly teachers) to get the most out of a visit to the planetarium, and showing the reader that astronomy is a science linked to daily life with a strong trans-disciplinary appeal.
You can download this issue for free here or read it here. Previous editions can be found here.
7) Join Globe at Night (GaN) 2018 campaigns!
Globe at Night (GaN) is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure night sky brightness and submit their observations. It's easy to get involved—all you need is a computer or smartphone. In 2017, citizen scientists from around the world contributed 14,753 data points and so far in 2018 6,041 data points have been gathered! Join the campaigns and help GaN achieve 15,000 data points this year!
8) Space Scoop Newspaper: Childrens' Astronomy News Now in Print
Universe Awareness announced the release of the first-ever Space Scoop newspaper, offering astronomy news to children around the world in a new hands-on format! You can download and print a copy to share with the children in your life and show them what black holes eat, or the recipe for life, or simply take them on a journey to the edge of the Universe! Space Scoop is a weekly astronomy news service for children aged 8+ that shares the latest discoveries from 13 astronomical organisations with children around the world.
h) Starmus Festival V: A Giant Leap
Date: 24–29 June 2019
Location: Bern, Switzerland
More information: https://www.starmus.com/
i) 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 Martin Pawley, 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;
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.
