IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter

May 2014

In this newsletter:

1. From the Editor
2. Updates on IYL2015: Call for Proposals for Seed Money Support and/or Endorsement for Astronomical Cornerstone Programs
3. Message from UNAWE: Help UNAWE to reach the underprivileged
4. Call for Papers: Astronomy Education Alliance Meeting
5. Event: Zero Shadow Day
6. Updates from GalileoMobile
7. Call for Support: Telescopes to Tanzania
8. Travel Grant Application is Open for The 1st East Asian Astronomical Education and Outreach Workshop
9. Call for Papers: IAU Regional Meetings
10. Upcoming Events

The next issue of the IAU Outreach Newsletter will be sent out on Wednesday, the 25th of June, 2014. Please send your input for the next edition to cheungszeleung@iau.org 5 days prior to the release date.

0) From the Editor

Last month, we announced the exciting International Year of Light 2015, and this month we are calling for proposals for IYL. We are looking for good global projects about protecting the dark skies (one of the themes of IYL) and showcasing cosmic light to the public. Please help to spread the word. We also feature different cloud sourcing efforts to raise funds for their very meaningful astronomical outreach projects, please kindly consider supporting them. We are also promoting different networks; there are very good chances to meet colleagues at two IAU regional meetings in the Asia-Pacific and Middle-East African regions.

Clear skies,
Sze-leung Cheung
IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach

1) Updates on IYL2015: Call for Proposals for Seed Money Support and/or Endorsement for Astronomical Cornerstone Programs

The IAU Executive Committee Working Group on IYL is issuing a special call, on behalf of the IAU, for proposals for major IYL astronomy projects. A ‘Cosmic Light’ cornerstone project is a highlighted astronomy-oriented activity of the IYL with global impact. The WG will help promote such projects worldwide with publicity and proactive contact. Proposals may be for seed money support to develop either project prototypes or mature proposals for major funding for an astronomy cornerstone project. Proposals may also request official endorsement of a project of cornerstone scope, with or without an application for seed money support. Such projects must reach across cultural and language boundaries to enhance knowledge of and appreciation for the role of light in observation and measurement of atmospheric and cosmic phenomena and/or for the need for quality lighting and other protection of the beauty and content of natural light from the sky.

Development seed money of 10-15K EURO each will be granted to up to three proposals for projects seeking cornerstone status. The proposal template and submission instructions are found at the IAU website, https://www.iau.org/iyl/proposals. Proposals are due no later than 23:59 CEST on Friday, June 13th.

The full announcement and application form are available at https://www.iau.org/iyl/proposals.

2) Message from UNAWE: Support UNAWE to reach the underprivileged

With just over two weeks to go, it’s time to get on board for supporting the Universe Awareness (UNAWE) Kickstarter campaign if you haven’t done so already. The International Office of UNAWE are aiming to raise 15,000 EUR to send more than 150 Universe in a Box kits to underprivileged communities around the world and to provide the training necessary for them to be effectively implemented. So far the campaign has raised more than 7000 EUR and the video has well over 1000 views. There are rewards starting from as little as 5 EUR and if you pledge slightly more you can receive astronomy educational materials such as an UNAWE Earthball or the Universe in a Box itself. The campaign ends on the 10th of June so get in there quick!

More info: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unawe/universe-in-a-box

3) Call for Papers: Astronomy Education Alliance Meeting

Registration and abstract submission for the Astronomy Education Alliance Meeting is now open at http://handsonuniverse.org/astroeducation/registration/. This meeting will showcase and discuss the latest innovative efforts in astronomy education; allowing teachers, educators, and outreach professionals to combine efforts and focus astronomy resource production on cross cultural curricula utilizing formal education best practices. It will take place in Cascais, Portugal between 8 and 12 September 2014, and is co-hosted by the European Planetary Science Congress and Global Hands-on Universe.

More info: http://handsonuniverse.org/astroeducation/

4) Event: Zero Shadow Day

“Zero Shadow Day” is an event that is relevant to all places within the tropics, between 0 to 23 1/2 degree latitude (North or South). The Sun passes exactly overhead at these places on two days, which of course depend on the latitude. At local noon on such a day, shadows are almost zero, which is an exciting event. Mr. Arvind Paranjpye (the originator of this event) shared the information and the list of dates for various latitudes at the following link: http://skytonight.wordpress.com/2012/04/14/zero-shadow-day/

5) Updates from GalileoMobile

GalileoMobile is a non-profit initiative run by astronomers, educators, and science communicators. It is a traveling science education programme that brings astronomy closer to young people around the world, mainly across regions that have little or no access to outreach actions. The GalileoMobile programme is getting ready for its next educational expedition in Bolivia and Brazil for July 2014, visiting rural parts in the Amazon region.

Read more about GalileoMobile at http://galileo-mobile.org/

6) Call for Support: Telescopes to Tanzania

In collaboration with UNAWE-Tanzania, Telescopes to Tanzania is working to establish a first-of-its-kind Centre for Science in Tanzania. In early June 2014, District Education officers from the Ministry of Education, science teachers from public and private schools, scientists, and Astronomy educators will gather at Usa River (near Arusha). They will work to prepare a Space Science model for advancing the development of inquiry based science education in Tanzania based on the current national curriculum.

$14,000 is needed to set the project in motion.

Follow this link to learn more and to support this project: http://astronomerswithoutborders.org/projects/telescopes-to-tanzania.html.

7) Travel Grant Application is Open for The 1st East Asian Astronomical Education and Outreach Workshop

The travel grant application is now open for the 1st East Asian Astronomical Education and Outreach Workshop (July 4 - 5, 2014), organized by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and National University of Mongolia and supported by Universe Awareness and the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach. It will be held at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The program includes discussion sessions on promoting astronomical education and outreach activities in East Asia, International Year of Light, and a training session on the use of mobile planetariums. The deadline for grant applications is June 6.

Read more at http://eaaeow.wordpress.com/

8) Call for Papers: IAU Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting and the Middle-East African Regional Meeting

Two IAU regional meetings will be held later this year: the 12th Asia-Pacific IAU Regional Meeting (APRIM) will be held Aug 19-22 at Daejeon, South Korea; the Third Middle-East and Africa IAU Regional Meeting (MEARIM) will be held Sept 1-6 at Beirut, Lebanon. Both meetings host an education, outreach and astronomy for development session. Please find the details at the following sites.

APRIM2014: http://www.aprim2014.org/
MEARIM2014: http://www.mearim3.org/

9) Upcoming Events

a) American Astronomical Society Meeting
Date: 1 – 5 June 2014
Location: Boston, USA
More Information: http://aas.org/meetings/aas224

b) International Planetarium Society Conference 2014
Date: 23 - 27 June 2014
Location: Beijing, China
More Information: http://www.ips2014.org/

c) IPS-Macao International Fulldome Festival
Date: 18 June - 31 July, 2014
Location: Macao, China
More Information: http://www.msc.org.mo/fulldomefestival/

d) European Week of Astronomy and Space Science 2014 (Late registration by June 15, 2014)
Date: 30 June – 4 July 2014
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
More Information: http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2014/

e) 1st East Asian Astronomical Education and Outreach Workshop
Date: 4 - 5 July 2014
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
More Information: http://eaaeow.wordpress.com/

f) The 12th Asia-Pacific IAU Regional Meeting (Early Registration by June 30, 2014)
Date: 19 - 22 August 2014
Location: Daejeon, South Korea
More Information: http://www.aprim2014.org/

g) The 3rd Middle-East and Africa IAU Regional Meeting (Early Registration by June 30, 2014)
Date: 1 - 6 September 2014
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
More Information: http://www.mearim3.org/

h) 44th Young European Radio Astronomers Conference (Registration by June 30, 2014)
Date: 8 – 12 September 2014
Location: Toruń Centre for Astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland
More Information: http://yerac2014.astro.uni.torun.pl/

i) Astronomy Education Alliance Meeting (Registration by July 31, 2014)
Date: 8 - 12 September 2014
Location: Cascais, Portugal
More Information: http://handsonuniverse.org/astroeducation/

For more events, please visit the IAU Outreach Events Calendar at: http://iau.org/public/events/

To register your own event, click here: https://www.iau.org/public/events/events-submission/