This newsletter brings a lot of good news from IAU projects and offices, as well as exciting opportunities for the future. We are thrilled to announce that the next Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference will take place in Sydney, Australia this September. We hope to see you there, in person or virtually! We are also happy to promote two other conferences in this newsletter: The Future African Space Explorer's STEM Academy’s (FASESA) Increasing Student Interest and Engagement in Space Exploration Conference, and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory’s (SKAO) Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures Conference.
Also in this newsletter are opportunities for the general public to engage with a breadth of programmes (Telescopes for All, astroEDU, On the Moon Again) and for members of our own community to fund their work (IAU-SKAO Outreach Funding Scheme). We hope you take advantage of these programmes and share your experiences with us!
As always, we want to thank our National Outreach Coordinators for their hard work and dedication to astronomy outreach. Below you can find some examples of their tireless efforts to bring astronomy to everyone.
May your skies be dark and quiet,
Kelly Blumenthal, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
1) CAP Conference 2022 The Communicating Astronomy to the Public Conference will convene this fall (12-16 September) in Sydney, Australia. Professionals from science communication, journalism, amateur astronomers, outreach practitioners, and more are welcome to attend and share their experiences during this meeting. Abstract and grant submissions are now open, in addition to pre-registration. The deadline for abstracts and grants is 30 April. For more information, see the IAU Press Release and the conference website.
2) IAU Project astroEDU Announces a New Editorial Team and a Major Update
The IAU Project astroEDU, which aims to produce the best open-source science activities for science educators around the world, welcomes a new Editor-in-Chief, Livia Giacomini, and Associate Editor, Giulio Mazzolo. In addition, astroEDU has recently undergone a major update, paving the way for future innovations such as multilingual resources. Discover more on their website.
3) IAU and SKAO Announce Joint Outreach Funding Scheme
The Office for Astronomy Outreach is pleased to announce the second year of the IAU-SKAO Outreach Funding Scheme. These funds will support worthy outreach initiatives led by IAU National Outreach Coordinators in collaboration with members of the SKAO project’s Communications and Outreach Network. See the full announcement for more details.
4) Telescopes for All 2022
Telescopes for All is a project spearheaded by the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO), Sterren Schitteren Voor Iedereen (Stars Shine for Everyone — SSVI), Bresser, and Leiden University that distributes 15 telescopes to underserved communities around the world. For more information, and for information regarding the application process, see their website.
5) On the Moon Again is Back in Summer 2022
You are invited to join in a global project to bring observational astronomy to the streets of communities. On the Moon Again will take place from 8-10 July. For more information, see their website; to register your activity, fill out this form.
6) Updates from the IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs)
a) NOC Bahrain
NOCBahrain, Myriam Alqassab, and the Bahrain Stargazers Astronomy Club celebrated Earth Hour with solar observing, beach cleaning, talks on light pollution, and more.
b) NOC Benin
NOC Benin, Pide Aristide Ahanhanzo, in association with the Sirius Astro-Club Benin, the Orion Benin Astronomical Club, and in partnership with the OAD and OAO, NASE, Bresser, SSVI, and AFAS, held his event “La semaine de la Randonnée Culturelle de l'Astronomie”, bringing astronomy within reach to students and teachers, alike.
c) NOC Morocco
Alongside the former NOC Morocco (Prof Zouhair Benkhaldoun), our current NOC Morocco, Meriem El Yajouri, organized a meetup for all outreach practitioners in the country. About 30 people participated in group discussions, networking, and brainstorming sessions during this ~2.5 hour long event.
d) NOC Nicaragua
Emilio Zuniga Hernández, our NOC Nicaragua, held a mega star party with six telescopes and binoculars for the people of Managua.
e) NOC Qatar
Hani Dalee, our NOC Qatar kicked off the 2022 School Olympiad for Astronomy on 21 March. In its 7th year, the Olympiad had students learning about the Sun, its position and its relation to the Earth and sky, in addition to the fundamentals of telescopes. More than 60 public and international schools participated in this event.
f) NOC Tunisia
NOC Tunisia, Mayssa El Yazidi, continues her #AstroTalk series with talks from a serial entrepreneur, Malak Trabelsi Loeb (1 April), the NOC and NAEC Nicaragua, Emilio Zuniga Gonzales (2 April),
7) Opportunities
a) Job Opening at Science Wave
Science Wave is hiring a full-time, remote science communications officer to lead communication for affiliated space brands. A successful candidate will have at least two of the following: a science communication degree, a physics or astronomy degree, and work experience for a scientific organisation (astronomy or space-related). Send your CV and a maximum half-page letter of motivation to connect@science-wave.com. Be sure to mention the position you are applying for in the subject line!
The position will be filled as soon as the appropriate candidate is identified. You can check their LinkedIn page for a status update.
b) FASESA’s Increasing Student Interest and Engagement in Space Exploration Conference
The Future African Space Explorer's STEM Academy (FASESA) is holding a conference this month. Students, teachers, aerospace professionals, policymakers, corporate stakeholders, etc. are invited to attend a hybrid 3-day conference on Increasing Student Interest and Engagement in Space Exploration. For more information and to register, see their website.
c) Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures (PARI) Conference
The Square Kilometre Array Observatory is hosting the fourth Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures (PARI) conference this July at their headquarters in the UK and online. Abstract submissions are invited until 18 April on a wide range of themes including emerging trends in science communication, science and society, stakeholder relations, education, and more. Interested participants can pre-register to receive more information.
8) Cool Resources
a) Science as a Public Good is now available in Seven Languages [Content in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, and Russian]
The International Science Council’s (ISC) paper, Science as a Public Good, argues that science is a source of valuable information that should be readily available to anyone who seeks it out. This paper outlines the foundation of the ISC and its activities. This work is now available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, and Russian. The ISC is additionally seeking volunteer translators to reach more languages. For more information, and to read the paper in your language, see this link.
b) Help Review the Astro4Edu Glossary [Content in English]
The Office for Astronomy Education (OAE) is developing a glossary of astronomy terms, and they need your help! The OAE is looking for volunteers (preferably scientists or astronomy educators) to help perfect their definitions. The process is very simple: log in and review as few or as many definitions as you would like. As of this writing, this glossary is only available in English, however, translations will begin once the review process is complete. Fill out the registration form to get started.
9) IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in Non-English Languages
Our newsletter is being translated into the following languages:
Arabic
Translations are thanks to the members of the Bahrain Stargazers Astronomy Club.
Chinese (Simplified)
Translations are thanks to Dr Chen Cao, Shandong Astronomical Society (SDAS) of China.
Portuguese (European)
Translations are thanks to Catarina Leote and João Ferreira through the Astronomy Translation Network Portuguese Language Group.
Spanish
Translations are thanks to Emílio Zuniga of the Association of Amateur Astronomers in León, Nicaragua.
If you are interested in translating the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter into your language, please email public@oao.iau.org.
10) Contribute to the IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
We are always looking for material about astronomy outreach, communication and public engagement from around the world to include in our next IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter. 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.
Please send us your suggestions through the 4th for issue #1 and the 17th for issue #2 of each month. We look forward to hearing from you!
