Editorial: Celebrate Astronomy in 2019 Under One Sky
Astronomy is a science that fascinates humankind. On the one hand astronomy touches on the largest philosophical questions facing us: Where do we come from? Where will we end? How did life arise? On the other hand, the beauty of the night sky is breathtaking, making astronomy quite attractive to the general public.
Moreover, astronomy has played an important role in the development of our society. For instance, in the earliest civilizations, the ability to predict the motion of the Sun and the stars helped set the foundations for navigation, agriculture and time-keeping. Just focusing on recent times, we have seen important astronomy-related technological developments that led to WIFI technology or Magnetic Resonance Imaging to name two. During the past 100 years, we also have experienced important astronomical discoveries such as the expansion of the universe, the fact that we are made of stardust, or the discovery of the first exoplanet, that have pushed the limits of our knowledge as a society and have posed many new important questions that will be answered in the next decades or even centuries.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) turns 100 years old in 2019 and I would like to take this opportunity to organise a year-long celebration to increase awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development and diplomacy. Under the Central theme Under One Sky, the IAU 100 Year Celebrations (IAU100, see www.iau-100.org) will reflect on the past century of important milestones and discoveries, while looking ahead at what is to come.
The IAU100 global activities planned for the celebrations in 2019 are far-reaching. A global network of schools is being established to learn about topics such as gravitation and general relativity under the Einstein Schools banner. The United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Astronomy will be celebrated around the United Nations’ observance on 11 February 2019. The formation of a Dark Skies ambassador network will raise awareness of the importance to fight light pollution throughout the year and will organise activities around the International Day of Light on 16 May. An itinerant exhibition will highlight world initiatives that address the concept of inclusion using astronomy; commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in July 2019. An open-source travelling exhibition will take visitors on a chronological journey through the past century of scientific, technological, and cultural advances. Actions will build teachers’ competence with scientific topics and teaching techniques. A new edition of the Name ExoWorlds competition will provide all nations in the world with the opportunity to name an exoplanet.
The kick off event for IAU100 in 2019 is the 100 Hours of Astronomy: a global celebration composed of a broad range of activities aimed at involving the public. This will take place over four days and nights, from 10-13 January 2019. Everyone is invited to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for space by taking part in a scheduled activity or by organising their own activity as part of this global project.
Those are just a few of the activities that are planned so far, since the real beauty of these actions is that they could become a truly grassroots initiative and inspire people to organise many events worldwide. You can find information on all these activities on the IAU100 Event Calendar.
I would like to invite all EPS members to join these celebrations and organise events celebrating astronomy in their countries. As I know firsthand, due to my involvement with the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 and the International Day of Light, the participation of EPS Member Societies and Individual members made a great contribution to the success of the initiative in their countries.
Join the IAU celebrating a century of astronomical discoveries Under One Sky!
Jorge Rivero González (@jorgegrivero)
IAU100 Coordinator
