IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter

2016 #15 August #1

In this newsletter:

0. From the Editors
1. 2016 IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Call for Proposals
2. IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Newsletter #13
3. National Outreach Contact (NOC) Corner: News from Tanzania
4. Over 200 STEM Teachers Gather in Marathon, Greece
5. Narrated 3D tour of the International Space Station
6. Mission to Space with LEGO & NASA
7. New Vangelis album inspired by ESA’s Rosetta Mission
8. Tanegashima Space Art Festival
9. Meetings & global events
   1. Recently added
   2. Important deadlines & information
   3. Upcoming
10. IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages
11. Contributions to IAU Outreach Newsletter for 2016

0) From the Editors

In this issue, we highlight the 2016 IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Call for Proposals, the International Conference on Search for life: from early Earth to Exoplanets, and the latest album by composer Vangelis, which was inspired by the Rosetta mission. We encourage you to support Astronomers without Borders solar eclipse donations for the upcoming September 1 Eclipse and you enjoy reading the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Newsletter, where you can learn about the office's activities between April and June.

Finally, a thank you note to all astronomy enthusiasts, amateur astronomers, formal and informal educators around the world who share with us news from your country. We are inspired by the activities you share with us and by your creativity and efforts, often in the face of adversity. A huge thank you from all of us in the IAU outreach team!

Clear Skies!
Lina Canas & Sze-leung Cheung
IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach

1) 2016 IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Call for Proposals

The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) has issued its 5th annual call for proposals for astronomy-for-development projects. The IAU has earmarked approximately €110 000 per year for OAD projects. This is an open call for project proposals, with individual project grants ranging from about €500 to about €15 000. Proposals for projects that use astronomy as a tool to address issues related to sustainable development are eligible for consideration and anyone from anywhere in the world may apply for funding. The selection process will take into account the qualifications and experience of the individuals in the team. Full proposals should be submitted by 15 September 2016.

Learn more: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann16035/

2) IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Newsletter #13

The IAU OAD Newsletter #13 is now online. It is issued quarterly by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), and in it you can learn about the latest activities of the OAD. Highlights of this issue include the 2016 Call for Proposals announcement (deadline: September 15) and OAD collaborator, Wanda Diaz's TED talk on 'Inclusion in Science' (with half-a-million views !)

Learn more here: http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=66c129a9091b286b3646f358c&id=685472abd7&e=[UNIQID

The newsletter is also available in pdf form on the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development website at http://www.astro4dev.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IAU-OAD-Newsletter-Apr-Jun-2016.pdf

3) National Outreach Contact (NOC) Corner: News from Tanzania

The annular Solar Eclipse on 1 September will be centered over Tanzania. The team is manufacturing locally 50 000 viewers for distribution to schools, and is informing the public through media, flyers, exhibitions, radio interviews and talk shows, encouraging them to view the eclipse instead of being frightened by it. The team is preparing a viewing site at Rujew in Mbeya Region in the south of the country, ready to receive thousands of viewers from within Tanzania and eclipse chasers from abroad. Viewing points are being set up in the main towns and urban locations to allow the public to come and watch the solar eclipse.

Similar efforts are being made, in particular through the website http://www.moonshadowmix.co.za/ to get people all over Africa to view the eclipse.

4) Over 200 STEM Teachers Gather in Marathon, Greece

More than 200 teachers from around 25 countries, including the USA, Puerto Rico, and countries cross Europe, gathered in Marathon for the ISE Summer Academy 2016. The ISE Academy offered eight courses with topics ranging from robotics for education, space exploration, astronomy, early years in science education, combining arts and science, and more, all related to Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The courses were structured in eighteen sessions and supported by more than twenty trainers and facilitators.

If you are interested in following one of these courses, please have a look at the upcoming workshops: http://esea.ea.gr/content/training-courses-workshops

5) Narrated 3D tour of the International Space Station

Put on your 3D glasses and take a narrated tour of the International Space Station. This 16-minute tour allows the viewers to visit all the modules of humankind’s weightless laboratory orbiting Earth at a height of 400 km. The video is shared by ESA and is available in English, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and French. It is shown to visitors at ESA’s technical heart ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

You can watch here: http://bit.ly/2aK1aOa

6) Mission to Space with LEGO & NASA

NASA and LEGO have worked together to produce a fun and engaging online summer activity. Mission to Space takes kids on a journey through space with visits to the International Space Station, Mars and Jupiter, and provides children with a chance to make their own space creations through an on-line building challenge. NASA research in the four topic areas is essential to humanity’s continuing journey of exploration.

You can see all the Space Creations here: http://www.lego.com/en-US/campaigns/mission-to-space-with-nasa/earth

7) New Vangelis album inspired by ESA’s Rosetta Mission

Legendary composer and electronic music pioneer Vangelis has produced a brand new album, “Rosetta”, inspired by ESA’s Rosetta mission. The story of this mission fuelled Vangelis’s passion for space and inspired him to create his first new studio album in 18 years. The release of the album on 23 September celebrates Rosetta’s 12-year mission to orbit and land its Philae probe on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta is set to complete its journey in a controlled descent to the surface of the comet on 30 September.

Learn more here: http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/07/29/new-vangelis-album-inspired-by-esas-rosetta-mission/

8) Tanegashima Space Art Festival

The summer of 2017 will see the start of a brand new space-themed art festival. The island of Tanegashima, located in southern Japan, hosts the Tanegashima Space Centre and is the largest Japanese space development centre where rocket launching and testing are performed. Tanegashima Space Art Festival aims to be a “fusion of Nature, Science, and Art” and will feature various artists’ works spread throughout the island, merged with the beautiful starry sky, delicious gastronomy, and the island’s history, providing a familiar and relaxed atmosphere for all participants.

Learn more: http://space-art-tanegashima.jp/concept (at the moment, only available in Japanese)

9) Meetings & global events

Here you can find a list of astronomy outreach & education conferences and events around the world.

a) Recently added

Space Education International Workshop 2016
Date: 18-22 October 2016
Location: Leiden, Netherlands
More Information: http://www.space-awareness.org/en/news/space-education-international-workshop/

b) Important deadlines & information

ESO Astronomy Camp
Deadline for application: 4 October 2016. All students wishing to apply should fill out the form on the Camp web page and submit a video, in English and lasting no longer than three minutes, on the theme of “I would most like to discover/invent ...... because........”.
Date: 26 December 2016 to 1 January 2017
Location: Aosta Valley, Italy.
More information: http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann16031/

c) Upcoming

1. Global Hands-On Universe Conference (GHOU 2016) & Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP) International Workshop
   Date: 22-27 August 2016
   Location: Stord, Norway
   More information: handsonuniverse.org/ghou2016/registration/
2. Twenty fourth Annual Conference (SEAC 2016)
   Date: 12-16 September 2016
   Location: Bath, England
   More Information: www.seac2016.com
3. The 3rd Conference on Universal Design for Astronomy Education with Workshops for Educational Material Development
   Date: 24-26 September 2016
   Location: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
   More information: http://prc.nao.ac.jp/fukyu/ud2016/index_E.html
4. International Conference on Artificial Light at Night (ALAN 2016)
   Date: 26-28 September 2016
   Location: Cluj, Napoca, Romania
   More Information: www.artificiallightatnight.org
5. LARIM 2016: XV Latin American Regional IAU Meeting
   Date: 3-7 October 2016
   Location: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
   More Information: larim.unal.edu.co
6. 1st Workshop on Astronomy Beyond the Common Senses for Accessibility and Inclusion
   Date: 8 October, 2016
   Location: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
   More Information: wai.unal.edu.co/information/
7. World Space Week
   Date: 4-10 October 2016
   Location: Worldwide
   More Information: www.worldspaceweek.org/theme/
8. International Observe the Moon Night
   Date: 8 October 2016
   Location: Worldwide
   More Information: observethemoonnight.org
9. DPS-EPSC Joint Meeting 2016
   Date: 16-21 October 2016
   Location: Pasadena, CA, United States
   More Information: www.epsc2015.eu
10. Arab Conference on Astronomy and Geophysics
    Date: 17-20 October 2016
    Location: Helwan, Cairo, Egypt
    More Information: acag-conf.org
11. Space Education International Workshop 2016
    Date: 18-22, October 2016
    Location: Leiden, Netherlands
    More Information: http://www.space-awareness.org/en/news/space-education-international-workshop/
12. IX International Conference on Oriental Astronomy
    Date: 15-18 November 2016
    Location: Pune, India
    More Information: icoa2016.tifr.res.in
13. First Arab Winter School for Astrophysics (FAWSA)
    Date: 28 November to 3 December 2016
    Location: Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco
    More Information: arrakech-astro.uca.ma/fawsa
14. ESO Astronomy Camp
    Date: 26 December 2016 to 1 January 2017
    Location: Aosta Valley, Italy.
    More information: http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann16031/

Have we missed something? Then share your astronomy outreach and education international meetings or events with us via outreach@iau.org.

10) IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages

You can find some translations of this newsletter into Japanese and Spanish:

In Japanese, by the Japan Amateur Astronomers Association: http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html
In Spanish, by the Astronomical Spanish Society (older issues): http://www.sea-astronomia.es/drupal/content/newsletter-iau-noc

If you are interested in translating our newsletter into your language, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.

11) Contributions to IAU Outreach Newsletter for 2016

Here at the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, we are always looking for more news about astronomical education and outreach events around the world. In 2016 please continue to share your stories with us! If you are organizing any 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.