2009 is the International Year of Astronomy

2009 is now nearly over, but the impact of International Year of Astronomy 2009 will be felt for years to come.  IYA2009 was even more successful than we hoped!  For example, our goal of 1,000,000 Canadians experiencing a Galileo Moment was exceeded in October, and the number continues to grow as the last of the event organizers register their participation numbers.

We have over 3,300 events registered on our web site. We handed out a large number of astronomy trading cards (AstroCards) at these events, and more than 10,000 people have registered their names on our web site for launch into space by the Canadian Space Agency.  In addition, other handouts such as the StarFinders and the booklet “Mary Lou’s New Telescope” were very popular with the public.

The events themselves covered a wide range, from numerous “star parties” to public lectures, concerts, and events in Canadian Parks.  In addition to the events, there were thought-provoking advertisements on public transit and a number of radio broadcasts highlighting IYA and astronomy generally.  A much more complete list of IYA activities is available at www.casca.ca/Links/Committee_Reports/IYA_Nov09.pdf 

Thanks to the large number of volunteers for making IYA such a success, and a special thanks to those who supported our activities, particularly the Canadian Space Agency, the National Research Council,  Lumec, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Trottier Family Foundation, the University of Calgary Faculty of Science, and SkyNews.   All of you should take great pride in what we accomplished together!  We look forward to continuing to work with you to improve astronomy education and outreach enabled through the support of our NSERC PromoScience grant .

International Year of Astronomy has been a resounding success in our country and around the world but here in Victoria, British Columbia, the RASC Victoria Centre proudly completed one amazing accomplishment that I don’t think was duplicated anywhere else in Canada in 2009.  For one hundred hours ( and five minutes to be exact), from 7:00pm on Tuesday, April 28th to 11:05 pm on Saturday May 2nd, members of the Royal Astronomical Society in Victoria took astronomy to the community at large and gave well over two thousand locals, tourists, and school children their 2009 Galileo Moments.

Our Mammoth Marathon, named for the famous mascot in the Royal British Columbia Museum, began on the sidewalk outside of the Museum right in the heart of downtown Victoria.  As patrons came out from viewing the IMAX show, Cosmic Voyage, and hearing a presentation from one of our local professional astronomers, we deftly corralled them to join us to look through the telescopes at the moon and Saturn. The expected “oohs” and “aahs” erupted around us as we talked to many people that evening.

As the wee hours of the night came on two ardent volunteers bundled up and took command of the tented area.  It was a cold and lonely place as we found out quickly that Victoria is not too much of a “happening place” and that washrooms are few and far between in that area of town at three A.M. Needless to say our numbers of public observers were rather thin that night but when the new cohort of volunteers showed up early the next morning to let the “overnighters” go home there were still smiles all round as Venus was rising and the Sun peeked out behind the buildings.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of its first light, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope releases a 370 Megapixel deep sky image with half a million galaxies, an exclusive  illustrated essay on its past and current achievements, and new wallpapers of the telescope. 

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