IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
2016 #17 September #1
In this newsletter:
- From the Editors
- IAU Focus Meeting and Symposia – Call for 2018
- National Outreach Contact (NOC) Corner: News from Australia
- Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education (RELEA)
- Astronomy Standard Curriculum
- Citizens' Debate on Space for Europe
- NASA Space Robotics Challenge
- Discover the Universe free workshops (in French and English)
- International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN)
- Meetings & global events
- Recently added
- Upcoming
- IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages
- Contributions to IAU Outreach Newsletter for 2016
0) From the Editors
The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) 5th annual call for proposals for astronomy-for-development projects deadline is 15 September 2016 — don’t miss this opportunity to get your project funded. Galileo Mobile project Constellation, endorsed by the IAU Cosmic Light program, needs your support to raise funds to organise astronomy outreach activities in the Amazonia and to donate material to their schools.
In this issue: get ready for another event in the International Observe the Moon Night programme; Discover the Universe workshops; and for our Portuguese readers, the Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education is out.
We want to thank our Australian National Outreach Contact for sharing with us some of the news from Australia. And we send a warm thank-you to our latest contributor to the group of newsletter translators: Liliana Gracanin, who is currently translating this newsletter into Serbian..
Clear Skies!
Lina Canas & Sze-leung Cheung
IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach
1) IAU Focus Meeting and Symposia — Call for 2018
The programme of scientific meetings is one of the most important means by which the IAU pursues its goal of promoting the science of astronomy through international collaboration. A large fraction of the Union's budget is devoted to supporting the IAU scientific meetings. Until 15 September 2016, IAU members can submit Letters of Intent for IAU Symposia for 2018. Since 2018 is also the year of a General Assembly, IAU Symposia will be scheduled as GA Symposia within the scientific programme of the GA, and held at the GA venue in Vienna, Austria.
You can find more information here: https://www.iau.org/science/meetings/.
2) National Outreach Contact (NOC) Corner: News from Australia
a) Public engagement through #askAAO Twitter sessions
Every Thursday from 3–4pm AEST/AEDT, a different staff member from the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) takes over the @AAOastro Twitter account to run #askAAO. During these sessions, the astronomer, engineer, student, or IT staff member discusses his or her role and projects at the AAO, reports the latest in space science news, and answers questions posted by #askAAO followers. Engagement continues to increase since this initiative started in mid-2014!
You can follow @AAOastro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AAOastro. And read previous sessions here: https://storify.com/AAOastro.
3) Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education (RELEA)
The Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education (RELEA) helps to foster and consolidate the topic of astronomy education in Latin America and beyond. The 21st issue is now available. Original, unpublished papers are accepted, containing empirical research, theoretical essays, and reviews of interest to the field of Astronomy Education. Articles may be written in Portuguese, Spanish or English. The first page is in Portuguese, but you can change to English or Spanish in the menu to your right. Any comments or suggestions may be sent directly to: relea@ufscar.br.
The guidelines for authors and submissions are listed in the address: www.relea.ufscar.br
4) Astronomy Standard Curriculum
The Science Council of Japan is setting out to determine guidelines for a Japanese university quality assurance. Through the Astronomical Society of Japan, Japanese astronomers are creating guidelines for astronomy curricula for Japanese universities. The idea of this project is to compile a list of astronomy syllabuses and curricula from different courses (with a more particular focus on university level courses) around the world. The resulting list will be used to contribute to a standard curriculum of astronomy which can be utilised as a reference. To do this, it is paramount to understand the different curricula that exist in various countries; so the team is seeking contributions related to various countries’ curricula. If you'd like to participate or ask for more information, you can contact Hidehiko Agata (h.agata@nao.ac.jp).
5) Citizens' Debate on Space for Europe
The Citizens' Debate on Space for Europe is a unique consultation organised in every Member State of the European Space Agency (ESA). Over 2000 citizens selected to reflect the socio-demographic diversity of their country will debate on space matters during a day-long meeting. To aid consolidation of the 22 national reports into one European report, all discussions will follow the same instructions and answer the same set of questions. ESA intends to take in new actors to develop its future orientation and nurture its strategy. It is crucial to the Agency to involve more actors, especially citizens, in choices that will respond to societal challenges, put space at their service and impact coming generations through space innovation, exploration, and international space cooperation.
Learn more here: http://www.citizensdebate.space/en_GB
6) NASA Space Robotics Challenge
The Space Robotics Challenge is a $1 million prize competition designed to push the boundaries of robotic dexterity. Teams must program a virtual robot, modeled after NASA’s Robonaut 5 (R5) robot, to complete a series of tasks in a simulation. The competition will be held in a virtual environment and seeks to develop the capabilities of humanoid robots to help astronauts on the journey to Mars. Registration is now open, with a qualifying round running from mid-September to mid-November. The final virtual competition will be held in June 2017, and winners will be announced at the end of June at Space Center Houston.
Learn more about the challenge here: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/centennial_challenges/feature/space_robotics_challenge.html
7) Discover the Universe free workshops (in French and English)
The Canadian training programme, Discover the Universe, provides free online astronomy workshop for francophone teachers worldwide. These workshops are based on popular workshops offered in Canada since 2011 with the support of the IAU’s Office of Astronomy for Development. Please share with anyone in your network who might be interested! The next webinar will be on “Answering Difficult Questions about the Big Bang” on 20 September 2016 at 4 pm Eastern time (18h UTC).
For more information and to register, visit: www.decouvertedelunivers.ca, the French website, or www.discovertheuniverse.ca for the information in English.
8) International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN)
InOMN is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of our Moon and its connection to planetary science and exploration. On 8 October, everyone on Earth is invited to join the celebration by hosting or attending an InOMN event. Here you can find information about how to organise, register, and evaluate your InOMN event, look for an InOMN event near you, and share pictures and highlights from InOMN.
9) Meetings & global events
Here you can find a list of astronomy outreach & education conferences and events around the world.
a) Recently added
Citizens' Debate on Space for Europe
Date: 10 September 2016
Location: ESA’s member countries
More information: http://www.citizensdebate.space/en_GB
b) Upcoming
- Twenty-fourth Annual Conference (SEAC 2016)
Date: 12-16 September 2016
Location: Bath, England
More Information: www.seac2016.com
- 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
- International Conference on Artificial Light at Night (ALAN 2016) Date: 26-28 September 2016
Location: Cluj, Napoca, Romania
More Information: www.artificiallightatnight.org
- LARIM 2016: XV Latin American Regional IAU Meeting
Date: 3-7 October 2016
Location: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
More Information: larim.unal.edu.co
- 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/
- World Space Week
Date: 4-10 October 2016
Location: Worldwide
More Information: www.worldspaceweek.org/theme/
- International Observe the Moon Night
Date: 8 October 2016
Location: Worldwide
More Information: observethemoonnight.org
- DPS-EPSC Joint Meeting 2016
Date: 16-21 October 2016
Location: Pasadena, CA, United States
More Information: www.epsc2015.eu
- Arab Conference on Astronomy and Geophysics
Date: 17-20 October 2016
Location: Helwan, Cairo, Egypt
More Information: acag-conf.org
- 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/
- IX International Conference on Oriental Astronomy
Date: 15-18 November 2016
Location: Pune, India
More Information: icoa2016.tifr.res.in
- First Arab Winter School for Astrophysics (FAWSA)
Date: 28 November to 3 December 2016
Location: Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco
- 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 and Spanish are available.
Translations into Serbian, by Dr. Liliana Gracanin from Serbia, are available: http://iau-serbian.freeinvision.net/t17-2016-astronomski-bilten-za-javnost-na-srpskom-jeziku#26
Translations of this newsletter into Japanese are available, by the Japan Amateur Astronomers Association: http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html
Translations into Spanish are also available, by the Association of Amateur Astronomers from León, Nicaragua: http://asafile.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_12.html
[older issues only] In Spanish, by the Astronomical Spanish Society : http://www.sea-astronomia.es/drupal/content/newsletter-iau-noc
If you are interested in translating our newsletter to 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 organising 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.