Dear friends and colleagues,​

The IAU100 is delighted to announce the final global project: The Pale Blue Dot - Astronomy for Global Citizenship and Environmental Awareness.

The 30th anniversary of the iconic Voyager-1 Pale Blue Dot image will be celebrated on 14 February 2020. This image illustrates the unique astronomical perspective on Earth: when observing our home planet from space, national boundaries disappear and the fragility of Earth becomes evident. This perspective is pertinent to remind ourselves to treat each other with kindness and take care of our home planet together. 

We are inviting everyone to participate in this final global project by organising activities between 13-20 February 2020. The Pale Blue Dot global project intends to facilitate event organizers to use astronomy as a tool to initiate conversations in their respective communities about global citizenship and uniting people from all cultures and backgrounds. Furthermore, this initiative aims to inform audiences about climate change by using the perspective of astronomy to remind the public that the Earth is our only habitable home.  

A collection of resources and activity ideas have been compiled to facilitate the organisation of activities for the IAU100 Pale Blue Dot initiative. You can also learn more about the Pale Blue Dot image here. On 14 February, The Pale Blue Dot Symposium will be held by the IAU European Regional Office of Astronomy for Development in Leiden, the Netherlands as part of the celebrations.

And don't forget to register your event under the category “Pale Blue Dot” using this form, or contact Pale Blue Dot Project Coordinator, Bethany Downer (downer [at] strw.leidenuniv.nl) if you have any queries. 

Lina Canas, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team   
Jorge Rivero, on behalf of the IAU100 Secretariat