The primary celebration of Women and Girls in Astronomy has concluded and we’ve included some details on the outcome in this newsletter. Thank you to everyone, particularly the participating IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs), for contributing to a spectacular month recognising women and girls in astronomy! While we highlighted women and girls in astronomy for this one month, the importance of women and girls in the field is continuous. We hope you will continue to recognise and support their role and contributions to astronomy with us throughout the year.
With much excitement, registration for the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference (CAP Conference) has opened. The link is below. We hope many of you will join us in the free, virtual conference.
Our sibling office, the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education, has two exciting bits of information. First is the upcoming end of its astrophotography contest. Please make sure to send in your photos before 15 April. Second is the opening of its first node in Italy with the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF). We'd like to congratulate our the IAU OAE for this wonderful step in the establishment of their office!
In addition to all happening in our offices, we are excited to share with you a variety of opportunities in astronomy and science communication. A team at INAF in Italy is asking for submissions of locations and people related to astronomy to create a game and International Dark Sky Week invites people around the world to raise awareness about the impact of light pollution (It’s also at the same time as the April campaign for the Globe at Night). Lastly are two grants, one through Just One Giant Lab and another through Google, that are offer funding for projects.
Wishing you the clearest skies and good health! Izumi Hansen and Lina Canas, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
1) Thanks for a Great Month Recognising Women and Girls in Astronomy!
Thank you to everyone who participated in the month-long celebration of Women and Girls in Astronomy! Thanks to community members and IAU National Outreach Coordinators at least 45 events and projects in more than 10 languages across 27 countries and regions were held during the month. Women and girls of every age were involved — from primary school students to teenage Astronomy Olympiad champions to engineers to high-level researchers — showing that every woman has the possibility to access the sky with the right opportunity.
Registration for the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference (CAP Conference) is now open. The CAP Conference brings together individuals working or interested in the communication, informal teaching and outreach of astronomy to exchange ideas and best practices. The virtual conference is free to registrants and will be held 24-27 May 2021.
3) Last Chance to Submit to IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest
The astrophotography contest hosted by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (IAU OAE) will close on 15 April 2021. Participants can submit images in 10 categories for cash prizes. Photo submissions will contribute to free educational resources for teachers and learners worldwide.
The IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (IAU OAE) has opened its first node in Italy with the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Italy’s national center for astrophysics. The OAE Center Italy will play a regional role in the Mediterranean with the astronomy education communities and OAE’s network of National Astronomy Education Coordinators nearby. The Center will also help to strengthen the OAE’s expertise in astronomy education for primary school students.
The 2021 International Dark Sky Week will be held 5-12 April 2021. The week is hosted by the International Dark-Sky Association, a leading organisation in combating light pollution. The week aims to generate awareness about light pollution, its negative consequences, and its solutions. The week also celebrates the night. People around the world are invited to join events to learn more about light pollution.
The IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach is an outreach partner for the International Dark Sky Week.
6) Contribute to the International Astrophysical Code-hunting Game
The Innovative Education group at Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in Italy is requesting contributions for an international online code-hunting game revolving around the places of astronomy worldwide. Submissions of past, present and future locations in your country that are relevant for astronomy as well as famous astronomers from history and the recent past are welcome. The game is organised on the occasion of the European Code Week and European Researchers' Night later this year. Submit your suggestions by 16 April 2021.
Thank you to Maura Sandri and Claudia Mignone for sharing this news item.
7) JOGL Ongoing Microgrants to Tackle Covid-19
Just One Giant Lab (JOGL) is providing microgrants up to 4000€ for open source projects tackling Covid-19. Grants have been awarded routinely since April 2020 and the next deadline is 24 March 2021. JOGL is a non-profit headquartered in Paris, France. It aims to “catalyze the collective creation of knowledge and solutions to resolve humanity's most urgent challenges”. The application is easy and open to anyone who has an open source project addressing the current pandemic.
Thanks to Pedro Russo for sharing this news item with us.
8) Google.org Impact Challenge Grants for Women and Girls
The Google.org Impact Challenge is offering grants between $300,000 and $2 million in funding to certain types of organisations for creating pathways to prosperity for women and girls. The Google.org Impact Challenge is a global grant programme aimed at empowering women and girls to advance in the economy. Applications close at 23:59 GMT on 9 April 2021.
Thanks to Ramasamy Venugopal for sharing this news item with us.
9) Featured Activities Event & Online Resources Repository
a) 6th East African Astronomical Society Workshop
Location: Virtual and in Dodoma, Tanzania
Date: 15–22 May 2021
Website https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/
Japanese:http://bit.ly/2xlNyCR
Translations are thanks to Akihiko Tomita, through the Astronomy Translation Network.
You can subscribe to the Japanese newsletter through the Japanese Amateur Astronomers Association (http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html) or the Japanese Society for Education and Popularization of Astronomy (http://www.tenkyo.net/).
If you are interested in translating the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter into your language, please email public@oao.iau.org.
11) Contribute to the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
We’re always looking to include news about astronomy outreach from around the world in the next newsletter from the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach. If you have an astronomical event, job, opportunity, educational resource, or anything else that would be of interest to the astronomy outreach community, send us an email at public@oao.iau.org with more information.
You can send us your suggestions through the 4th for issue #1 and the 17th for issue #2 of each month. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
