Telescope Reviews: Galilean Nights: Global Astronomy Event

******** IAU0918: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 17 SEPTEMBER 2009 16:00 CEST
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www.iau.org/public_press/news/release/iau0918/

Galilean Nights: Global Astronomy Event Invites the World to Discover Our
Universe

17 September 2009, Paris: Wind the clock back 400 years and follow in the
footsteps of a giant ¯ experience now just what first amazed Galileo in
1609! The latest Cornerstone project of the International Year of
Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), Galilean Nights, will see thousands of public
observing events around the world replicating Galileo’s observations and
bringing what he saw 400 years ago to the public of today. From 22 to 24
October, amateur and professional astronomers, science centres, schools
and all interested groups are invited to be part of the Galilean Nights
project and to register their events on the project website
www.galileannights.org. We can all make this a worldwide success.

The Galilean Nights builds on the unprecedented success of April’s 100
Hours of Astronomy, another IYA2009 Cornerstone project. Over three nights
amateur and professional astronomers, and enthusiasts, will share their
knowledge and enthusiasm for the Universe by encouraging as many people as
possible to look through a telescope at our neighbouring planets. The
focus for the Galilean Nights is on the observations made by the Italian
astronomer Galileo 400 years ago, including those of Jupiter and the Moon,
which will be well-positioned in the night sky for observing during the
event. For many members of the public it will be their first look through
a telescope, when they can see such breathtaking sights such as the cloud
bands of the gas giant, Jupiter, and intricate details on our cratered
Moon. It will be an unforgettable experience.

Anyone, from any background and with any level of experience is encouraged
to organise events, from one person sharing the night sky through a
telescope with a small group of neighbours and friends, to large
astronomical groups holding major observing sessions in public areas. To
keep track of developments, assist with promotion and to help people to
find local Galilean Nights activities, all events should be registered on
the project website: www.galileannights.org. Hundreds of events all over
the world have already been registered and the number is increasing every
day.

IYA2009 Executive Committee Chair, Catherine Cesarsky says, “Amateur
observations have always played an important role in astronomy, a fact
highlighted by one of the most exciting events of this year when it was an
amateur astronomer who noticed that Jupiter had suffered a massive impact
by an asteroid or comet. So it is fitting that Galilean Nights continues
this tradition as thousands of amateur astronomers and the public will
turn their attention to Jupiter and other objects that Galileo observed
400 years ago.”

Stunning images of distant objects in the Universe are well known around
the world and do more to bring astronomy to the wider public and to
inspire future astronomers than words ever could. The public have been set
the challenge of capturing the inspirational nature of our local solar
neighbourhood in the worldwide Galilean Nights photography competition.
Run in partnership with Europlanet, the Galilean Nights competition
encourages anybody with an enthusiasm for astronomy to try a different
approach to their observations and create their own inspirational
photographs of our planetary neighbours. The contest is being officially
launched today during Europlanet’s European Planetary Science Congress,
held this year in Potsdam, Germany.

Four hundred years since Galileo’s telescopic observations revolutionised
our view of the Universe, the public will once again be turning their
attention to the heavens. People all around the world are encouraged to
take part in the Galilean Nights Cornerstone project and experience for
themselves the same sense of awe and wonder that Galileo must have felt.

Links
· Galilean Nights website: www.galileannights.org
· IYA2009 website: www.astronomy2009.org
· European Planetary Science Congress website:
http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc2009/

Notes
The vision of the IYA2009 is to help the citizens of the world rediscover
their place in the Universe through the day and night-time skies the
impact of astronomy and basic sciences on our daily lives, and understand
better how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and
peaceful society.

The aim of the IYA2009 is to stimulate worldwide interest, especially
among young people, in astronomy and science under the central theme‚”The
Universe, Yours to Discover”. IYA2009 events and activities will promote a
greater appreciation of the inspirational aspects of astronomy that embody
an invaluable shared resource for all countries.

The IYA2009 activities are taking place at the global and regional levels,
and especially at the national and local levels. National Nodes in each
state have been formed to prepare activities for 2009. These Nodes
establish collaborations between professional and amateur astronomers,
science centres, educators and science communicators in preparing
activities for 2009. The International Year of Astronomy was proclaimed by
the United Nations on 20 December 2007.

For more information
Catherine Moloney
Galilean Nights Task Group Chair
Cellular: +44 7881861400
E-mail: cmoloney@eso.org

Further contacts
Pedro Russo
IYA2009 Coordinator
ESO ePOD, Garching, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 06 195
Cellular: +49 176 6110 0211
Fax: +49 89 320 23 62
E-mail: prusso@eso.org

Yolanda Berenguer
UNESCO Focal Point for the International Year of Astronomy 2009
UNESCO HQ, Paris
Tel: +33 1 45684171
E-mail: y.berenguer@unesco.org

Anita Heward
Europlanet Press Officer
Tel: +44 7756 034243
E-mail: anitaheward@btinternet.com

Ian Corbett
General Secretary, International Astronomical Union
IAU Secretariat, Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 43 25 83 58
E-mail: icorbett@eso.org

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
ESO ePOD, Garching, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6761
Cellular: +49 173 3872 621
E-mail: lars@eso.org