IAU Outreach Newsletter

June 2013

In this newsletter:

1. IAU-OAD Call for Proposals 2013 now open online (worldwide)
2. 5th Arab Youth Forum (Gaza City, Palestine)
3. SEAYAC 2013 Meeting (Bandung, Indonesia)
4. Vatican Observatory 2014 summer school registration opens
5. Astronomy outreach activities in the Philippines
6. Dark Sky Party (Alqueva, Portugal)
7. Monthly outreach talk series "Un instante en el Universo", Venezuela
8. Film trailer: “The Explorers” by Kai Staats
9. Video on asteroids from the University of Valencia, Sap
10. Upcoming events

Please send us your input to info@astro4dev.org for the next newsletter which we will aim to send out on Friday 26th July 2013.

1) IAU-OAD Call for Proposals 2013 now open online

On July 1st, 2013 the OAD launched its Call for Proposals for projects to be implemented in the 2014 calendar year! You will find the details of the Call as well as an online application form on the OAD website (direct link: http://www.astro4dev.org/cfp/). Submit your ideas for funding to Task Force 1: Universities and Research, Task Force 2: Children and Schools or Task Force 3: Public Outreach! Deadline for submission of proposals is 23:59 UTC on 31 August 2013. Please contact info@astro4dev.org for any enquiries.

2) 5th Arab Youth Forum (Gaza City, August 19-24, 2013)

Under the patronage of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences and the UNESCO chair of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Gaza, the 5th Arab Youth Forum will take place in Gaza City from August 19th to 24th, 2013. Participation to the forum includes the supreme council of AUASS, astrophysicists & astronomers from 17 Arab countries, scientists from France, South Africa, Canada, India and Germany as well as amateur astronomers. For more information, see http://dnntest.iugaza.edu.ps/en

3) SEAYAC 2013 Meeting (Bandung, Indonesia, November 19th – 22nd, 2013)

From Avivah Yamani, on behalf of the SEAYAC 2013 LOC:

SEAYAC (South East Asian Young Astronomer Collaboration) 2013 provides a venue for young astronomers to present their current research, learn about ongoing research within the Southeast-Asian astronomy community and to identify future areas of development. SEAYAC 2013 aims to build & strengthen collaborations between different institutions and to break the cultural barriers between different countries. The conference will take place in Bandung, Indonesia from November 19th – 22nd, 2013. Registration deadline by 15 October & abstract deadline by August 15th. For more information please visit http://seayac.org & http://seayac.org/?fp_type=seayac2013

4) Vatican Observatory 2014 summer school registration opens

The Vatican Observatory is organizing its 14th summer school in 2014. Students around the world can apply at www.voss2014.va. Deadline for applicaitions is October 31st, 2013. For more information, please contact Jean-Baptiste Kikwaya Eluo at jbkikwaya@email.arizona.edu

5) Astronomy outreach activities in the Philippines

Astronomy outreach is very active in the Philippines. If you are interested in events happening there, please have a look at http://rtuastrosoc.blogspot.com/ or contact Ruby Dela Cruz at bee1delacruz@gmail.com for more information. The IAU-OAO National Outreach Contact in the Philippines is Engineer Dario dela Cruz, chief of PAGASA space science and astronomy section and can be reached at dariodlc2004@yahoo.com.

6) Dark Sky Party (Alqueva, Portugal)

On the 12th and 13th July 2013, Dark Sky Alqueva (the world's first Starlight Tourism Destination) and the Municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, with the collaboration of Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, will be hosting their second Dark Sky Party. All (day and night time) events are free, and the venue will be the Nautical Centre of Monsaraz. More information and complete program available at:
(EN) http://www.darkskyalqueva.com/eng/news/dark-sky-party-alqueva
(PT) http://www.darkskyalqueva.com/por/news/dark-sky-party-alqueva
Contact: alqueva.darksky@gmail.com

7) Monthly outreach talk series "Un instante en el Universo", Venezuela

From Kathy Vieira, OAO National Outreach Contact in Venezuela:
During 2013, the Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia "Francisco Jose Duarte" (CIDA) is presenting the monthly outreach talk series "Un instante en el Universo" ("An instant in the Universe"). More information can be found (in Spanish) at www.cida.ve.

8) Film trailer: “The Explorers”, Kai Staats

This film moves to capture the passion which all astronomers share, those conducting research or those simply gazing at the stars. The Explorers is a journey into the joy of learning motivated by looking into the night sky and asking, “Why?” Watch at: https://vimeo.com/69147713

9) Video on asteroids from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia

On the night of February 15th 2013, the asteroid 2012 DA14 approached the Earth well below the orbit of geostationary satellites, within 30 000 kilometers from the Earth's surface. Many astronomical observatories followed it, including the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia, from its observing site at Aras de los Olmos, whose images are shown in this video. It also shows images from the Chelyabinsk impact on the same day, explaining how craters form from these impacts on the planetary surfaces and what are the astronomers doing to watch potentially dangerous asteroids with orbits similar to that of Earth's. Watch here (in Spanish with English subtitles): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNLRrRFrR6k

10) Upcoming events

a) Astronomical Society of the Pacific Annual Meeting
Date: 20 – 24 July 2013
Location: San Jose, California, USA
More information: http://astrosociety.org/education/asp-annual-meeting/

b) Making Science Public
Date: 22 – 23 July 2013
Location: Nottingham, UK
More information: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sociology/research/projects/making-science-public/index.aspx

c) 7th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA),
Date: July 26 – August 5, 2013
Location: Volos, Greece
More information: http://www.ioaa2013.gr

d) Global Hands on Universe (GHOU) 2013
Date: 2 – 4 August 2013
Location:Volos, Greece (in parallel with IOAA)
More information: http://www.globalhou.net/

e) ESA Summer Workshop for Science Teachers
Date: 20 – 23 August 2013
Location: Noordwijk , the Netherlands
More information: http://www.esa.int/Education/Teachers_Corner/ESA_Summer_Workshop_for_Teachers_2013

for more events, please visit the IAU Events Calendar:
http://www.universedowntoearth.org/events/