IYA2009 Updates

Online Universe Wins AAAS Education Website Award

2 Sep 2010

A website that brings the universe into the homes and onto the computer screens of professional and amateur astronomers alike has won a Science Prize for Online Resources in Education, known as SPORE, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

Built by a Johns Hopkins University team led by astrophysicist and computer scientist Alexander Szalay, the SkyServer search tool of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey’s database makes more than 350 million stars and galaxies available to students, teachers and the public. SkyServer’s MapQuest-like interface allows them to pan through the sky, zoom in and out, and click on stars and galaxies for more information. 

“The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has made its entire dataset available through this online portal for public use in education,” said Szalay, the Alumni Centennial Professor in the Krieger School’s Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy. “This is a unique opportunity for students, teachers and the public to learn about astronomy. Basically, anyone with Internet access can now interact with the data in the same way that professional scientists do.”

The most ambitious astronomical survey ever taken, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-which began in 1991 and involved hundreds of scientists around the world-is sometimes described as astronomy’s equivalent of the Human Genome Project. When complete, it will provide detailed optical images covering more than a quarter of the sky, as well as a three-dimensional map of millions of galaxies and quasars. The development of SkyServer, in particular, benefited greatly from Szalay’s collaboration with Jim Gray of Microsoft Research, who worked with the Johns Hopkins team on that and several other large-scale, high-performance scientific databases.

The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) gives browsers access to a three-dimensional map of the entire universe, including the brightest 1 million stars and quasars. This data is fed into the website by a dedicated 2.5 meter diameter SDSS telescope that uses a 120 megapixel camera in New Mexico to image the entire night sky, 1.5 square degrees of sky at a time (about eight times the area of the full Moon). The goal of the survey is to address fundamental questions about the universe by looking at large-scale patterns of the galaxies.

Astrophysicists have many theories about how the universe came into being and evolved, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey is aimed at telling scientists which theories are correct, or whether they must come up with completely new ones.

Using the SkyServer search tool, users can visually explore the heavens and sort through the reams of data available on the SDSS site, Szalay said.

“SkyServer users can pan through the sky, zoom in and out, and click on stars and galaxies for more information, such as the galaxy’s brightness or its position in the sky,” Szalay said. “There also are tools that let any user examine SDSS data on any object. It’s truly amazing.”

SkyServer also provides middle school, high school and college students with a series of suggested science projects, complete with Excel spreadsheet templates to make data analysis easier. Topics of the projects include  nderstanding why stars have different colors,classifying stellar spectra and examining the expansion of the universe. These projects were designed by Johns Hopkins team member Jordan Raddick, who wrote about the educational value of the website in the Aug. 27 issue of Science, which announced the award.

“SkyServer provides an opportunity for teachers, students and the public to learn about astronomy interactively, which we know from education research is extremely effective and important,” Raddick said. “This website and its tools allow anyone with Internet access to interact with the SDSS data in the way real scientists do, which is remarkable.”

Over the last six years, the SDSS has been named several times as being among the most-used astronomy database facilities in the world, based upon an analysis of astronomy journal citations presented yearly at the meetings of the American Astronomical Society.

 “The bottom line is that this is the way astronomy is being done in the 21st century. Scientists don’t have to compete for time on expensive telescopes-they simply dial up the sky on their computers,” Szalay said. “It’s wonderful to be recognized for our work on the SkyServer, but in truth this award reflects the amazing work of hundreds of astrophysicists and astronomers and computer scientists over the last two decades.”

Postcards from the Edge of the Universe

2 Sep 2010

On 7 September at 10:30 a book based on the IYA2009 Cornerstone project, Cosmic Diary, entitled Postcards from the Edge of the Universe, will be launched at the ESO exhibition stand during the JENAM2010 Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.

More information: http://www.jenam2010.org/

JENAM2010 Special Session: New Trends in Global Astronomy Education

2 Sep 2010

Science Education is acknowledged globally as a major aspect of a modern education system. But it is also known that the interest of the younger generations in science topics has been decreasing. A shift in traditional science teaching methodology is mandatory. Astronomy, and the fascinating developments of the last few years, can be a very powerful tool to achieve this goal. Besides its multidisciplinarity, it also has the power to attract the interest of different partners. Actually, the recently approved IAU Strategical Plan for the next 10 years foresee the use of Astronomy as a trigger to the development in several nations.  This can only be achieved if we steadily invest in capacity building by training educators and capacitating students to enter the work market properly prepared.

In this symposium we would like to discuss recent successes and challenges for the future. The recent success of IYA2009 brought a huge wave of interest and raised the awareness of the public in general towards Astronomy. It is mandatory that we use this opportunity to engage European authorities in broader usage of modern tools in schools all over Europe. We must invest in the construction of science culture as an official part of the upraising of future generations.

More information: http://www.jenam2010.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=77

Contact: Rosa Doran

Programme:

 09h00    Welcome

09h15    Rosa Doran - The GTTP - Now the future starts
09h30    Roger Ferlet - EUHOU
09h45    Constance Walker - New Trends in Using Globe at Night data
10h00    Daniel Brown - Peak into the Past - na Arechaeo Astronomy Summer School
10h15    Jose Espinosa - Early Science Education in Primary Schools
10h30    COFFE BREAK
11h00    Natasa Stanic - Art and Science Performance for all generation
11h15    Nino Kochiashvili - Astronomical Education in Georgia
11h30    Areg Mickelian - Astronomy for Students DVD
11h45    Thilina Heenatigala - Astro Book Drive - Sharing Materials to improve Astronomy Education
12h00    Victor Gudiel - HOU Spain - Recent Developments
12h15    Lucilia Santos - Teachers formation and practical activities in Astronomy for 1º CEB

Babak Tafreshi: Hosting Star Parties in Iran

2 Sep 2010

Babak Tafreshi featured on Dicover Magazine: http://discovermagazine.com/2010/may/17-questions-hosting-star-parties-in-iran

Inspired by Carl Sagan, Babak Tafreshi is on a mission to bring the wonder of astronomy to the Middle East, and to the world.

Get Ready for The Great World Wide Star Count

30 Aug 2010

The Great World Wide Star Count encourages everyone to go outside, look skyward after dark, note the stars in certain constellations, and report what they could see online. Star Count is designed to raise awareness about the night sky and encourage learning in astronomy. All the information needed to participate is available on the Star Count Web site. Be sure to download the 2010 Activity Guide (available in 8 languages) to prepare your class for this project.

Participation involves use of a simple protocol and an easy data entry form. During the first three years, over 31,000 individuals from 64 countries and all 7 continents participated in this campaign to measure light pollution globally.

At the conclusion of the event, maps and datasets will be generated highlighting the results of this exciting citizen science campaign. Mark your calendars and plan on joining thousands of other students, families, and citizen scientists counting stars this fall.

The Great World Wide Star Count will be held from October 29 - November 12, 2010. For more information visit http://www.windows2universe.org/citizen_science/starcount/
 or email starcount_info@ucar.edu.

Beyond IYA2009 Updates

27 Aug 2010

She is an Astronomer Lunch @ JENAM2010, Lisbon, Portugal
Tuesday, 7th September 12:30 - 14:30
The She is an Astronomer Lunch session is an opportunity for women to get together to meet each other and do a bit of networking. Men are welcome to attend too! The lunch gives people time to explore an issue of common interest, and they are so popular there is often a waiting list, so book early. The IYA2009 Cornerstone Project 'She is an Astronomer' has highlighted that mentoring is an essential tool in the career-development of women. More information: http://www.jenam2010.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=47

Observe the Moon Night: Photo Contest
Perhaps you are an aspiring lunar photographer. Or perhaps you have been photographing the Moon for years. Either way, we’ve got a contest for you! Be a part of the 2010 International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) Photo Contest and you (or at least your photo) will become an InOMN legacy. More information: http://observethemoonnight.org/getInvolved/contest

NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Project
The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program, is a mechanism for getting authentic research experiences ultimately into classrooms. More information: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1020/

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars
Donald Lubowich, Coordinator of Astronomy Outreach at Hofstra University, brought his NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars program to the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA on August 3, 2010. More information: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1021/

Science & Development Network - Online Resources: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1022/

Coloring Space
A recent development by two creative persons separated by the width of the North American continent and a border constitutes a legacy bridging the arts and astronomy from the digital  From Earth to the Universe IYA2009 exhibits in Victoria, Canada.  Recently a new element, “Coloring Space,” appeared on NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory web site: http://www.chandra.harvard.edu/art/color/ 

JENAM2010: Education and Outreach after IYA2009 in Europe, 7 September 2010, Lisbon, Portugal
The final programme is now available: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/1016/

International Observe the Moon Night: 18 September 2010 will mark the first ever International Observe the Moon Night!
More information: http://observethemoonnight.org/

Coloring Space

27 Aug 2010

A recent development by two creative persons separated by the width of the North American continent and a border constitutes a legacy bridging the arts and astronomy from the digital  From Earth to the Universe IYA exhibits in Victoria, Canada.  Recently a new element, “Coloring Space,” appeared on NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory web site: http://www.chandra.harvard.edu/art/color/  It juxtaposes selections from Organiverse by Netherlands-born artist Henri van Bentum with NASA images of celestial objects.  Van Bentum has been for many years a resident of Victoria, and his wife, Natasha van Bentum, was the catalyst for Victoria’s extensive digital FETTU exhibits developed in collaboration with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Victoria Centre and the National Research Council of Canada with strong support from SONY Style, local malls and the Airport.  Over the more than two years of planning and implementation, Natasha van Bentum developed a long-distance collaboration with  Chandra’s Media Production Coordinator, Kimberly Kowal Arcand; together they worked closely to create this unique IYA legacy.

Science & Development Network: Online Resources

27 Aug 2010

The best science resources:  'key documents' and 'links' 

• Expert advice for journalists: practical guides or guide to Spotting fraudulent claims in science.

• Media advice for scientists:  How to explain controversial issues to the media and public ; How to become a media savvy scientist and How do I submit a paper to a scientific journal 

• Policy briefs: policy briefs  provide policymakers and the public with focused information to facilitate evidence-based decision-making.

More information about Science & Development Network: www.scidev.net

Music and Astronomy Under the Stars

25 Aug 2010

Dr. Donald Lubowich, Coordinator of Astronomy Outreach at Hofstra University, brought his NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars program to the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA on August 3, 2010. Tanglewood on Parade is an all-day music and astronomy family program and was attended by over 16,000 people with most people participating in some of astronomy activity. The Dudley Observatory (the oldest independent astronomy research and education organization in the United States chartered in 1852), the Springfield STARS astronomy club, and students from the Williams College Department of Astronomy assisted with the astronomy activities. 

Popular activities included solar observing during the day and observations of Jupiter and its moons at night. The public was also very interested in the large astronomy posters and images which included a 3-meters HST image of the Orion Nebula; a 6-meters TWAN image of the Milky Way from Mauna Kea by Wally Pacholka  and twelve STScI/American Library Association Vision of the Universe posters describing 400 years of astronomy. 

There were lectures on July 11, 2010 Easter Island eclipse and recent eclipses by Dr. Jay Pasachoff (Williams College) and edible astronomy demonstrations by Dr. Donald Lubowich (Hofstra University). Science educator Michael Francis, dressed as Galileo, gave a program on Galileo’s telescope and his astronomical discoveries accompanied by Dr. Christopher Morrongiello (Hofstra University) who played lute music composed by Galileo’s father and brother. 

An astronomy video composed of multiple of NASA videos, FETTU images, and TWAN images (created by Dr. Jose Francisco Salgado, Adler Planetarium) and the American Museum of Natural History planetarium programs Journey to the Stars (narrated by Whoopie Goldberg) and Cosmic Collisions (narrated by Robert Redford) were also shown during the day. 

The Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestras played music composed by John Williams accompanied by Yo-Yo Ma and guest appearance by James Taylor followed by fireworks accompanying a performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture. 

NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Project

25 Aug 2010

NITARP, the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program, is a mechanism for getting authentic research experiences ultimately into classrooms across the United States. We partner scientists with (primarily) high school teachers, do a research project, and the teachers incorporate the experience into their classroom.

National Nodes: 148
Organisational Nodes: 40
Organisational Associates:33
National Websites: 111
Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
Special Projects:16
Official Products:8
Media Partners:22

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