Astronomy.com blog : IYA2009

Get ready for some Galilean Nights

Karri Ferron — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:27:00 GMT

Official Galilean Nights poster

Another International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone Project kicks off tomorrow night around the globe. The goal of Galilean Nights, October 22-24, is to allow hundreds of thousands of people all around the world to experience their own “Galileo moment” when they look up at the sky through a telescope for the first time. Currently there are more than 1,000 public observing events in more than 70 countries to help achieve such a goal. The Galilean Nights web site lists them all.

Plenty of astronomy clubs, universities, and professional observatories in the United States are participating, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find an event to attend. But even if there isn’t one near you, it’s never too late to plan your own observing party. Invite friends and neighbors over one night for their first view of Jupiter. While they’re there, have them do some star counts to learn the visibility in your area. Start Stephen James O’Meara’s Ghost Hunt challenge, and see how many spooky objects on his list you can find.

The Galilean Nights organizers are also encouraging participants to photograph what they see and share the sights with the wider world through the Galilean Nights astrophotography competition. Astrophotographers of all levels are encouraged to participate.

In addition to these great activities, observatories are making their facilities available to the world for remote observing sessions. As well as attending local Galilean Nights observing events, anybody with access to the internet will be able to control telescopes on the other side of the world. Those taking part in remote observing sessions will be able to take photographs of astronomical objects from their own personal computers.

All in all, there are tons of ways to participate and enjoy some observing and outreach. So how will you be spending your Galilean Nights?

An evening with author Dava Sobel

David Eicher — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:24:00 GMT

Last night our homeland at Astronomy magazine had the good fortune to receive a visit from a friend of the magazine, Dava Sobel. Dava is an award-winning science writer whose books, Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, and The Planets, have graced the New York Times bestseller lists. She has contributed to the magazine in the past and has traveled with several editors on trips around the globe in the past to see solar eclipses. Last night, September 24, she gave a talk and introduced a wonderful new planetarium movie at the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium in Milwaukee, and Kalmbach Publishing Co., Astronomy’s publisher, was proud to help sponsor the event. The planetarium exists in an IMAX theater within the Milwaukee Public Museum in the city’s downtown area and offers a great setting for science education.

After a wonderful reception, Dava spoke to the large crowd of assembled guests that included many Kalmbach staff members. (Publisher Kevin Keefe, Marketing Director Dan Lance, Circulation Director Ken Meisinger, Art Director LuAnn Belter, Illustrator Roen Kelly, and editors Rich Talcott, Liz Kruesi, Bill Andrews, and Karri Ferron were among the guests.) Dava’s talk centered on Galileo’s life and achievements, appropriate for the International Year of Astronomy, and then the show, Galileo: The Power of the Telescope, provided a beautifully done overview of his life story and telescopic discoveries. If you have the chance to see this film in a planetarium near you, I heartily encourage doing so. The production quality is top-notch, the graphics spectacular, and the voice provided by Dava very well done. It was a triumph, and I look forward to hearing from you about this show when it comes to a planetarium near you.

Photos credit: David J. Eicher

Take a virtual tour of a Wisconsin observatory

Bill Andrews — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:19:00 GMT

Here’s something of a shout-out to some of our Wisconsin neighbors: Ray Setzer has created virtual tours of the grounds of the Modine-Benstead Observatory in Union Grove. Part of the surprisingly sophisticated Racine Astronomical Society, the observatory features a 16-inch Newtonian Cassegrain reflecting telescope and a 14-inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, both domed.

Editor's note: When visiting WIVirtual.com to see the virtual tours, scroll down to the "Racine Astronomical Society" (September 10, 2009) headline.

The observatory’s proximity to Milwaukee makes it a fairly easy destination for our Illinois friends as well as Wisconsinites. And if seeing these 360° pictures of the scopes in all their glory isn’t enough to make you want to see them in person, consider visiting for Galilean Day October 24. Both solar and stellar observing will be available, but given the date, remember to dress warm for the latter.

The observatory’s Galilean Day is part of Galilean Nights, a Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy. The idea is to get lots of people to look at the heavens one way or another because presumably once you’ve seen how amazing the sky can be, you’ll be hooked on astronomy. Makes sense to me.

So whether or not you see a trip to Racine in your future (and let me know if you plan on going), look around in these virtual tours and gawk at the scopes. It’s easy and fun for us to post pictures of the great sights available through telescopes like these, but it’s good to remember what makes it all possible, too. And be sure to look carefully because Setzer promises “at least one ‘Easter egg’ in the tours.”

Photo credit: Ray Setzer/WIvirtual.com

Tell us about International Year of Astronomy’s impact

Liz Kruesi — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:50:00 GMT

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m working on Astronomy’s article ranking the top 10 space stories of the past year. One of those stories is that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. The year has had so many events marking this celebration that it’s hard to narrow down what I should write about. So what events did you find the most impressive? 100 Hours of Astronomy, which occurred back in April? The Earth to the Universe exhibit that could be seen at various non-traditional locations throughout the world?

What events did you attend? And what did you find made the most impact?

Picking the year’s top astronomy stories

Liz Kruesi — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:13:00 GMT

Each year Astronomy magazine publishes an article highlighting what we consider the top 10 astronomy stories of the previous year. I’ve started working on the article for 2009 and thought I’d share a few of our ideas for the big stories. We also want your feedback. So if there’s a story you feel strongly should be on our list, let us know!

Of course, the mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope has to be on this list. Reviving the aging telescope (and possibly giving it another 5 years) is important not just to the field of astronomy, but public outreach.

The Jupiter collision is another big one. We hadn’t seen anything like that for 15 years. And it’s a great story of the amateur and professional community working together.

This past year the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope released a slew of findings, including the most detailed gamma-ray map created. I’m a high-energy astronomy geek, so I just love this stuff.

And we can’t forget that 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy. It was an entire year devoted to reaching the general public and showing them just how awesome astronomy is.

Obviously I shared only four on this list ... we need to keep part of the article a surprise!

But we want your input, too. What do you think of these four? What stories do you think should be in our top 10 list?

Photo credit: NASA TV

Will we have another Galileo?

Bill Andrews — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:40:00 GMT

An interesting story on Slate.com takes this, the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first telescope, to wonder why we call him by his first name. After all, its subhead points out, “We don’t go around saying ‘Albert’ discovered relativity.” (Briefly, it’s “because that's how he referred to himself.”)

But reading it, I wondered if we’d ever have another Galileo. Or, for that matter, if we’d ever see another Albert (Einstein) or even another Stephen (Hawking). As science becomes increasingly devoted to group work, with whole labs and teams making discoveries instead of individuals, is it likely a single scientist will ever be responsible for as much as these luminaries were?

It’s a question I remember asking just over 10 years ago, to the then-director of the Buehler Planetarium in Davie, Florida, when I was just a wee high school volunteer. Well, actually, I asked her who the next Einstein or Hawking might be, and she said it seemed pretty unlikely we’d see anyone of their caliber willing to go it alone again. Over the years, I’ve come to agree that that’s how things seem to be going.

But can that really be true? No more super-famous, game-changing scientists? What about Neil deGrasse Tyson, the six-time guest on The Colbert Report? Or even Carl Sagan, arguably the most successful popularizer of science ever? Both are pretty super-famous dudes, and both legitimately advanced science and have made significant contributions to their fields.

Well, great as they are (and as much as I love them), their fame is more the result of their efforts to popularize science, and not so much the science itself. These guys, in addition to being scientists, are authors and public speakers, but Einstein pretty much just did physics and an occasional patent office clerkship. And sure, Galileo did more than just build his telescope and work out some physics, but it’s his science that makes him memorable.

So what do you think? Will no more groundbreaking work come from a single genius? Or will we see another of Einstein’s or Galileo’s ilk? If so, can you name any contemporary candidates?

Popularizing the heck out of astronomy

Bill Andrews — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:28:00 GMT

I’m a big fan of anything that brings people face to face with amazing science, and it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening in The World At Night (TWAN), an international program to display beautiful images of the night sky in American malls.

Exhibiting these pictures in 24 shopping malls across the United States, in cities big and small, is part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, which celebrates astronomy and its greatness on the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope. The images include not just the starry sky and celestial events, but natural and cultural landmarks as well, giving context for both the heavens and Earth.

Plus, each of the malls hosting an exhibit also will have other projects designed to spark interest in astronomy, events such as contests, dances, and workshops. The United States is not TWAN’s only destination, with calls in Australia, Italy, and Brazil earlier this year. For a full list of TWAN’s venues, visit www.twanight.org.

Some people might be horrified to think malls are the new springboards for science appreciation, but I think it’s a great way to snag some unsuspecting back-to-school shoppers and make potential astronomy fans out of them. Even if they don’t go out and buy telescopes, just reminding them that the sky’s a wonderful place could go a long way toward appreciating and funding astronomy. It doesn’t suffer from other sciences’ abstractness, so we don’t have to trick people to be interested in the stars — we just have to show them. And if the best place to do it is the mall, so be it.

Do you think this is a good idea, smart for astronomy? Or is it horrible, another indication of the coarsening of our culture? And would you interrupt your busy shopping to look at some pictures of the night sky?

Photo credit: Wally Pacholka/AstroPics.com/TWAN

This is serious community astronomy

Michael Bakich — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:28:00 GMT

“Now therefore, we, the Board of Trustees and its President, do hereby proclaim the dark sky over the village of Barrington Hills a fitting attribute for the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.”

So states the proclamation dated December 15, 2008, and originating from Village Hall, Barrington Hills, Illinois. Just before the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) began, the village’s board of trustees took up the cause against light pollution. In so doing, they pledged to conserve energy, reduce glare, maintain desirable community character, safeguard wildlife in its natural environment, and restore the view of the starry sky.

In an interview with the Barrington Courier-Review, Village Administrator Bob Kosin said the village will look into legislation to preserve the “celestial landscape” by limiting artificial light and using lights in more effective and energy-efficient ways.

“It’s not like the Milky Way is going away or the Moon is going away; they’re just becoming more obscured,” he said in the same interview. Sarah Kenney, planning and zoning coordinator, added, “One of the village’s missions is to preserve the environment, and the sky is part of that.”

In a letter dated December 23, 2008, and addressed to Robert G. Abboud, president of the Barrington Hills board of trustees, Illinois Governor (then Lieutenant Governor) Pat Quinn commended the board for its work in minimizing outdoor light pollution. In so doing, he said that Barrington Hills had distinguished itself as a role model for communities across Illinois.

IYA2009 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointing a telescope skyward. Astronomy magazine’s May 2009 issue was a special collector’s edition honoring Galileo, the history of the telescope, the telescope’s greatest discoveries, and great current telescopes for observers. For more information about IYA2009, visit www.astronomy2009.org.

On the road preview: Apollo Rendezvous 2009

David Eicher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:46:00 GMT

Tomorrow I’ll travel to my old home grounds in southern Ohio to attend the 2009 Apollo Rendezvous meeting in Dayton. I’ll give a talk about Galileo’s telescopes and observations in this 400th anniversary year. Apollo Rendezvous is a nice meeting, held at Dayton’s Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and sponsored by the Miami Valley Astronomical Society. It’s a special event for me; the very first astronomy convention I ever attended was the 1976 Apollo Rendezvous, and the staff at the host Dayton Museum of Natural History (which became the Boonshoft) allowed me to use its printing press for several years to produce the magazine I started in high school, Deep Sky Monthly.

This year the event will feature talks, observing at John Bryan State Park, and an astrophotography and telescope contest. During the trip I’ll also get the chance to roll down to Cincinnati for a tour of the Cincinnati Observatory Center, one of the oldest astronomical facilities in the United States and winner of Astronomy's 2009 Out of this World award for astronomy outreach. I’ll keep you posted with blogs from Apollo Rendezvous.

Related video: The day Galileo changed the universe

Bike through the solar system in Madison, Wisconsin

Liz Kruesi — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:49:00 GMT

During the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), there’s no shortage of events and activities revolving around astronomy. Another opened in south-central Wisconsin on Monday, May 4. The Planet Trek Dane County (PTDC) scale-model solar system begins in Madison and extends some 23.5 miles along hiking and biking trails. For those of you in the area who want to get outdoors and appreciate the scale of the solar system, this is a good way to do it.

When solar system models try to fit the scale within a football-field size area, it limits people’s understanding of the sizes. (If Earth is the size of a peppercorn, how do you show Mercury?)

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Space Place (astronomy outreach center) designed the scale model with a ratio of 200 million to one. At this scale, Earth is the size of an apple, Saturn is the size of a large beach ball, and Mercury is the size of a walnut. PTDC starts at Monona Terrace on the shore of Lake Monona in downtown Madison. “Pluto” is located in the nearby village of Mt. Horeb.

The installation will remain on display until October 2009 and is open to the public at any time until then. However, if you’d like a guided tour from the UW-Madison astronomy department or the Space Place members, stop by June 20 at 9:00 a.m.

To plan your PTDC bike ride, visit this scalable map of the route. If you’re in the Madison area, stop by the trail.

And remember, there are a bunch of IYA events going on this year. So even if you’re not near Madison, there’s likely some type of astronomy activity near you.