400 Years of Astronomical Outreach

Today marks a very important anniversary for the International Year of Astronomy 2009. As you may know, the International Year of Astronomy 2009 is being celebrated to promote astronomy on the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observations of the sky with a telescope and the publication of Kepler's Astronomica Nova.

On August 25, 1609, Galileo conducted what is now considered the first astronomical outreach activity. He invited the Venetian Republic's lawmakers and policy makers to the St. Mark's Square bell tower, and showed off his simple but revolutionary telescope design. The telescope only gave a magnification of eight times, but that ability was still very invaluable. The visitors marveled at what the telescope allowed them to see, and rewarded Galileo with a life tenure at the University of Padua and a double in his salary (making him become one of the highest paid at the university).

The astronomical outreach event was a very important event for astronomy. Not only did Galileo promote the telescope's technology, but astronomy as well. In the same way, astronomical outreach events today help promote astronomy to the public, and this is one of the goals of the International Year of Astronomy.

Additionally, Google has made a Google Doodle for their homepage to honor today's important anniversary.

More information is available at the International Year of Astronomy 2009's website, while a film, 400 Years of the Telescope, details Galileo's telescope among other astronomical topics in a wonderful documentary.

Image (Galileo): IYA2009; Image (Google Doodle): Google


Astronomy and Space Celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.

Galaxy Triplet Arp 274

To celebrate the 100 Hours of Astronomy, the people working on the Hubble Space Telescope decided to let the public decide of what the telescope will take a picture. This vote, called Hubble's Next Discovery - You Decide, closed on March 1, and consisted of six interesting objects, details about which are not completely understood. I personally voted for the winner, Arp 274, since it seemed to be a pair of interacting galaxies. However, these galaxies have now revealed a surprise.

Arp 274 was previously thought to be a set of interacting galaxies, galaxies that are "colliding" and gravitationally affecting one another. The ground-based image (left) of the same area of the sky certainly makes it seem that way. But, the new image by the Hubble, with far more detail, reveals that the three galaxies may just be galaxies located near each other, but not interacting together. The largest galaxy in the center, a barred spiral galaxy, appears to be extending an arm into the other spiral galaxy, on the right. Distortion of the shapes of the galaxies by gravity would indicate interaction, but this is simply not exhibited by these galaxies. Additionally, there is a third galaxy in the area, a small compact galaxy. All three contain bright blue areas, where star formation takes place.

You can get this image at the news release, or download a wallpaper for your computer at HubbleSite.

Update: Here is a video detailing the process used to generate this image.



Images: NASA, Palomar Observatory

Astronomy and Space celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.

100 Hours of Astronomy

One of the most important parts of IYA 2009 is the 100 Hours of Astronomy. Starting on April 2, 2009, and lasting until April 5, 2009, this global program to promote astronomy consists of numerous events to get people all across the world to enjoy astronomy.

100 Hours of Astronomy is opened by an event in Philadelphia, with one of Galileo's original telescopes. Their website will also feature a live 24-hour webcast on April 2, called Around the World in 80 Telescopes. The show will take you inside the telescope domes and control rooms of some of the most famous telescopes in the world. April 4 will be a 24-hour Global Star Party, where telescopes will be available free for public viewing. This day also happens to be the third International Sidewalk Astronomy Night (like the first and second International Sidewalk Astronomy Nights). Sun Day will be on April 5, when you can celebrate the star that Earth orbits around. Additionally, during the entire 100 Hours of Astronomy, a few observatories around the world will allow free access to their telescopes. Sign up and control the telescope to view anything you want.

This a big program, and what makes it so important is that almost everybody can take part in it in some. To do so, try finding an event close to you on 100 Hours of Astronomy website, or maybe even create a local event yourself.

Astronomy and Space celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.

What Should Hubble Look At Next?

This question will be answered by the help of your vote! To celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), people all over the world can vote to decide what they would like the Hubble Space Telescope to capture an image of, something that its never seen before. Besides just voting, you also get to enter to win one of the images (out of a hundred) of this new object that the Hubble records with its camera.

The image will be released between April 2 and 5, as part of IYA's 100 Hours of Astronomy, when IYA wants as many people as possible to observe the night sky through a telescope. At this time, many conditions will be optimal to enhance this experience, such as the Moon and Saturn's place in the sky.

To vote and enter the drawing for the image, visit this webpage, where you can learn about the project and more information about the six choices available for voting. Remember, the deadline for voting is March 1.

Astronomy and Space Celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.

2009: International Year of Astronomy

400 years ago, Galileo Galilei made the first recorded observations of the sky with a telescope. Also in 1609, Johannes Kepler published Astronomia Nova, containing ten years of his work on the fundamental laws of planetary motion. So to celebrate, 2009 has been declared the International Year of Astronomy (IYA209), 400 years after these monumental events in astronomy.

The marking of this has been laid out by the International Astronomical Union, and is also endorsed by the United Nations (specifically UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). The opening ceremony for IYA2009 took place just recently, January 15-16, in Paris, kicking off this great year.

The goal of IYA2009 is to promote astronomy, and science in general worldwide. Astronomy and Space is going to do its part by providing updates about astronomy regularly. Additionally 136 countries are currently participating, with some organizations such as NASA, ESA, and ISRO helping promote the event.

Image: IYA2009

Astronomy and Space celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.