Sent electronically to Individual Members on November 7, 2008
by Karel A. van der Hucht, General Secretary
The Registration Server for the IAU XXVII General Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-14 August 2009, is on-line. See <www.astronomy2009.com.br/>. The Server gives also access to the GA Accommodation Server, the GA Abstract Server, the GA Travel Grant Application Server and the CUP Pre-ordering of GA Proceedings Server. Note that Early Registration (reduced fees) will end on 1 March 2009.
The IAU XXVII GA National Organizing Committee, chaired by Daniela Lazzaro and Beatriz Barbuy, is going to great lengths to organize a most interesting and enjoyable GA for the IAU membership, invited participants and guests.
The scientific programme and practical information are available at:
The GA website <www.astronomy2009.com.br/> and the IAU website <www.iau.org> both contain a great deal of information and are worth visiting regularly.
Thanks to the activities of IAU Commission 41 on History of Astronomy, the IAU and UNESCO, in particular its World Heritage Center, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 30 October for cooperation in the field of Astronomy and World Heritage.
Information is available at:
IAU Commission 41 has created a dedicated Working Group to focus on the issues of Astronomy & World Heritage.
Proposals for IAU Symposia in 2010 must reach the Assistant General Secretary via the IAU web site before 1 December 2008.
See: <www.iau.org/science/meetings/>.
The deadline for submitting nominations for the Gruber Cosmology Prize 2009 of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is 15 December 2008.
See <www.iau.org/grants_prizes/gruber_foundation/> and
<www.gruberprizes.org/Nominations/Cosmology.php>.
The Gruber Cosmology Prize 2009 will be awarded during the Opening Ceremony of the IAU XXVII General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4 August 2009.
The IAU Executive Committee solicits proposals for hosting the IAU XXIX General Assembly in July-August 2015. Rules and guidelines are available at:
<www.iau.org/administration/meetings/hosting_ga/>.
Please send a Letter-of-Intent to :
Karel A. van der Hucht, IAU General Secretary,
<k.a.van.der.hucht@sron.nl>, with a copy to <iau@iap.fr>.
Complete bid books should reach the IAU General Secretary before the deadline of 1 April 2009.
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is still growing!
We would like to welcome Albania and Afghanistan, our latest National Nodes, which brings the total to an impressive 129, of which 75 have national web sites. There are now 29 Organisational Nodes. More information is available at:
<www.astronomy2009.org/>.
In order to promote activities, the IYA2009 Secretariat is establishing a network of media partners that will write and report on IYA2009 activities around the world. See:
<www.astronomy2009.org/organisation/structure/partners/media/>.
In order to promote various products fulfilling the vision of IYA2009, a category of IYA2009 official Products was created. This will enable such products to attain greater international recognition, to reach out via the IYA2009 global network and link with celebrations world wide.
See: <www.astronomy2009.org/resources/products>.
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is a new project that will publish one podcast per day, 5 to 10 minutes in duration, for all 365 days of 2009. The podcast will be made available through an RSS feed. The podcast episodes will be written, recorded and produced by people around the world. See: <365daysofastronomy.org/>.
The program for the IYA2009 Opening Ceremony, 15-16 January 2009, is taking shape. See: <www.astronomy2009.fr/opening>.
The Night Sky Network, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, National Science Foundation, NASA, and the IYA2009 US Committee have teamed up to provide great resources that support NASA's monthly themes and feature celestial objects. To join skygazers world wide in a renewed appreciation of the Universe, see: <www.astrosociety.org/iya/guides.html>.
One of IAU contributions to IYA2009 is the book "Eyes on the Skies" by Govert Schilling and Lars Lindberg Christensen. This richly illustrated book is aimed at lay persons and tells the story of the telescope and its many facets. See: <www.eyesontheskies.org/>.