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Single Point of Contact: Doug Isbell National Optical Astronomy Observatory Email:
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Phone: +1 - 520-318-8214
URL: www.astronomy2009.us and http://www.noao.edu/outreach/paeo/doug
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 – U.S. Goals, Themes and Plans As the US representative to the IAU, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) established two committees to plan for the U.S. IYA 2009 effort: a Program Committee to develop the ideas for key programs and activities, and a Development Committee to seek funding for the best ideas. The Program Committee’s members cover the spectrum of astronomy outreach in the country, including representatives from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the astronomy media, the planetarium community, and representatives from Mexico and Canada. Development Committee members are drawn from industry, observatories and the private sector. The main U.S. GOAL for IYA 2009 is “To offer an engaging astronomy experience to every person in the country, nurture existing partnerships and build new connections to sustain public interest.” To achieve this goal, seven major US themes have been established: • Looking Through a Telescope (star parties and sidewalk astronomy)• Dark Skies Are a Universal Resource (citizen-science campaigns such as GLOBE at Night and related educational activities)• Astronomy in Arts, Entertainment & Storytelling • Research Experience for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists (observations of variable star Epsilon Aurigae and more)• Telescope Kits & Optics (hands-on activities tied to new inexpensive “Galieoscope” kit)• Sharing the Universe Through New Technology (blogs, podcasts, Webcasts, social networking sites…)• The Universe for Classrooms and Families (a booklet of follow-on activities for children, teachers and families, supported by a Galileo Club Card and related Web site).Each theme is supported by at least one working group, Each theme is also responsible for reaching out to specific underserved audiences, and for building in an evaluation function for their proposed activities. Altogether, the themes now involve more than 70 astronomy outreach professionals, amateur astronomers, educators and volunteers. NASA is developing a set of IYA program ideas that is aligned with this architecture, including early seed funding for the podcast “Are We Alone?” and a multi-wavelength image release from the Hubble/Spitzer/Chandra space telescopes. Major NASA-related events in 2009 include the outcome of the HST Servicing Mission-4, the launch of the Kepler exoplanet-hunting spacecraft, the impact of a probe released by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, first light for the SOFIA airborne infrared observatory, and the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20. The United States has taken a leadership role in three of the major cornerstone projects envisioned at the world level by the IAU IYA 2009 Executive Working Group: The Galieleoscope: an inexpensive (less than $4 per copy) kit-based telescope of sufficient quality to view craters on the Moon and the moons of Jupiter, capable of being mass-produced by the millions (with a commercial sponsor) and distributed in a controlled fashion, primarily through established outreach networks and programs, workshops and public events. [International Task Group Leader: Rick Fienberg]. Dark-Skies Awareness: a multifacted program of public education and citizen-science activities, including observations (GLOBE at Night [classic and digital] and the Great World Wide Star Count), small exhibits, new media, connections to star party activities, and urban “lights out” events. [International Task Group Leader: Connie Walker]. Image Exhibition: “The Universe from Earth” concept would assemble 100 of the best astronomical images produced by observatories, spacecraft and amateurs from around the world, and create a public display at one of three levels, depending on funding support – platinum level (outdoor, weatherproof), gold level (indoor), or silver level (downloads in standard format for local do-it-yourself). Candidate images are being collected via an ftp site at the Chandra Science Center [International Task Group Leaders: Kim Kowal Arcand and Megan Watzke]. The US IYA 2009 Web site (www.astronomy2009.us) has more information on all of the themes and working groups, along with forums for public input and discussion, and related US talks, presentations and materials. The general email address for ideas and comments is
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. A MySpace page for the US program has been established at (www.myspace.com/2009yearofastronomy) and a Facebook site (“I'll be celebrating the International Year of Astronomy in 2009”) has been created. As part of the summer 2008 AAS Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri (June 1-5), the AAS and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) are co-sponsoring a symposium focused on the International Year of Astronomy. This symposium will serve primarily as the major organizing conference and training workshop for national and regional (North American) efforts related to IYA 2009 For more, see http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas212/ http://www.astrosociety.org/ -end-
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