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Planning for US IYA2009

Planning for US IYA2009. Susana Deustua American Astronomical Society Co-chair US IYA Program Committee. American Astronomical Society. , individual members, ~1,000 foreign affiliate members. Founded in 1899 Publishes ApJ, ApJ Supp, ApJ Letters, AJ, BAAS Activities

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Planning for US IYA2009

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  1. Planning for US IYA2009 Susana Deustua American Astronomical Society Co-chair US IYA Program Committee

  2. American Astronomical Society • ,individual members, ~1,000 foreign affiliate members. • Founded in 1899 • Publishes ApJ, ApJ Supp, ApJ Letters, AJ, BAAS • Activities • 5 Divisions: Solar Physics, Dynamical Astronomy, Planetary Sciences, High Energy Astrophysics, Historical Astronomy • Meetings: two/year, plus Divisional mtgs. • Public Policy • Education • Member society of the American Institute of Physics (APS, AAPT, AGU)

  3. The US Astronomy Community: GROUND • Ground-based astronomy primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, other gov’t agencies and private sources • National Observatories (NOAO, NRAO, NSO, NAIC) • International Facilities (Gemini, SOAR) • Private observatories (McDonald, Keck, Las Campanas, HET, CfA) • TSIP • Future Facilities • Near Term ALMA • Medium Term LSST • Long Term GSMT/T

  4. The US Astronomy Community: SPACE • Space-based facilities funded by NASA • Great Observatories: HST, Spitzer, Chandra • Medium to Large Missions: Navigator, New Horizons, WMAP, SWIFT, HETE, FUSE • Small to Medium: RHESSI, sub-orbital payloads • Future: • Near Term: SOFIA, Herschel, Planck • Medium Term: JWST • Long Term: JDEM, LISA, SIM

  5. The US Astronomy Community: Amateurs • Robust amateur-astronomy community ~400,000 backyard astronomers ~750 astronomy clubs • Astronomical League • AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers) • ALPO (Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers) • ASP (Astronomical Society of the Pacific) • IOTA (International Occultation Timing Association) • SAS (Society for Astronomical Sciences) • Etc.

  6. Vibrant Education and Public Outreach in Astronomy • National Observatories (visitor centers, teacher programs, press releases…) • NASA Centers (teacher programs, web, press releases, curriculum materials, etc.) • Private Observatories (McDonald most active (StarDate); Hawai’i ramping up with Imiloa) • Professional Societies: Astronomical Society of the Pacific, AAVSO, AAS, International Dark-Sky Association • Astronomical League

  7. Vibrant Education and Public Outreach in Astronomy • Planetariums and Science Centers (Adler, AMNH, Smithsonian, Exploratorium, Boston Museum of Science, Griffith Observatory • National Parks (visitor centers, docent programs) • Astronomy Clubs • Boy Scouts • Girl Scouts • After-school programs

  8. Coordinating IYA 2009 in the U.S. • Program Committee • Develop themes and activities to support IYA goals • Appreciation of astronomy’s rich scientific and cultural role throughout human history • 15 members from leading organizations that engage in astronomy education and public outreach in the United States, plus liaisons to Canada and Mexico • Co-chairs Doug Isbell & Susana Deustua • Development Committee • Secure funding and resources to implement IYA activities • 10 members from academia, industry, organizations • Chair Peter Stockman

  9. Schedule of US IYA Activities • Planning Meetings • Washington, DC, early May, 2007 • AAS Meeting in Honolulu, HI, May 2007 • ASP meeting in Chicago, IL, September 7-8 • AAS Meeting in Austin, TX, January 2008 - First PR event • Proposals to Gov’t agencies • Proposals to private foundations, companies

  10. US IYA 2009Goals , Themes, Activities Doug Isbell • Co-Chair, US Program Committee • Associate Director for Public Affairs & Educational Outreach, National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) disbell@noao.edu

  11. GOAL for US IYA 2009 “To offer an engaging astronomy experience to every person in the country.”

  12. Six Major US Themes • Looking Through a Telescope • Dark Skies Are a Universal Resource • Astronomy in Arts, Entertainment & Storytelling • Research Experience for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists • Telescope Building & Optics Challenges • Sharing the Universe Through New Technology

  13. Looking Through a Telescope • Star parties • Sidewalk astronomy • Mobile telescope vans • Binocular experiences • Remote telescopes (north + south) • Observing with spacecraft? > 100 million first-time viewers worldwide???

  14. Dark Skies Are aUniversal Resource • GLOBE at Night 2009 - “classic” star counting and digital sky-quality meters • Coordination with Earth-orbiting satellites • Related issues: energy use, health, etc. • Efforts in individual cities • Ex.: Sydney, Australia, “lights out”

  15. Arts, Entertainment& Storytelling • Documentaries • Hollywood productions (TV, movies) • Marketing opportunities • Native cultures • Public lectures • Galileo impersonators!

  16. Research Experiences for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists • Observing at telescopes • Remote observing & image processing • Data mining • Work with members of NASA/ESA science teams (Spitzer under way) • Coordinated ground-space-amateur observing?

  17. Telescope Building &Optics Challenges • “Telescope amnesty” • A new telescope kit? ($5-10 each x 1 million copies?) • Hands-On Optics • Contests & Science Festivals • Internships with big telescope projects?

  18. Sharing the UniverseThrough New Technology • Planetaria • Science Centers • Blogging and Podcasting • YouTube -type portals for self-made videos (contests?) • Videoconferencing • RSS news feed • Real-time Web counter of IYA participation?

  19. US IYA 2009 Program • Each theme supported by 1-3 working groups of 6-8 people each (professional and amateur) • Supported by Web portal @ AAS • Kick-off event at National Air & Space Museum?

  20. 2 0 0 9 Sky Events and Related Opportunities Rick Fienberg Editor in Chief, Sky & Telescope Member, AAS Program Committee for the International Year of Astronomy rfienberg@SkyandTelescope.com

  21. Looking Through a Telescope Astronomy is experiential — anyone can see what Galileo saw. So let’s give everyone a chance to look through a telescope!

  22. Schedule sidewalk astronomy events on weekends closest to first-quarter Moon 2009 Jan 4 (Sun), Feb 2 (Mon), Mar 4 (Wed), Apr 2 (Thu), May 1 (Fri), May 31 (Sun) - “blue Moon” Jun 29 (Mon), Jul 28 (Tue), Aug 27 (Thu), Sep 26 (Sat), Oct 26 (Mon), Nov 24 (Tue), Dec 24 (Thu)

  23. Some Other Sky Events in 2009 • Mercury best in evening sky: April 26, near crescent Moon • Venus best in evening sky: mid-January, then sinks down • Mars opposition: Jan. 29, 2010 @ 14 arcsec, not good in ’09 • Saturn opposition: March 8, ring-plane crossing Sept. 4 • Perseid meteors: mid-August (ruined by moonlight) • Leonid meteors: mid-November (dark sky) • Geminid meteors: mid-December (dark sky) • Partial lunar eclipse: December 31 (last night of IYA!); • visible almost exclusively in the Eastern Hemisphere

  24. Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites • Opposition Friday-Saturday, August 14-15 • Coincides with end of IAU GA in Rio de Janiero • Jupiter and Neptune barely 3 degrees apart • Bonus! Jupiter and Neptune fit together in a low-power eyepiece field 3 times! • late May (morning sky) • early July (late evening/early morning sky) • late December (evening sky)

  25. Longest Total Solar Eclipse of the 21st Century

  26. “First Looks” and “Telescope Amnesty” • Each IAU national node could set up a website to collect people’s comments on their IYA telescopic observations, especially reactions to “first looks” • Set national targets (U.S. could aim for 10 million) • Fly comments on a space-astronomy mission?! • At all IYA events where amateurs set up telescopes, the public could be invited to bring their little-used scopes to get advice on repairs, improvements, and/or replacements.

  27. Dark Skies Are aUniversal Resource • Build on existing efforts, e.g., • International Dark-Sky Association • U.S. National Park Service • GLOBE at Night draws attention to light pollution without getting into difficult political issues of safety and security raised by “lights out” events. • GLOBE at Night 2009: “Great Backyard Star Count” • Count naked-eye stars in Orion • One week observing window in March 2009 • Report data to central clearinghouse

  28. Arts, Entertainment & Storytelling Two IYA 2009 TV productions already in the works! • 400 Years of the Telescope: • A Journey of Science, Technology, and Thought • Produced by Kris Koenig • Written by Don Goldsmith and David H. Levy • Companion planetarium show in development • The Quest to See Infinity: • The 400th Anniversary of the Telescope • Produced by Richard Hudson and David Axelrod • Senior advisor: science historian Albert van Helden

  29. Research Experiences for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists Next eclipse begins mid-2009! (First in the Digital Age.)

  30. Telescope Building &Optics Challenges “A Telescope in Every Pot” Project STAR telescope kit: 16x refractor, $5 per scope! (Price could be drastically reduced with volume discount.)

  31. Sharing the UniverseThrough New Technology

  32. All I Want for IYA 2009 Is…

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