At the Office for Astronomy Outreach, we are excitedly awaiting the announcement of the NameExoWorlds2022 campaign. We are so glad we get to share this with you, and we hope you will join us on 27 April in congratulating the winners. Stay tuned for more information from the OAO Team on this momentous occasion!
We are again soliciting your participation in our Global Light Pollution Initiatives Survey. Already we have gathered a diverse set of information regarding how different countries approach light pollution abatement. But we need your help! Please consider sharing your knowledge with us so we can promote the important work that you and those in your community do to protect our night sky.
In this Newsletter, we have many opportunities for people to get involved in the practice of astronomy -- be it through citizen science or engaging in a community of science communicators. Don't forget to read about some opportunities for students below. In addition, we have compiled a diverse collection of resources, including a gamified educational experience that leverages the flexibility of Minecraft to teach astronomy.
We thank our National Outreach Coordinators for all that they do to advance the field of astronomy. In addition to the work of the national teams, we saw many multinational teams discuss their work this month. We hope you will draw inspiration from their experiences.
May your skies be dark and quiet,
Kelly Blumenthal, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
NameExoWorlds 2022 Announcement: 27 April
The NameExoWorlds 2022 edition encouraged people to form teams of amateur and professional astronomers, students, teachers, and the general public to come up with names for an exoworld: an exoplanet and its host star. Not only were these teams to propose names for the system, but in the spirit of bridging to new communities (new worlds, dare we say), the teams were also tasked with performing an outreach event to teach the public about exoplanets and their name. The 2022 edition closed in November 2022 and saw 603 submissions from 91 participating countries. The sum of all those reached by the outreach activities is nearly 12,000,000 people!
Since November, we have been working on analysing the submissions, with the help of our National Panels (largely formed by our National Outreach Coordinators) and the IAU Executive Committee Working Group on Exoplanetary System Nomenclature. The results are almost in. On 27 April, we will announce the selected names via our mailing list and our social media channels. If you don’t already, you can subscribe to the OAO at this link and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Best of luck to all the participants!
1) IAU OAO Global Light Pollution Initiatives Survey
In preparation for our Dark and Quiet Skies Global Outreach Project this May, the IAU OAO is gathering information about how countries around the world approach the fight against light pollution. In this survey, we ask you to provide some brief information about initiatives happening in your country (either led by you, or someone else), and provide practical ways people can get involved in this effort. This could include changing their light bulbs to LEDs, signing a petition, participating in a town hall, or joining a lobbying group -- whatever you think would be most relevant for your community. We will use this information as part of a global resource on light pollution, and as a way to promote global initiatives to protect our dark and quiet skies.
2) Guide to Astronomical Image Sources
There is a revised and updated version of Andrew Fraknoi's guide to where astronomy instructors (or those doing outreach) can access astronomical images on the Web. The new version includes 26 different sites where you can find high-quality photos or figures to show in a class, lab, or public program. These include major observatories on the ground and in space and such consolidator sites as the NASA PhotoJournal, Astronomy Picture of the Day, and the relatively new AstroPix.
3) Calling All Amateur Astronomers: Citizen Science with Gaia
ESA has released a new citizen science project called Gaia Vari. According to the website, "Its main objectives are to build a community around the Gaia mission, classify the time-series dataset for interesting variable star cases and invite citizens to become co-authors of scientific publications."
For more information, click the link above or read more on this page.
4) GlobalSCAPE Symposium on Science Communication
On April 10, our colleagues at Leiden University and GlobalSCAPE are hosting a symposium on science communication with special guest, Michigan State University Ellis N. Brandt Professor of Public Relations Professor John Besley. Join in as they discuss the GlobalSCAPE project (https://global-scape.eu), workshops, science communication resources and more!
5) The International Day of Light 2023
The International Day of Light is fast approaching! Be sure to check out the latest Newsletter from the IDL team, featuring stories about projects in preparation. Read and subscribe to their newsletter, stay up to date with the latest on their website here, and register your light-related events here.
6) Updates from the IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs)
a) Barbados
Along with the Barbados Astronomical Society, our NOC Barbados, David Marshall, hosted an outreach event that focused on asteroids. Following a brief presentation, the audience gathered to observe the night sky and track the near passage of Asteroid 2023 DZ2. Click here for a timelapse video of their observations in which you can clearly see the asteroid moving through the field of view.
b) Brazil
Earlier this month, the NOC Team Brazil held a virtual meeting celebrating Girls and Women in Astronomy. The guests were Jeane de Fatima Moreira Branco, pedagogue and neuro educator, and Teresinha Souza, amateur astronomer. The mediation was carried out by NOC Brazil Committee members Josina Nascimento, from the National Observatory, and Gleici Kelly de Lima, PhD student in Education for Science at UNESP/Bauru. You can watch the recorded live stream at this link.
c) Egypt
The NOC Egypt, Somaya Saad, and the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) received a number of school students and members of the public, exemplifying its role and efforts in public outreach and astronomy engagement. This March, more than 250 students, teachers and members of the public visited Kottamia Observatory and the Institute’s museum, as we hosted a camp to monitor the night sky planets and stellar constellations. Many people also visited the solar station, the museum of ancient astronomical instruments, and the sundial at the Helwan Observatory site.
d) Iraq
The Scientific Care Forum in the Babylon Governorate, in cooperation with the NOC Iraq and the Babylon Astronomical Team, held an astronomical activity that included a lecture on theories of the emergence of the Universe and discussed the Big Bang theory. This lecture was presented by Mr Haider Matcher Al-Hilali, the head of the Babylon astronomical team. A number of amateurs and those interested in astronomy attended the lecture.
e) Kuwait
Our NOC Kuwait, Khaled A. Al-jamaan, ran another Little Astronomer workshop at the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre. Through this interactive workshop, participants between 8 and 11 years old learnt more about rockets and how to launch them.
f) Jordan and Bahrain
Our NOCs for Jordan and Bahrain, in association with the Arab Union for Space Sciences and Astronomy, joined forces this month to hold a workshop on astronomy for beginners. This is part of a weekly lecture series held in Arabic and aimed at the general public.
g) Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados
As part of a NOCs Funding Scheme project, the NOCs from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados worked together to create a book on the Caribbean perspective of astronomy to empower young learners to engage with the subject, find inspiration in images of the night sky, and aspire to become astronomers themselves. The project also featured a set of activities to accompany the book, which the team is implementing throughout their respective countries.
h) Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, and Brazil
The NOCs from Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, and Brazil are gearing up for an incredible event later this year, in October 2023. The Golden Ring will be visible from much of Central and South America. Check out their promotional poster in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
7) Opportunities
a) Summer Internship at Haus der Astronomie
Each summer, Haus der Astronomie offers an International Summer Internship Program. The summer internship is designed for students in the final years of high school, or those who have just finished high school. During their three-week stay, participants will work on a variety of astrophysical observations and experiments. Just as in professional research, there is no fixed timetable, and participants are fairly free to follow their own ideas.
Applications are open until 15 April. Find out more at their website.
b) Participate in the 2nd International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)
The 2nd IOAA-Juniors will take place this September in Volos, Greece. The aim of this event is to introduce early high school students to the marvels of the Cosmos and promote their knowledge in the area of Astronomy and Astrophysics. For more information about this event, see their website.
8) Cool Resources
a) Women Astrophotographers in Qatar [Content in English]
The deserts of Qatar host pristine dark skies, perfect for astronomers and astrophotographers, alike. In this article, read about the experiences of some intrepid young women blazing a path for themselves and others in astrophotography in Qatar.
b) The Astrophotography Galleries of the IAU OAE [Content in English]
For the last two years, the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education has held astrophotography competitions with the intention of producing a gallery of images that are high quality, have incredible pedagogical value, and can be used freely by educators. You can find the winners from the 2021 edition here and the winners from the 2022 edition here.
c) Science Communication Manifesto [Content in English]
A group of science communicators convened at the Campus Gutenberg-CosmoCaixa in 2022 and produced a science communication manifesto. Through this document, they ask the community what our responsibility is to encourage peace and safety. The authors came to the conclusion that science communication can become a tool to help eliminate inequality, injustice, poverty and other threats to peace. Their document, the Manifesto for the Responsible Communication of Science, can be found here.
d) RELEA Issue #34 Now Available [Abstracts in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, Main text in Portuguese]
The 34th issue of the “Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education” (RELEA) is now available. This issue features articles that cover topics in teacher education and training, outreach, and much more.
e) AstronoMine Gamified Educational Resources [Content in English]
AstronoMine provides astronomy educational resources for teachers and a Minecraft platform where students can learn about astronomy. Read more on their website.
f) The April 2023 issue of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand Newsletter is Now Available [Content in English]
The RASNZ is a society dedicated to expanding our knowledge of astronomy, fostering the public's interest in the science, and advancing astronomy to new frontiers. Read their Newsletter for more information about their activities and opportunities in New Zealand.
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.
French
Translations are thanks to the Club d'Astronomie de Tabarre (CAT), a subset of the Haitian Astronomical Society (SHA). Translations of previous Newsletters into French were thanks to the Haitian Translation Group of Astronomy and are still available on this page.
Galician
Translations are thanks to Martin Pawley of the Agrupación Astronómica Coruñesa Ío in Spain.
Italian
Translations are thanks to Eleonora Piromalli of AstronomiAmo in Italy.
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.
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!
