This Newsletter offers many opportunities to connect, to learn, and to grow. This includes a number of conferences, both for the IAU community and for the general public. For example, everyone with an interest in astronomy education is welcome to attend and present at the AstroEdu Conference. This hybrid event will take place during the latter half of 2023. One research team at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (our parent organisation alongside the IAU) is conducting research on science education and is looking for educators from all over the world to participate in their survey. The results will be discussed at the AstroEdu Conference, so this is an excellent opportunity to see the impact of your efforts!
We also feature an article from the GlobeAtNight team on the looming threat of light pollution. Though their results may be disheartening – and perhaps a little scary – this should be seen as a call to action to find new ways to combat light pollution in our communities. For example, you could sign the petition to establish uniform light pollution legislation in New Zealand (even if you’re not a New Zealander), or propose your own light pollution policy shift to your local government. You might also consider participating in a global conversation about Our Changing Planet, alongside astronomers, environmentalists, Indigenous knowledge holders, and other concerned citizens of the world. There are always new paths to approach the problems facing our planet. If you have any more examples or want to share your own ideas, we encourage you to get in touch!
Our National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) are busy planning their 2023 roster of activities, including getting ready for our Women and Girls in Astronomy celebration that will launch early next month. We thank all of our NOCs for their continued and tireless efforts to advance the science of astronomy.
May your skies be dark and quiet,
Kelly Blumenthal, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
Call for Global Participation in Research about Science Education in Secondary Schools
In Japan, the high school curriculum national guidelines that came into effect this year still require students to choose from physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. However, to solve the various problems facing modern society, including science, technology, and the global environment, it is not enough for students to pick and choose from an already siloed education. The path forward requires integrated science education.
Researchers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) hope to design a new curriculum for science education in Japanese secondary schools that addresses the emerging need for interdisciplinary scientific comprehension. To do this, they will perform a comparison study to understand science communication in other countries, but they need your help! You can find their quick survey here.
Image credit: Tanmaye Vyas and Vishwa Jain (Tanmaye's Amazing Space)/Astronomy Day in Schools - India
1) AstroEDU Registration and Abstract Submission Now Open Registration and abstract submission are now open for the Astronomy Education Conference (AstroEdu): Bridging Research & Practice. The conference will be held in Toronto from 10-12 May 2023 and will be hosted by the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics. AstroEdu 2023 will bring together researchers, teachers, and students from across the world to discuss the latest developments in astronomy education at all levels. Everyone with an interest in astronomy education is welcome to participate.
The meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with participants welcomed in person on the campus of the University of Toronto as well as online. To learn more about the conference, register, or submit an abstract, visit the conference website.
To facilitate the widest possible participation, registration fees will be indexed to Gross National Income, with reduced fees for those participating virtually. A limited number of travel grants will be available for those in need, sponsored in part by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
2) APRIM 2023 Registration and Abstract Submission Now Open
The 2023 Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting (APRIM) will take place from 7-11 August 2023 in Koriyama, Japan. Abstract submission and conference registration are now open! Find out more about their call for abstracts here and the registration procedure here
3) Join the Next Open Cultural Astronomy Forum
The Open Cultural Astronomy Forum (OCAF) focuses on ways that diverse cultures have perceived celestial objects, hoping to better understand the role of astronomy in cultures and the influence of cultures on current astronomy. The next OCAF seminar will take place on 2 February at 23:00 UTC via Zoom. Dr Mia de los Reyes, in a talk entitled "What's in a name?", will discuss the astronomical knowledge of the Indigenous communities Magellan encountered on his first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
For more information, including how to connect, see the OCAF webpage.
4) IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast 2023
The IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast (#GWB2023) will be held on 14 February 2023 in conjunction with the UN Day of Women and Girls in Science. The goal of the GWB series is to establish an active network of people of all genders to overcome the barriers to gender equality in science.
The theme of #GWB2023 is “Breaking Barriers in Science”. Groups from all types of science organizations, including high schools, science societies, universities, companies, governments and non-governmental organisations, are invited to host events. GWB is also a flagship event of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, bringing together people from all science disciplines.
5) ET - A Solar System Adventure Game
The Science Communication Group at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal has just launched a board game about the Solar System named "ET - A Solar System Adventure". Though currently only available in a “print and play” format, this game can be freely downloaded in both Portuguese and English. The production of this game was funded by the Europlanet Public Engagement Funding Scheme.
Read their press release here, watch a short promotional video here, and download the game here.
6) Citizen Science Shows the Threat of Light Pollution
Globe at Night is an international citizen science campaign that has, for the last 17 years, asked people worldwide rate the night sky brightness where they live. By analyzing tens of thousands of Globe at Night observations made by citizen scientists around the world, researchers found that people are reporting fewer stars, corresponding to an increase in night sky brightness of 9.6% each year. These data show the dire need for light pollution mitigation strategies. You can read the full Science article, the press release from NOIRLab, and the press release from the International Dark-Sky Association.
7) Updates from the IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) a) Egypt
On January 18, 2022, the NRIAG, with our NOC Egypt, Dr Somaya Saad, received students from the Future Vanguards School for Languages, Nasr City branch, which is related to a program of UNESCO. The trip began with a visit to the Scientific Museum and the National Earthquake Network. The students also visited the solar telescope and the sundial, and they learned how to use the sundial and determine directions. Additionally, the NOC Egypt team organised a public lecture on the most important astronomical phenomena and events for 2023.
b) Iraq
An initiative of IAU Offices in the Arab region for education & astronomy outreach, the NOC (and NAEC) Iraq presented on theories of the universe’s creation. The webinar was delivered on Zoom and in Arabic.
8) Opportunities a) Get involved! Sign the petition for dark and quiet skies above New Zealand!
In a petition submitted to the New Zealand Parliament, the author proposed that national legislation should be introduced to reduce light pollution and promote dark skies. They argue that if this is done on a nationwide basis, then the process of getting accreditation for Dark Sky Places in NZ will be much simpler, as the whole country will have a uniform light pollution abatement law. In addition, this should greatly reduce the efforts required from individual district and city councils.
Anyone can support this petition by signing it online, even those who are non-New Zealand citizens overseas.
Read this document to learn more about the need to control light pollution in New Zealand. Read and sign the petition here.
b) The NEREID 2023 Summit: Our Changing Planet
The Network for Earth-space Research, Education, and Innovation with Data (NEREID) is hosting a 3-day collaborative conference that aims to bring together individuals from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds to explore the challenges and solutions around Our Changing Planet. For more information see their website (https://www.earthspacenetwork.org/meeting-info)
c) Decolonising Universities and Epistemologies
Part of the SDG Bergen Conference 2023, this hybrid event allows participants to explore the importance of decolonisation for the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Register for this event at this link and find out more about the Conference here.
d) Free Science Communication Workshops from GlobalSCAPE
In February 2023, GlobalSCAPE will be conducting a set of free online workshops, each consisting of two 2-hour sessions. The workshops are Global relevance in Science Communication, and Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in Science Communication. These will be repeated four times to accommodate a variety of time zones. For more information and to sign up, see this link.
e) EU Citizen Science Award
Know someone who is dedicated to citizen science? Consider nominating them for this new EU-funded award, operated by Ars Electronica. For more information, see this link.
9) Cool Resources
a) Comic about radio astronomy and VLBI [Content in English and French]
In the framework of the H2020 JUMPING JIVE project coordinated by the Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE), the CNRS commissioned a cartoon about Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) that is now available in both English and French.
In the comic, two friends embark on a journey through space sparked by curiosity after seeing the first image of a black hole. In their journey, they learn about VLBI, its applications, the European VLBI Network (EVN) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
b) Research Highlight: How should we organize science communication trainings to achieve competencies? [Content in English]
In their latest paper, science communication researchers, Bruce Lewenstein and Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, conceptualise science communication as a community of practice. Read more about how they bridge theory and practice to define “threshold concepts” and “learning progressions” to best navigate this growing field.
10) 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 Andrea Ahumada of the Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and Ileana Andruchow of the Instituto Astrofísica de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. For translations of previous Newsletters in Spanish, thanks to Emílio Zuniga of the Association of Amateur Astronomers in León, Nicaragua, click here.
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 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!
