As we said last week, we are sharing more messages and resources from our National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs). This week our representatives of Qatar, the United Kingdom, Norway, Myanmar, Mongolia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have sent in resources that they have found helpful. Thank you to all our NOCs who sent in resources for these two issues of the newsletter!
As evidenced by our NOCs, astronomy communicators around the world are making the best of a difficult situation and their creativity is shining through. If you have online astronomy resources, please remember to submit them to the Call to Action from the IAU offices. You can find the application form here:
If you have an event, please also remember that you can submit them to the IAU Astronomy@Home Awards hosted by the Office for Astronomy Outreach. You can find more information here:
Wishing you the clearest skies and best of health! Lina Canas & Izumi Hansen, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Team
1) Hani Dalee, Qatar NOC
Message
Concerning the efforts to involve the students in the Katara Astronomy Olympiad for Schools 2020:
“Astronomy activities should go on, even under severe conditions of quarantine...The idea behind going on collecting the works done by students is to let them know that they have done a very good job, and that their efforts were not dissipated. The winners will be announced soon, and prizes will be distributed accordingly.”
Resources Katara Astronomy Olympiad for Schools 2020:
The olympiad had to be cancelled in person, but teachers were able to send photos of the student participants’ projects, such as paintings for the transit of Mercury (11 Nov 2019), the annual solar eclipse (26 Dec 2019) and anniversary of the Pale Blue Dot image (14 Feb 2020).
Message
“In these unprecedented times, astronomy can help us to comprehend the bigger picture of life around us. As humankind we all live under the same night sky, clinging to the same rocky body, hurtling around the same life-giving star. And we are all together in this same sustained struggle to overcome the invisible foe of COVID-19. So, however challenging it may seem right now, we need to maintain social distancing and other necessary measures. And we will continue to share the wonders of space as we recognize together our shared humanity.”
Resources Science Museum, London Learning Resources:
Activities, games and videos collected by the UK Science Museum Group.
Useful in space science topics in schools, museum galleries and beyond.
Message
“In the current state of social isolation and health threatening by the COVID-19, human beings are fighting a common disease. With our online astronomy outreach activities we ought to help the community shift to a more positive commonality: we all are under one sky, unlimited, beautiful and unknown. Together we can make a difference, although insignificant the action of a single might look. Take good care, stay home and alt blir bra soon."
Resources “Discover the Universe from Home”/ “Oppdag Universet Hjemmefra” with the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics (ITA), University of Oslo:
Astrophysicists of ITA will answer any questions about space from home.
Message
“MASES (Myanmar Astronomy & Science Enthusiasts Society) have been organizing night sky observation activities and science talk shows as an outreach program since 2004. Due to the current pandemic situation, we can not organize such activities anymore. Even though we are also struggling in this pandemic situation like other people around the world, we are trying our best to be able to provide activities in an alternative way for our people to be filled with curiosity so that people can enjoy the wonders of the sky and study from home safely. We are sure that we can overcome this pandemic very soon with our unified effort.”
Message
“Throughout time, all people have found peace, perspective and life energy by looking up at the stars. Astronomers encourage people to look at stars and become peaceful. People on this planet need to enjoy the beautiful dark skies and begin or deepen their meditation practice. Now the world meditates together and travels through the universe to overcome the current. situation. Let’s together do meditation. Here is a link on beautiful mediation: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sri+sri+ravi+shankar”
Resources The Space Laboratory of the National University of Mongolia:
Television broadcasts on IAU100 and NameExoWorlds.
Message
“‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.’”
J.R.R. Tolkien – "The Fellowship of The Ring"
Resources Czech Academy of Sciences:
The Academy is organising science at home (#veda_na_doma) projects.
Message
"Slovakia is interwoven with a quite dense network of public observatories and planetariums, whose main activities are shows, lectures, observations and other personal meetings of those interested in astronomy of all ages, but especially young people. Nowadays, these sanctuaries of curiosity and knowledge are so unusually silent. We moved some activities to be online, but we do not cease to hope that we will soon meet under one sky, whether real or virtual.”
Resources Slovakian websites with information on space research:
8) IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in Other Languages
Interested in translating our newsletter into your language? Please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
Our newsletter is being translated into the following languages:
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 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/).
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).
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: https://vk.com/iau_public_outreach.
9) Contributions to the IAU Outreach Newsletter—looking forward to hearing from you in 2020
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 2020! 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.
