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| A Canadian astronomer living in Kingston, Ontario, Terry Bridges completed his Ph.D. at Queen's University in 1992, has worked in Toulouse and the Royal Greenwich and Anglo-Australian Observatories. He is a member of the 100 Hours of Astronomy task group. |
 Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Simon Fraser University and 100 Hours of Astronomy
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  Hi everyone! As I’ve said before, with this blog I want to highlight IYA activities across
Canada
, and to let you know more about the major international IYA programs. Today I want to feature the many wonderful IYA activities being done at
Simon
Fraser
University
, and tell you about the upcoming 100 Hours of Astronomy.
We go first to
Simon
Fraser
University
, where a group of SFU students, faculty and staff are working with the
Vancouver
centre of the RASC to produce a fantastic program of IYA activities. One of their major initiatives is a series of astronomy workshops for grade-school students, as part of SFU’s “Science in Action” program. Each group that attends a workshop is given an official IYA “Galilescope” (http://www.galileoscope.org), and experienced volunteers show the children how to use these telescopes. Participants also receive free RASC and Canadian IYA materials, such as Starfinders,  astrocards, and Sidewalk Astronomy booklets. The picture to the left shows a recent visit by the 21st Burnaby Highlanders. I think the donation of Galileoscopes to schools and community groups is an excellent idea, and I hope many of you will do the same in other places. The Galileoscope is a high-quality telescope specially developed for IYA 2009 by a
US
team, and each one is only $15 US (plus shipping)! They are a great way to introduce children (and adults!) to the wonders of the night sky.
 SFU is carrying out plenty of other International Year of Astronomy activities, including star parties, lectures, and special occasions (e.g. equinox, Halloween, and solstice parties, and movie nights). The picture to the right is from one of their events on Feb 27, which viewed the lovely conjunction between Venus and the crescent Moon. To find out more about SFU’s International Year of Astronomy activities, check out their website: http://www.sfu.ca/starrynights/iyasfu.html. I’d also like to thank Dr. Howard Trottier at SFU (http://www.sfu.ca/~trottier) for telling me all about what they’re doing.
Now let me tell you about 100 Hours of Astronomy, which is just over two weeks away. 100 Hours is the biggest IYA project, and it’s happening during April 2-5. I’m on the 100 Hours task group, and I’ve had lots of fun being involved with this wonderful project. I’ll tell you more about 100 Hours over the next couple of weeks, but there will be live webcasts from science centers and research observatories around the world, a 24-hour global star party, and a “SunDay” celebration on the last day (Sunday of course!). You can see the 100 Hours website for all the details: http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org.
 I think this picture, taken Jan 1 on
Qeshm
Island
(in the
Persian Gulf
south of
Iran
), beautifully illustrates the international flavour of International Year of Astronomy and the excitement that is to come during 100 Hours.
Till next time,
Terry
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Links to previous IYA blogs by Terry Bridges:
March 10: lnternational Year of Astronomy
March 17: Simon Fraser University and 100 Hours of Astronomy
March 24: Calgary IYA Activities
March 30: 100 Hours of Astronomy
April 3: 100 Hours of Astronomy is Here
April 10: 100 Hours of Astronomy Highlights
April 21: IYA Activities in Halifax
April 29: IYA Update and Astronomy Day
May 5: Galileo Lectures
May 18: Saskatchewan Bound
May 23: Dark Skies
June 5: IYA so far, and Cool Cosmos
June 15: Calgary Activities and Teacher Training
June 30: IYA and Astronomical Art
July 26: Keppel Henge, the Moon, and More
August 10: The IAU General Assembly and Canadian IYA News
August 21: Doings at the DDO and Fun in Sudbury
October 3: Winnipeg Folklorama, Tremblant Sous les Étoiles, Quantum to Cosmos in Waterloo and SUPERnova in Vancouver
October 21: Galilean Nights, Citizen Science and the Arts Roundup
December 15: One Million Galileo Moments and Counting
March 9, 2010: IYA: What a Year! (And it’s not really over)
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