From checking in on our forums every day, I realize that many young people who frequent Astronomy.com (and even those who already have an established career) wonder what it’s like to be an astronomer. What do their day-to-day lives entail? What are they studying right now? What challenges do they face? What do they enjoy doing with their free time?
Well, this year the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is designed to answer some of those questions with one of its Cornerstone Projects. Cosmic Diary is a site where a number of scientists will regularly post blogs about their work and their lives. The bloggers represent a diverse group of people from five different continents (including a number of representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency, the European Southern Observatory, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). They post entries frequently, so it’s a site to bookmark and check back with every day. (It would be a good place to stop after you peruse Astronomy.com.)
IYA2009 isn’t the only effort bringing you a more personal side of astronomy. As you may have already noticed, Associate Editor Daniel Pendick has been sharing in this very blog Q&As with different astronomers he encounters — like University of Cape Town's Benne Holwerda, Mount Wilson Observatory Director Harold MacAlister, and Astronomy columnist Stephen James O'Meara — as he writes and edits stories. You’ll also discover that personal side has been added to Astronomy magazine in the coming months, but more on that later.