In this issue, we want to highlight the Global Event 50th Anniversary of the First Moon Landing, Places Connected to the Sky the latest IAU100 Endorsed Project and the 100 Hours of Astronomy Prizes.
We take this opportunity to thank everyone for enthusiastically continuing to join the celebrations! As of the end of March, we have 2600 registered events in 104 countries! Your creativity and hard work are an inspiration to us all, and we want you to know that we are here to support you and your activities during the year.
Wishing you all clear skies and happy celebrations! Lina Canas, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
Jorge Rivero, on behalf of the IAU Secretariat
1) IAU100 Launches Global Event for the Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the First Moon Landing
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of an important milestone in space exploration and humankind - the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing - IAU100 has set up a dedicated website to coordinate global events and large Moon observation activities, including the launch of a telescope competition.
2) Prizes Announced for the 100 Hours of Astronomy
The 100 Hours of Astronomy global event successfully launched the IAU100 celebrations in 2019 with more than 1200 astronomy activities taking place in 86 countries worldwide. To acknowledge and support the outstanding efforts of event organisers and the enthusiasm of participants of the 100 Hours of Astronomy global event, the IAU100 Secretariat established various prize packages. These winners have been selected and you can read more about each of their conducted activities here.
3) Places Connected to the Sky: IAU100 Latest Endorsed Project
Everyone is invited to submit a location that is connected to the Sky as part of the IAU100 Endorsed project Places Connected to the Sky. This Project aims to raise awareness of how astronomy represents a rich and significant aspect of cultural and natural heritage. It also encourages the general public worldwide to engage with their local astronomy-related places and to explore other sky-related locations as part of a global collection that will be available on the UNESCO–IAU Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy.
The IAU100 Global Project Dark Skies for All project aims to raise awareness for the preservation of quiet and dark skies and claim the right to future generations to continue to access our true night skies. The Adopt-a-Street program has been selected to be part of the celebrations in 2019 under the framework of Dark Skies for All and the IAU100 Secretariat would like to suggest all event organizers to consider coordinating an Adopt-a-Street program in your area during the 2019 Globe at Night campaign.
The Eratosthenes Experiment, that was successfully organised on 21 March 2019, giving the opportunity to educators to collaborate with their colleagues from other schools around the world and measure with their students the circumference of the Earth, using simple means.
6) Inspiring Stars Showcases Events in Three European Capitals
After the Bridging Event at the Planetarium in Brussels and the active participation in the Zero Conference at the United Nations in Vienna, the IAU100 Inspiring Stars travelling exhibition on inclusive astronomy projects arrived in Italy.
Selected content of the IAU100 exhibition "Above and Beyond" are on display from 4 March to 23 June in association with the astronomical photo exhibition at TeNQ museum in Tokyo, Japan.
The IAU100 Endorsed projects provide extra means to achieve the IAU100 main goals and objectives. This project category is intended to provide large global projects, which satisfy the vision of IAU100, with greater international recognition and an opportunity to connect with other celebrations worldwide.
Here you can find a list of astronomy outreach & education conferences and events around the world. Plan ahead for a very special year for Astronomy, full of interesting events!
a) Yuri’s Night
Date: 12 April 2019
Location: All around the world
More information: https://yurisnight.net/e)
b) International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics
Date: 11-13 April 2019
Location: Campos dos Coytacazes, Brazil
More Information: 12imaa.eventbrite.com
d) IAUS 350: Laboratory Astrophysics: from Observations to Interpretation
Date: 14 – 19 April 2019
Location: Cambridge, UK
More information: http://www.astrochemistry.org.uk/IAU_S350/
e) European Week of Astronomy and Space Science
Date: 24 – 28 June 2019
Location: Lyon, France
More information: https://eas.unige.ch//EWASS/
f) Starmus Festival V: A Giant Leap
Date: 24–29 June 2019
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
More information: https://www.starmus.com/
g) Asteroid Day
Date: 30 June 2019
Location: Around the world
More Information: http://asteroidday.org/
h) 3rd Workshop on Dissemination and Education of Astronomy (WDEA III)
Dates: 2 July (Solar Eclipse), 4- 5 July 2019
Location: San Juan, Argentina
More information at http://sion.frm.utn.edu.ar/WDEAIII/
j) Astronomy Education Conference: Bridging Research & Practice
Date: 16-18 September 2019.
Location: Garching, Munich, Germany,
More Information: http://iau-dc-c1.org/astroedu-conference/
k) IAUS358: Astronomy for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion — a roadmap to action within the framework of IAU centennial anniversary
Date: 12-15 November 2019
Location: Tokyo, Japan
More information: https://iau-oao.nao.ac.jp/iaus358/
Have we missed something? Then share your astronomy outreach and education international meetings or events with us via outreach@iau.org.
10) IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages
- Translations into Serbian are available, by Dr Liliana Gracanin from Serbia: https://twitter.com/IAU_srpski ;
- Translations into Japanese are available, carried out by Akihiko Tomita through the Astronomy Translation Network: http://bit.ly/2xlNyCR. If you want to receive the Japanese newsletter translation, please subscribe to the Japanese Amateur Astronomers Association here: http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html, or the Japanese Society for Education and Popularization of Astronomy here: http://www.tenkyo.net/;
- Translations into Galician are available, by Martin Pawley, Agrupación Astronómica Coruñesa Ío, in Spain here: http://agrupacionio.com/gl/tag/boletin-iau
- Translations into Spanish are available by Emílio Zuniga, the Association of Amateur Astronomers from León, Nicaragua: http://asafile.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_12.html;
- Translations into Italian are available by Eleonora Piromalli, AstronomiAmo, from Italy here: https://www.astronomiamo.it/DivulgazioneAstronomica/Newsletter-IAU/last
- Translations into Russian are available by Artem Mokhnaktin, Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pulkovo. You can find the latest translations of the newsletter here.
- Translations into (European) Portuguese are available, carried out by Catarina Leote, João Ferreira & Jonas Souza through the Astronomy Translation Network (ATN) Portuguese Language Group (the previous issue can be found here).
If you are interested in translating our newsletter into your language, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
11) Contributions to the IAU Outreach Newsletter—looking forward to hearing from you in 2019
Here at the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, we’re always looking for news about astronomical education and outreach events around the world. Please continue to share your stories with us in 2019! If you are organising large-scale events at a regional or international level, offering astronomy education or communication job positions, have any innovative projects or inspiring stories, looking for professional-amateur collaboration in astronomy, or have created any educational resources, let us know by sending an email to outreach@iau.org.
You can send us your suggestions until the 4th (for issue #1) and the 17th (for issue #2) day of each month. We are looking forward to hearing from you.