In 2022, our office, the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, will celebrate its tenth anniversary. The success of the IAU Outreach initiatives could not be possible without the support and strong efforts from the astronomy community around the world. That is why our 10-year anniversary will be dedicated to celebrating YOU:our community of astronomy outreach professionals, amateurs and professional astronomers, science communicators, formal and informal educators who are making astronomy a more accessible science to all.
In 2022, the IAU Outreach core initiatives will continue and in the upcoming months, we will open applications for the Telescopes for All programme, a partnership with Sterren Schitteren Voor Iedereen (SSVI, Stars Shine for Everyone), that sends telescopes to groups or individuals bringing astronomy to underserved groups.
We’re also excited to continue our Meet the IAU Astronomers! programme, which allows teachers, informal educators, and amateur astronomy groups to host an IAU astronomer for a presentation and meetups. Please consider hosting these IAU members who are incredibly enthusiastic about speaking with different groups about astronomy.
Additional ongoing programming will be supported by specific events throughout the year. The first of these events will celebrate women and girls in astronomy. From 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, through 8 March, International Women’s Day, we’ll be holding programmes to recognise the role of women in advancing science and encouraging girls to consider careers in astronomy. Our office internationally and our National Outreach Coordinators at the national level will be holding events and online campaigns throughout that time span.
We will also be sharing the importance of dark and quiet skies around the UNESCO International Day of Light on 16 May, our partner programme and we’re aiming to promote scientific thinking and raise awareness of the importance of the dark skies for everyone.
Stay tuned for more information on special programmes planned for 2022, follow us on our Twitter and Facebook accounts or reach out to us via public@oao,iau.org.
Our team would like to wish you all a great new year! We look forward to continuing our journey together.
Lina Canas and Suzana Filipecki Martins, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) Team
1) The XXXIst International Astronomical Union General Assembly
The XXXIst General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAUGA 2022) will take place between 2 and 11 August 2022 in Busan, Republic of Korea in hybrid mode: face-to-face and online. Organized by the IAUGA 2022 National Organizing Committee and hosted by the Korean Astronomical Society and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, the IAUGA 2022 carries the theme “Astronomy for All”.
The Early Bird Registration, Abstract Submissions (including for e-Poster & e-Talk), IAU Grant Application submission and KAS Grant application submission are now open until February 28.
2) Join in Celebrating Women and Girls in Astronomy
The Women and Girls in Astronomy project recognises the role of women in advancing science and encourages girls to consider careers in astronomy. From the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on 11 February to the International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022, the OAO will be sharing interviews with inspirational women, as well as various online campaigns. The astronomy outreach community across the globe will be hosting events and invites you to join them. Share your events on the IAU Global Outreach Events Calendar.
In 2022, the OAO will team up once again with the Belgian project Sterren Schitteren Voor Iedereen (Stars Shine for Everyone — SSVI), Bresser and Leiden University to distribute 15 telescopes to underserved communities around the world. The telescopes are signed by astronauts, Nobel laureates, astronomy communicators and scientists with inspiring roles in their communities. The OAO welcomes proposals for projects that will broaden the horizons of children, parents and educators alike, sparking an interest in science and raise awareness of equal opportunities for pursuing a career in astronomy. Applications will open in the upcoming weeks and the deadline is 1 June 2022.
Citizen Science: Globe at Night
The Globe at Night project invites citizen scientists to submit observations of designated constellations to track the effects of light pollution around the globe. It’s also one of the projects the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach endorses through our Dark and Quiet Skies project. In 2021, the project received almost 25,500 observations. From 24 January to 2 February 2022, Globe at Night will be collecting data points on Orion.
Globe at Night - Sky Brightness Monitoring Network (GaN-MN) The Globe at Night - Sky Brightness Monitoring Network (GaN-MN) project is a special project similar to Globe at Night but extend to set up global night sky brightness monitoring network using the commercially available meter SQM-LE by Unihedron for long term monitoring. Our partners at the GaN-MN have produced a series of videos for the public to introduce their work monitoring the impact of light pollution.
Become a Dark Skies Ambassador
The IAU Dark Skies Ambassadors programme invites keen enthusiasts worldwide to advocate for dark skies. The ambassadors organise projects and events in their communities to locally promote dark skies. Joining the programme allows ambassadors to be part of a supportive environment of peers and provides international visibility of your efforts. The project welcomes wholeheartedly individuals or organizations who are interested in promoting dark sky protection and had organized at least one dark-skies related activity to join us.
The Meet the IAU Astronomers! Programme is a speakers bureau of IAU-member astronomers interested in speaking with members of the public about astronomy. Teachers, informal educators, and leaders of amateur astronomy groups, and other informal learning organizations are welcome to apply to host a talk from an IAU-member astronomer. Astronomers, in principle, speak about their specific field of interest, their careers, and the importance of scientific thinking. These can be held virtually or in-person if astronomers are available (COVID restrictions allowing). The OAO invites all IAU Astronomers to register and participate in the programme.
In 2022, the OAO will continue with the 100-hour, round-the-clock, round-the-globe astronomy celebration that is 100 Hours of Astronomy. Taking place from 1 to 4 October under the theme “Astronomy for All”, the programme will be composed of a broad range of astronomy outreach activities and events. The OAO encourage any group interested in astronomy to join in enabling as many people as possible, from children to senior citizens, to engage with the sky and gain a basic understanding of our astronomical surroundings. Updates on the 2022 programme coming soon.
7) Submit Your Abstract to CAPjournal
The CAPjournal is a free peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators that functions as a bridge between the scientific astronomical community and society, giving visibility to scientific success stories and supporting both formal and informal science education. The journal welcomes abstract submissions on an ongoing basis and invites all to send best practices, research, applications, announcements, interviews, columns or resources. Interested in joining the pool of experts involved in the reviewing process? Contact the OAO to become a CAPjournal peer-reviewer.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our lives, astronomy outreach practitioners persevere in their dedication to bringing the wonders of the sky to families, students and the general public. In recognition of their incredible and inspiring efforts, the OAO will organize the second edition of the Astronomy@Home Awards. The award aims to encourage outreach professionals, educators, professional and amateur astronomers, and astronomy enthusiasts to develop and participate in online astronomy activities. People from all backgrounds and levels of experience were encouraged to organize online events, using astronomy as an engaging tool to connect online with their communities. Applications will be open from April to October, follow OAO on social media and here for the launch of Astronomy@Home Awards 2022.
9) IAU Global Outreach Events Calendar
The IAU Global Outreach Events Calendar highlights local and international astronomy events through the community-generated listing. The OAO invites the astronomy outreach community to submit their events via this form. The OAO also welcomes feedback on the IAU Global Outreach Events Calendar and hopes to continue improving the process. Any ideas or complaints, feel free to share them with the OAO team (public@oao.iau.org).
Japanese:https://bit.ly/36XeKZr
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 Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
We’re always looking to include news about astronomy outreach, communication and public engagement 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!
