2009
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY
Cosmic diary
International Year of AstronomyAll year round, worldwide
www.iya2009.orgProfessional astronomers around the world will be blogging about their day to day activities and what it is like to be an astronomer. Researchers from NASA, the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory will be blogging as part of this project
Portal to the universe
All year round, worldwide
www.portaltotheuniverse.orgA website built for IYA2009 will feature rolling news, new images taken by telescopes, blogs by astronomers, and videos, as well as links to other astronomy websites. It will also contain a directory of observatories, facilities and astronomical societies.
IYA2009 opening ceremony
15–16 January, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the official launch, such as government ministers and Nobel-prize winners, including Robert Wilson, who shared one half of the 1978 prize with Arno Penzias for the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation. There will be exhibitions as well as talks by leading figures in astronomy.
Conference on the role of astronomy in society and culture
19–23 January, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
Examining the relationship that astronomy has established with different cultures around the world. There will also be an accompanying art exhibition.
GLOBE at night
16–28 March, worldwide
This project lets students, teachers and parents take part in a global campaign to observe and record the magnitude of visible stars to measure light pollution in a given location. After the observations are collected, a map will be produced showing the levels of light pollution around the world.
100 hours of astronomy
2–5 April, worldwide
One of the cornerstone projects of IYA2009, this event will try to make as many people as possible use a telescope and look up the stars.
International Astronomy Day
2 May, worldwide
Local astronomical societies, planetariums, museums and observatories will be giving presentations and workshops to help increase public awareness about astronomy.
IAU general assembly
3–14 August, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Leading astronomers will head to Brazil for a two-week conference to discuss everything from dark matter and galaxy clusters to whether the fundamental constants change with time.
