Division C - Abstracts
IAU Division C: Education, outreach and heritage - a review of the division's activities 2015-18
Hearnshaw, John
Division C for astronomy education, outreach and heritage is a unique and very special division of the IAU, as we are the only division not to focus on one area of astronomical research. Within our division there is an amazing and diverse range of activities that cover astronomy education, outreach to the public, the history of astronomy, the heritage of astronomy and we collaborate with Division B in the preservation of dark skies for astronomy. Much of the Division’s work is carried out by our Working Groups, and there are 20 of these attached to our four commissions as commission WGs or inter-commission WGs. We also have two divisional (or inter-division) WGs. These cover many aspects of the impact of astronomy on society, including equity, diversity, training of teachers and students, using astronomy as a tool for development, promoting women in astronomy, promoting astronomy to the public, including astro-tourism in dark sky reserves, and protecting the tangible and intangible heritage of astronomy which has resulted from the long history of our science. This talk will review all these activities of Division C, especially those that were important for the last triennium, as an introductory talk of the Division Days meeting at the Vienna GA. I will also review some of the routine business of the division, most notably advising the EC on the selection of symposia and focus meetings, and appointing associate IAU members of our WGs, commissions or division. I will also highlight some of the special projects undertaken by the division over the last three years.
Report of the IAU Working Group on Solar Eclipses
Pasachoff, Jay
I report on the activities of the IAU Working Group on Solar Eclipses of Divisions C and E over the last triennium and with plans for the next triennium. Since the previous IAU General Assembly, we had total solar eclipses in Indonesia/Pacific in 2016 and in the United States 2017, the latter especially with major international participation from groups headed by members of the Working Group and from others. There were annular eclipses that crossed Africa and Indian Ocean islands such as Réunion in 2016 and that crossed Chile and Argentina, reaching Africa, in 2017. Our Working Group's Website at eclipses.info provides much information, including maps and links, suitable for professional astronomers and others. After an Antarctic and Southern Africa partial eclipse in 2017, 2018 includes partial eclipses in Argentina/Chile on February 15; Antarctica/Tasmania on July 13; and Arctic including northern Scandinavia and previous totality sites at Novosibirsk in Russia (site of 2008 totality) and at Svalbard (site of 2015 totality). We have assisted with vouching for our scientists to obtain visas and duty-free temporary import of scientific equipment. Astronomers Without Borders has pre-used gratis partial-eclipse glasses that are available for distribution at future sites where partial, annular, or total eclipses are to be visible. The following triennium has total solar eclipses in Chile/Argentina on 2 July 2019 and on 14 December 2020; and annular eclipses on 26 December 2019, 21 June 2020, and 10 June 2021. It also includes a partial eclipse visible from China, Russian Siberia, Korea, and Japan on 6 January 2019. Our Working Group includes members from Russia, Japan, India, Slovakia, China, USA, UK, France, and Canada.
Land- and skyscape within Astronomy and World Heritage initiative: Spanish study cases
Belmonte, Juan Antonio
During the International Year of Astronomy IYA 2009, UNESCO and IAU promoted the Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative to study and analyze the relationship between land- and skyscapes and human interest in the celestial vault that could drive to the promotion of certain tangible and intangible astronomical heritage as human World Heritage. Since then, numerous actions have been carried out that finally drove to the creation of IAU Comission C.C4 "World Heritage and Astronomy" within Divission C "Outreach, Education and Heritage" at the IAU GA in Honolulu in August 2015. In this contribution, a brief analysis of a few study cases centred in the author's experience in Spain will be presented: an already successful paradigm in Antequera, a state of the art initiative of a cultural land- and skyscape in the evaluation process at Gran Canaria, a new address to a controversial proposal in Menorca and future ongoing plans for future cross-national collaborative effforts within the same framework in the Iberian southwest. Future perspectives will also be briefly discussed.
The AWHI comes of age: three potential astronomical World Heritage sites for 2019
Ruggles, Clive
Since 2008, the IAU (at first through its Astronomy and World Heritage WG, then through C.C4) has been working in partnership with UNESCO to advance its Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative (AWHI), which seeks to protect and promote astronomical heritage that is significant on a global scale and to expedite the nomination of World Heritage Sites relating to astronomy. This has involved developing — in conjunction with UNESO's advisory body ICOMOS — robust general principles for assessing the value, and potential "outstanding universal value", of different types and categories of scientific and technological heritage relating to astronomy. This long-term process is now beginning to bear significant fruit. Three countries are in the process of nominating astronomically related properties as potential World Heritage Sites for inscription in 2019: Peru (Chankillo astronomical complex), Spain (Risco Caido and the sacred mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape) and the United Kingdom (Jodrell Bank Observatory). This presentation will briefly review the cases being made in support of these potential World Heritage Sites and the potential for further global recognition of key astronomical heritage in the near future.
C.C4.WG3 HERITAGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION: Progress Report
Marov, Mikhail
The main goal of the WG activity in the past triennia was to advance the “Odyssey of human creative genius” project, which focuses on technological heritage connected with space exploration and is closely related to the respective UNESCO Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative. During the last triennia quite elaborative efforts were continuously undertaken towards recognition of space technologies that ensured the great breakthroughs in astronomy but not yet widely accepted and recognized by astronomical community. The relevant segments of space technologies heritage intrinsically related to astronomy and involving both tangible and intangible objects was thoroughly studied. Discussion of thematic and organizing issues relevant to the elaboration of studies and researches on technological heritage connected with space exploration were made within the framework of Associated Event on the UNESCO Thematic Initiative “Astronomy and World Heritage” during the 40th Scientific Assembly of COSPAR in Moscow on August 6, 2014. A part of the Baykonur Space Centre infrastructure facilities were addressed as priority objects of space technology heritage and elaborative comments in support of this idea were brought. Regarding Baikonur cosmodrome as a provisional object of the tangible Space World Heritage, there has been significant progress since the meeting in March 2015 aiming to clarify many problems involved with participation of the IAU, ICOMOS and Russian and Kazakh authorities. The Initiative was preliminary accepted by ROSCOSMOS. Meeting of stakeholders involving the nominated focal points and all other interested parties to advance the UNESCO Initiative regarding to Space Technology Heritage is planned in the UNESCO HQ in 2018 with ROSCOSMOS provisional sponsorship aiming to clarify the main thematic/organizing/cooperative issues concerning the respective WG of the UNESCO WH Center with the involvement of the IAU WG3 C.C4 and other international bodies.
Education and Training in Astrobiology
Gargaud, Muriel
Education and Training in AstrobiologyMuriel Gargaud, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux,UMR 5804 CNRS-Université de Bordeaux, FranceThe WG “Education and Training in Astrobiology” is an inter-commissions one (C1-F2-F3-H2), created just after the IAU General Assembly in 2015.Its role is to coordinate training, education and outreach activities in astrobiology at the international level by:creating an international network for education and providing training material for basic, secondary and higher education,providing a comprehensive multidisciplinary astrobiology curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as early career scientists,initiating, coordinating and carrying out initiatives in outreach for the general publictraining the university lecturers (and the high school teachers) in astrobiology (e.g how to teach biology to astronomers or astronomy to biologists, how to evaluate multidisciplinary courses, etc.)During my talk I'll report on the 5 goals we have worked on since 2015 :to collect all lectures and conferences in astrobiology which have been recorded during the last 10 years (whatever the language is), to categorize them according to their field and to make them available for free: astrobiovideo.com/en/to produce handbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for university studentsto develop outreach for the general public and high school teachersto create an annual international astrobiology training school (TS) on basics in astrobiology : www.exobiologie.fr/red/index.php/en/red16-astrobiology-course/ and to organize several mini-TS, each time this is possible, just before one international conference: ninlil.elte.hu/boa/to organize a regular international workshop on education in astrobiology in order to discuss (especially with C.C1 and C.F3) how to carry out multidisciplinary training in astrobiology and how to share all training materials developed by each country : https://ise2a.uu.nl/
A Chinese effort to determine the solar model in the 18th century: the case of the Lixiang kaocheng
Wang, Guangchao
Ancient Chinese mathematical astronomy in its maturity was generally described as independent with the assumptions about the real motions of the physical luminaries. It was not until seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Chinese astronomy experienced a conceptual revolution under the influence of Western astronomy. Western astronomy, which Jesuit missionaries introduced during that time, had a more pervasive and profound influence on Chinese astronomy. Chinese native astronomers adopted Western mathematical methods from their Jesuit astronomers, they shifted their original paradigm from numerical and algebraic procedures to geometric model. This change allowed them not only to predict but also to explain astronomical phenomena. The solar model which adopted in Lixiang Kaocheng provides a concrete example of the way how Chinese domestic astronomers deal with computation and observation. Different with the eccentric solar model in Xiyang Xinfa Lishu,Kaocheng used the double epicycle model considering that the computation should be in agreement with the observation. Though it was a big apparent change from eccentric model to double epicycle model, but the accuracy of the data computed from the solar model did not increase largely compared with the previous calendar. Moreover, it has been found that the observational data which was the basis for computing the parameters of the solar model were so accurate that the astronomical instruments could not reach. These data probably come from the calculation result of extant western astronomical tables.
The future of UNESCO and Intangible Astronomical Heritage
Hamacher, Duane
UNESCO has made significant strides in recent years to protect tangible cultural heritage. Expanding beyond this is a growing movement to protect cultural heritage that is intangible, such as "the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognised as part of their cultural heritage." This involves understanding the connections between astronomical knowledge, practices, and technologies and how they relate to oral tradition, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, and traditional craftsmanship. In this paper, we explore the concept of intangible astronomical heritage, the various challenges faced when trying to identify, preserve and protect IACH, what changes need to be made to decolonise and challenge Western approaches for assessing tangible World Heritage cites, and and how to move forward in close collaboration with the relevant communities that maintain ownership or custodianship of IACH.
Report of the "Astronomical heritage in danger" working group
López, Alejandro Martín
In this presentation we will talk about the elaboration of the list of astronomical heritage sites in danger that sustains this working group. We will also discuss the progress made since the previous general assembly. The difficulties and problems encountered and the future prospects will be analyzed.
Starlight and World Heritage
Wuchterl, Günther
The nightsky and the universe have been largly abstracted from localities in modern astronomy. Thus they cannot be directly associated with a site on a member-state territory as required by the world heritage convention. They also escape the required comparative discussion because there is only one universe and one nightsky.However, the universe and its perspective from Earth provide the phyiscal basis for the apparent phenomena at a site, Astronomy determines how light flows through and how it interacts with atmosphere, climate, weather, landscape and artefacts to locally shape day and night.If the flow of light is perturbed by human intervention - by the introduction of artificial light - the consequences are comparable to the removal of water in irrigation systems or waterfalls and the intact flow of water through the site. Both are well embedded in the world heritage convention and list. The intact flow of light, by night originating from an intact night sky, are a necessary precondition for the authentic appearance of a site due to the nature of human vision and perception in general.I will discuss concepts to include sites in the world heritage framework where astronomical phenomena and physical conditions have to be protected to fullfill the requirements and support the goals of the world heritage convention in cases where in daylight-only argumentation no or insufficient outstanding universal value seems to be present. In particular when no archeaoastronomical evidence, no site protection requirements of telescopic astronomy and no classical observatories are at a site.The concepts of “regionalised skies”, “pretelescopic scientific epochs”, “the phyiscal intactness of light flow” and “authenticity at night” will be introduced and applied to cases of the thematic study on astronomy and world heritage - The Aoraki Mackenzie, the Eastern Alpine and Großmugl Starlight Areas.We will also present management tools to protect the OUV of such sites.
Women in astronomy: challenges and actions
Primas, Francesca
A diverse workforce is key to ensure balanced views, inclusive approaches and in the long run larger economical benefits worldwide. Among the different aspects that make-up diversity, the gender dimension of science and technology has become one of the most important and debated issues worldwide, impacting society at every level. Gender equality at large is one of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which clearly call for action related to science, technology and gender balance.Astronomy’s prime international organisation – the International Astronomical Union – has recognized and supported the needs and endeavours of female astronomers through the establishment of an Executive Committee Working Group, at its XXV General Assembly (Sydney, Australia – July 2003).In this presentation, I will review the main activities and achievements of the Working Group during the past years, with a look to what the future may bring.
Updates from IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach
Cheung, Sze-leung
The IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) is a joint venture by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). This talk will provide an update to the office work. Recent highlights including the coordination of the network of the IAU National Outreach Contacts (NOCs), publication of CAP Journal, IAU communications, and projects like Astronomy Translation Network.
Astronomy Education: an astronomer's view
Deustua, Susana
Astronomy education encompasses a range of activity: scholarly research, professional development, capacity building, and teaching. The settings include classrooms, science centers, and parks, among others, and the audiences are equally varied. From an astronomer's viewpoint, I will briefly describe the changes in the perception of astronomy education and some of the highlights in its practice.
The IAU Commission C2: Communicating Astronomy with the Public - the first 3 years
Russo, Pedro
IAU Commission C2 is a think/do-tank that convenes the astronomy communication community and seeds initiatives to explore new ways to communicate astronomy with the public. The commission focuses on community initiatives and new trends and less on implementing projects, as that naturally falls more to IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach and Office of Astronomy for Development. This talk will provide an overview of the first 3 years of the new commission C2.
Message by New IAU Commission C2 President
Fienberg, Rick
IAU Commission C2, Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP), is one of the largest and most active commissions within the IAU. It also has one fo the most diverse memberships, including not only professional astronomers but also professional science communicators such as press officers and journalists, planetarium producers and presenters, researchers into the science of science communication, and both formal and informal science educators. In addition to regular IAU members, C2 has many Associates, perhaps more than any other IAU scientific body. The work of the Commission is done primarily through its Working Groups (WGs). In the last triennium, we had five WGs. Two — WG CAP Journal and WG CAP Conference — were very active; three others were less active. A major question for the 2018-2021 triennium is which WGs to keep, which to discard, which to change, and what new ones are needed. In this interactive session, we’ll present some ideas about what C2 might focus on during the coming triennium and provide an opportunity for attendees to offer their own suggestions and to ask questions of the C2 leadership.
Outreach Professionalisation & Accreditation
Fienberg, Rick
The Outreach Professionalisation & Accreditation Working Group (WG) was formed in 2012 under Commission C2’s predecessor, Commission 55, also called Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP). Its mission was “to bring a sense of professionalism and professional respect to the field of astronomy communication, to advocate for our needs as professional communicators, and to serve as a means for information sharing and networking.” Its deliverable was “a procedure to handle requests for IAU associate membership (presumably including several levels of accreditation) and methods/standards/requirements for achieving accreditation.” Here we report on the WG’s activities during the 2015-2018 triennium and look ahead to the 2018-2021 triennium.
Report on CAP Conference Working Group Progress
Sandu, Oana
The CAP Conference Working Group of the IAU Commission C2 organises one of the largest gatherings focused on astronomy communication in the world. The conferences have been organised by C2 in partnership with local organisers, roughly every two years since 2005.Starting late 2015, a series of changes have been implemented with the goal to improve the experience of conference participants by:Focusing contributions on lessons learnt, as opposed to simply work reportsIncreasing the practical knowledge acquired during the conferenceIncreasing the quality of the contributionsMaking the conference more relevant to a diverse audienceIncreasing the number of participants from backgrounds such as press, scientists, graphic designers etc.Increasing networking opportunities.Another important goal of the two new co-chairs has been to increase the quality standards and transparency of the process of selecting a host and selecting abstracts. Finally, we looked at how to define the responsibilities of the Working Group members better, how to evaluate their performance and attract new members.In this talk, we will evaluate the achievement rate for the objectives set and present the measures we implemented towards these goals. We will also introduce our objectives going forward.
Science Communication Research in Astronomy: IAU CC Working Group
Entradas, Marta
The ‘Science Communication Research in Astronomy Working Group (WG) (CC2)’ was created in 2016 under Commission C2, Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP). The WG emerged from the need to bring closer together theory and practice in science communication. One of the biggest challenges facing science communication is the polarization between practice and research. Empirical evidence in astronomy communication is scarce, yet necessary to improve public engagement with science. This WG emerged in this context with a mission to create a space for reflection and discussion about the needs in astronomy public communication, to produce empirical evidence on astronomy communication, and to serve as a platform to strengthen the boundaries between the fields of science communication research and practice. The deliverable proposed by the WG for its first couple of years was a global study of the outreach practices of the IAU membership, which has been fully accomplished. In the IAU 2018, the WG will present the main activities of the WG between 2016-2018.
Eclipses in Education
Pasachoff, Jay
When a partial or total eclipse is visible from a country, we have the citizens’ attention and can use it to educate them about astronomy in general and about the eclipse itself in particular. The IAU Working Group on Solar Eclipses, joint between Division C (Education, Development, Heritage) and Division E (Heliophysics) has a wide international membership and takes advantage of the visibility of the eclipse to work with educators and others to provide advance notice of the eclipse, information about the science related to the eclipse, and information on how to observe the eclipse safely—working hard to overcome the common misconception that solar eclipses are dangerous throughout. The efforts of a Task Force of the American Astronomical Society at the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse with totality crossing the continental United States and partial phases extending from Canada in the north to Mexico and farther south will be cited as an example of activities to be duplicated for future eclipses. In the coming triennium, total eclipses in Chile and Argentina will be joined by partial eclipses in western Asia; an annular eclipse with a path crossing India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore; an annular eclipse in Canada; an annular eclipse from Africa through southern Asia; and, on 10 June 2021, an eclipse with Arctic annularity and partial phases extending through all of Europe and northern Russia.
IAU Strategic Plan: the Office of Astronomy for Education
Elmegreen, Debra
The IAU Strategic Plan for 2020-2030 has just been completed. Among other activities, it details the 3 main offices of the IAU: the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), the Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO), and the Office for Young Astronomers (OYA). One of the highlights of the new plan is a proposal to create a new office, the Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE). This office will provide training and resources for teachers, using astronomy as a tool for stimulating STEM studies. It will establish a network of National Astronomy Education Coordinators, build a database of IAU volunteers, and organize an International School for Astronomy Education. The details of how this office will complement and synergize with the other offices are to be determined.
Archaeoastronomy for the Future
Gullberg, Steven
An update regarding world archaeoastronomy. Featured are its current state of development and a report on the IAU Working Group for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture, including its direction and plans for influencing the future evolution of this expanding interdisciplinary field that is anchored astronomically.
CAPjournal Working Group
Cheung, Sze-leung
This talk will report on the work carried out by the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal Working Group under Commsion C.C1
IAU - A century of science and spirituality around the world
Stavinschi, Magda
Man has always been fascinated by the sky. He tried to interpret both periodic and unexpected phenomena. They came to be linked to divinity (through religion) or with his destiny on earth (through astrology). For centuries, the contrast between reality and appearance has sparkedconflicts. The most famous involved the Catholic Church. e.g. Galileo's trial and the death of Giordano Bruno, considered a "martyr of science". Other churches, including the Orthodox, seemed less interested in the topic. However, even prominent Orthodox hierarchs weredirectly involved in astronomical research: Hrisant Notara, a colleague of Cassini I at Paris Observatory, eventually became Patriarch of Jerusalem. The accelerated globalization of the last decades, thanks to the Internet, as well as the success of space missions, forced Astronomy to get more involved in the dialogue between science and spirituality. Hot topics such as the birth of the Universe, the interpretation of Genesis, extraterrestrial life, astrology, are now preventing Astronomy from staying passive in the debate; it has to leave the ivory castle in which researchers have been hiding for centuries and descend in the midst of society, where it belongs. The very theory of the expansion of the Universe was the idea of a priest, Georges Lemaître, a pioneer in applying Einstein's theory of general relativity to cosmology. Astronomy continues not only to play a crucial role in knowing the universe and preserving life on Earth, but especially in educating the generation that will increasingly penetrate the extraplanetary space. In this paper we point out several die-hard contradictions between science and spirituality, and show how Astronomy, through the IAU, has started to adapt to the needs of society, in particular how it is expected to cope with the dramatic information flare-up of the Internet age, which is accessible not only to science but also to astrology and religion, and is often mistaken for knowledge.
Education and Development of Astronomy: three years of Commission 1
García, Beatriz
During 2015-2018 period C1 has worked in the consolidation of the Strategic Plan of the IAU in Education and Development. The Commission and the Working Groups organized several meetings, workshops, teleconferences and the production of special resources in the frame of their objectives. This contribution, will present the work done during these three years period and try to recognize the hard work made for the C1 members. Probably, the most important achievements during the last year are: a)The announce of the The first international comparative list of astronomical words in sign languages and the translation to English and Spanish of the Book “Les mains dans les etoiles”; compiled by Dominique Proust. (https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1706/); b) The International Symposium on Education of Astronomy and Astrobiology performed in collaboration with Utrecht University (http://ise2a.uu.nl/), related to the creation of the Inter-Commission C1-F2-F3-H2 WG Education and Training in Astrobiology ; c) the creation of the Inter-Commission B7-C1 WG Achieving Sustainable Development within a Quality Lighting Framework, d) the creation of the Inter-Commission B2-C1-C2 WG Data Driven Astronomy Education and Public Outreach (DAEPO) To celebrate the 10 year of NASE, we also starting the conversations at the IAU Secretary level in order to study the possibility to transform this working group into an IAU-School, organized by NASE in different countries and continents with the support of IAU, but changing the status to a similar level than the ISYA. The incorporation of associated members from different countries and gender and in different WGs, also was important to make visible the efforts of many persons who contribute to the Education and Development of Astronomy all over the Globe and the good relationship between C1 and the OAD and OAO represent important achievements for our commission.
CC1 WG3 Report "Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion"
Ortiz-Gil, Amelia
The year 2017 has been quite productive for this WG. To start with, thanks to Silvina Pérez and Lina Canas we have a new website and presence in the social media (Facebook)). Group members have produced new resources and activities which have been published in the WG website. We had discussions in the WG email list about activities and new resources coming out from our members and from others, thus allowing for the exchange of information that is one of the main goals of the WG in order to build on top of previous experiences. The WG helped in the elaboration of a selection of accessible activities for Astronomers without Borders (AWB) Global Astronomical Month (GAM) 2017. Each day of that month one of the activities was featured by the communications team of AWB. Several members of the WG are helping with the OAO Astronomy Translation Network project. The group is also assisting in the creation of the interactive exhibition for the next IAU General Assembly in Vienna “Inspiring Stars” with accessible and inclusive resources. We have been making good progress with the project of the astronomy sign language dictionary. The translations into Spanish and English of the original French dictionary by Dominique Proust et al. are already available at the WG website. Work is being done on a compilation of signs from many other languages, and a first list of 47 terms has also been published, as well as announced in a IAU press release. There is also an on-going collaboration with the AAS WAGD, in particular the elaboration of a document regarding journal accessibility.
DAEPO WG Report for C1 Business Meeting
Cui, Chenzhou
IAU Inter-Commission B2-C1-C2 WG Data-driven Astronomy Education and Public Outreach (DAEPO) was launched officially in April 2017. With the development of many mega-science astronomical projects, for example CTA, DESI, EUCLID, FAST, GAIA, JWST, LAMOST, LSST, SDSS, SKA, and large scale simulations, astronomy has become a Big Data science. Astronomical data is not only necessary resource for scientific research, but also very valuable resource for education and public outreach (EPO), especially in the era of Internet and Cloud Computing. IAU WG Data-driven Astronomy Education and Public Outreach is hosted at the IAU Division B (Facilities, Technologies and Data Science) Commission B2 (Data and Documentation), and organized jointly with Commission C1 (Astronomy Education and Development), Commission C2 (Communicating Astronomy with the Public), Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) and several other non IAU communities, including IVOA Education Interest Group, American Astronomical Society Worldwide Telescope Advisory Board, Zooniverse project and International Planetarium Society. The working group has the major objectives to: Act as a forum to discuss the value of astronomy data in EPO, the advantages and benefits of data driven EPO, and the challenges facing to data driven EPO; Provide guidelines, curriculums, data resources, tools, and e-infrastructure for data driven EPO; Provide best practices of data driven EPO. In the paper, backgrounds, current status and working plans in the future are introduced. More information about the WG is available at: daepo.china-vo.org
STEM for WOMEN
Perumal, Vyjayanthi Mala
Women are incredible at multi-tasking. But the number of women holding technical position is appallingly small. A magnifying lens is required to discover women in powerful technical positions in the midst of an ocean of men. This scenario has to be changed. Participation of more women is required to break this gender barrier. In order to eliminate the underrepresentation of women, several initiatives are totally centred around empowering women and giving them flexibility to think out of the box. This presentation focuses on the initiative targeting Government schools for providing STEM Education to underprivileged children especially girls through hands on learning methodologies. Education is the master key to mental, emotional and academic growth of children. Providing it with hands on learning techniques enhances the knowledge of the children rapidly. The programs relating to STEM conducted, are based on age groups and it differs between groups. It induces new thoughts for scientific development and upgrades the thought process in young brains. The kids are furnished with resources for them to have a hands-on involvement. It is our passionate desire to aid young people to have an approach to science that is driven by love of discovery, exploratory learning, and which requires children to actively engage with challenges in order to find solutions. The future generation will have a comprehensive grasp of issues, take on leadership roles in the future, think out of the box, be creative and more independent in any environment.In tune with this, we have ensured that our girls/women participate in astronomy related activities,arts & crafts, and organic farming (to bring home the message of sustainable living) in addition to STEM courses. With the additional knowledge and hands on application that we encourage in a stress free environment, we hope that it would widen the aspirations of female children and prompt them to enter STEM&Astronomy fields later on.
Discussion of C.C1 Newsletter
Eastwood, Kathy
During this short segment of the C.C1 Business Meeting we will discuss the newsletter. In particular we invite comments on the format and frequency of the newsletter. The most recent newsletters are available at the C.C1 website, iaucc1.frm.utn.edu.ar. If you are not able to make comments at the Business Meeting, please email them to kathy.eastwood@nau.edu.
Astronomical Education and outreach activities for astronomy in Mongolia
Renchin, Tsolmon
It is necessary to develop advanced research for astronomy in Mongolian universities using modern techniques. We do not have a graduate education and curriculum for astronomy in Mongolian universities. There is a lack of astronomical professors and training opportunities for students in universities and colleges. We desperately need more advanced research opportunities and education in astronomy in Mongolia. In order to develop higher education for astronomy it is important to cooperate with international communities and universities. International activities for astronomy began when Mongolia joined the IAU at the General Assembly held in Prague in August 2006, because space scientists, astronomers and researchers in Mongolia are coming to understand that astronomy can help Mongolian science development. For instance, astronomy can increase general interest and encourage public engagement in the sciences.Meantime outreach astronomy only is developing in Mongolia. There are educational activities for school children and school teachers in urban and rural areas. Specially outreach activities are going in heritage areas. Astronomy heritage activities also will be shared in this talk. To experience from international networks at the IAU meeting is great opportunity not only for university professors but also for the researchers in the Mongolian observatory in Ulaanbaatar. We hope the IAU meeting allow us to discuss future collaboration and cooperation with different universities in order to develop graduate degree study in Mongolian universities and possible exchange activities and experience educational curriculum and teaching materials. Advanced research for astronomy is needed in Mongolia.
Research on Astronomy Education
Bretones, Paulo
The goal of this talk is to show the activities of the IAU WG on Theory and Methods in Astronomy Education. Initially the history, needs and goals of the WG are addressed. Then, the main project on the surveys is discussed. The project includes literature reviews of scholarly production that already exists on PhD and MSc theses, published papers in journals and works in proceedings of meetings. The steps to be followed for the surveys are sketched: 1) Provide a list of references; 2) Get the pdf files of works; 3) Make them available online; 4) Analyze and classify the works by: year of publication, the authors' institutions, school level, study focus in education, content, kind of academic work, theoretical framework; 5) Publish papers about the results showing trends and gaps in the production. The surveys made from some countries and the setup of the WG webpage are shown as examples of the latter procedure. As an example of survey of thesis, make their references available and publish a paper with the analysis, made in Colombia is presented. A talk entitled “Astronomy Education Research: impact and future directions", in the ise2a meeting held in Utrecht, 2017 given by this author presented the results of the consult to the WG and C1 members about the achievements and challenges of AER. We hereby focus on the challenges about how to: promote surveys in more countries and languages; encourage new studies and bind together the community; give visibility to the productions and encourage the teachers in the schools, students, professors and researchers of universities; and finally obtain the indexation of the publications in ADS, Google Scholar etc. Even though researchers on education and astronomers belong to different communities, in this project their collaboration is very fruitful. One of the achievements was the new Associate Members, invited because of the contribution they have done. Therefore, we invite the colleagues to join us for collaboration.
The Universe Isn’t Silent: Electroacoustic Ensembles with Life 2.0
Perkins, Deborah Kala
The universe isn’t silent. It has a sound track…that is played on space itself, because space can wabble like a drum; …recording some of the universe’s most dramatic events as they unfold. We are adding to our glorious light understanding of the universe, a sonic composition (Jana Levin).Ground and space-based gravitational wave observatories are listening to the universe for the ringing wabble of gravitational waves in space as it squeezes and stretches from colliding black holes; researchers are sonifying the data. The use of EM waves translated into sound are being used both by research astrophysics in the quest to detect new distant planetary orbits, and atmospheric compositions with Kepler Space Telescope data, as well as at the convening of cosmos and culture. Cosmologists are in quest of possible other universes seeking gravitational distortions in radio waves at the very edges of the perceivable universe. A software program is allowing blind astronomers to study data, as well as to assist sighted astronomers to discern patterns more readily accessible to the ear than by sight. Astrophysicists and astrobiologists, working with composers have developed “Acoustic Astronomy” translating astronomical data into compositions to both inform and inspire. Astronomers are sonifying the data from the cosmic microware background and pulsars to better understand the rhythmic and harmonic principles of our universe; while ALMA radio observatory, in Chile has developed a public archived data soundbank. In that we are living in an immersion of cosmic processes, what might this imply about the nature and significance of each and every life expression on our planet, each unique bio-organism and ecosystem? What might this imply regarding Earth’s harmonics with potential life and universal dynamics in space and on other worlds? This presentation will explore possible implications of our resonant immersion in life’s symphonics, and co-creativity in concert with cosmos.
Observatories 100 years ago - Unesco vs. IAU List of Outstanding Astronomical Heritage
Wolfschmidt, Gudrun
For observatories from Renaissance to 20th century it is sometimes difficult to include them in the Unesco World Heritage list because the architecture is not an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.There exist observatories, where the building is damaged, distroyed or it does not fulfill the authenticity and integrity standards, the instruments no longer exist in situ, but the institution had played a significant role in the history of astronomy regarding the scientific output; they did cutting-edge research in astronomy. For these cases the idea came up to create an "IAU List of Outstanding Astronomical Heritage" (OAH).For example I would like to include observatories like the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam where no longer astronomers are working, or even observatories like Gotha (an international center of astronomy aroud 1800), where the original building is completely destroyed but the instruments are preserved in museums and in addition a lot of archive material. Or we can add in addition Tycho's observatory in Uraniborg, Hevelius observatory in Danzig (Gdansk) or some colonial observatories from the Jesuits. In the lecture the intended database structure will be presented.
Astronomy and Indigenous Technologies in Africa
Olande, Paul
The use of astronomy in shaping indigeneous technological advances amongst select African ethnic groups is discussed with a view to unraveling the hidden science behind it.
Astronomy from Europe to the East:A passage through India in the early 17th century
Kapoor, Ramesh
This paper is about the observations of two great comets of November 1618 made from Goa by Father Venceslaus Kirwitzer, astronomer and part of a group of missionaries led by Nicolas Trigault that was deputed in 1618 to China to spread faith as also the new European science. Father Kirwitzer (1620) presented a detailed description of his observations in a monograph in Latin, entitled Observationes Cometarvm Anni 1618. In India Orientali Factæ A Societatis Iesv Mathematicis in Sinense Regnum Nauigantibus ex itinere eo delatis. The treatise remained untraceable till digitized in 2014 by the Austrian National Library. It is of great importance, for, the work reports first ever modern cometary observations outside Europe as also the first ever use in India of an optical device for astronomical purpose soon after the introduction of telescope to astronomy. Modern astronomy took over a century to be systematically pursued in India. We have on hand only three documented instances of astronomical usage of the telescope in the seventeenth century India. The other instances are of Jeramiah Shakerley’s in 1651 for the transit of Mercury and the bright comet of 1652 in Surat, and by the French Jesuit Fr. Jean Richaud in 1689 to find Alpha Centauri as being a double and a sungrazer C/1689 X1 with a 12 ft telescope. These instances were no trend setters but scored many firsts and preceded several instances of telescopic use for celestial events and for the geographical surveys in the 18th Century India.
The OAD and Commission CC1
Govender, Kevin
A significant reason for the establishment of the OAD in the first place was to consolidate and build upon many years of excellent work that was done by the then IAU Commission 46 (the predecessor of Commission C1). An important distinction however, is that the OAD's focus is on development (Sustainable Development Goals) and not on the advancement of the field of astronomy. This presentation will provide an overview of the OAD activities and will attempt to stimulate a discussion as to what we need to do moving forward.
"Hemelliggaam or The attempt to be here now": an art-meet science project inspired by the history of Astronomy in South Africa
Marchetti, Lucia
The Hemelligaam project (or “Heavenly Body” in the Afrikaans language) aims to portray in a novel way the historical deep connection that exists between the South African people, the Land and the Sky.In this particular age, astronomy is a powerful transformation driver for South Africa, both for its people and the landscape, and it often embodies aspirations for socio-economic enfranchisement and societal development at different levels. With this project we aim to record and show these transformations by exploiting the eyes, ears and stories of the communities living in the areas that are most directly and profoundly touched by this astronomy-driven transformation of the country.In 2017 the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) has established the “Roadmap for the History of Astronomy in South Africa” aimed to identify ways to preserve the historical astronomical traditions and astronomical scientific practices of South Africa in this era of fast changes. “Hemelligaam” has been selected to be part of the roadmap and has been awarded a three year grant to produce a traveling exhibition based on photographic and video material.The Hemelligaam project will not only portray the present of the rural communities living in key areas of historical/astronomical interest and of the people involved in astronomy research in South Africa, but will also record stories and map the sites of ancient indigenous communities that lived or traveled in these areas and that first started to wonder about the Southern Sky. This project will then also create a perfect platform for astronomy outreach and public engagement around the country.In my talk I will briefly present the aims and key projects of the Roadmap for the History of Astronomy in South Africa and will describe the development of the Hemelligaam project and its early results based on its first public exhibition currently underway.
IAU100: Uniting our World to Explore the Universe
Rivero Gonzalez, Jorge
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will celebrate its 100th anniversary (IAU100). To commemorate this milestone, the IAU will 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 "Uniting our World to Explore the Universe."Following the success and the lessons learnt of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), the IAU100 celebration will stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science by reaching out to the global astronomical community, national science organisations and societies, policy-makers, students and families and the general public.The IAU is preparing a comprehensive programme of Flagship initiatives to reach out the targeted audiences worldwide through the IAU National Outreach Contacts network, other partner global/regional networks, and local astronomical societies. The IAU100 activities will take place at global and regional levels, and especially at the national and local levels.In this talk, we will present an overview of the initiative, including goals, governance structure, target audiences, Flagship Programmes, dissemination actions and progress on the implementation. In addition, we will discuss opportunities for the organization of grass-root activities under the framework of the initiative.
IAU100: Communication Strategy to Disseminate the IAU's 100th Anniversary Message Globally
Rivero Gonzalez, Jorge
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU will 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 "Uniting our World to Explore the Universe".The IAU is preparing a comprehensive programme structure comprised by Flagship Programmes (FP) and accompanied by a communication and dissemination action plan developed by looking at the lessons learnt from the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), and by bringing together all communication efforts of IAU various stances, such as the offices and various scientific bodies.To effectively reach audiences worldwide - including the global astronomical community, national science organisations and societies, policy-makers, students and families and the general public - the IAU100 will use a central multi-channel media campaign, including strong online presence with a coverage on the most effective channels currently available (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, e-newsletters) and also by creating new dedicated ones specifically for IAU100 (e.g. website, Instagram) -- and investing on the latest trends for each platform to maximize the message reach. In addition, the IAU100 communication strategy will explore innovative audiovisual storytelling formats to engage larger audiences.The IAU100 communication strategy is planned to support each of the Flagship Programmes (FP) that compose the IAU100 structure to customise the relevant dissemination for the different audiences of the project. Additionally, the strategy adopted has sustainability in mind, intending to utilise existing IAU’s communication networks to strengthen them and build new effective channels for the future.
Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)
Mamajek, Eric
The IAU has organized working groups over the past century which havesuccessfully standardized nomenclature for various categories ofcelestial objects under scientific study, and formulated guidelinesfor assigning alphanumeric designations for objects outside the solarsystem (including stars). However, the recent IAU initiative to adoptproper names for exoplanets and their host stars (NameExoWorlds)exposed a surprising gap in IAU oversight: the IAU had no catalogue ofofficial, unique proper names for stars, nor any mechanism forofficially proposing and adopting such names. Common star names like"Fomalhaut" had no official status with the IAU, and the bright starsoften had numerous cultural aliases and spelling variations. The IAUDivision C Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) was organized andapproved by the IAU EC in May 2016. WGSN has been working tocatalogue historical and cultural proper names for stars, developguidelines for, and adopting, unique names for stars of scientific andhistorical value for the IAU (seehttps://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/).The WGSN serves the IAU by helping preserve the astronomical past(intangible cultural heritage in the form of celestial nomenclature),and serving the present and future (cataloguing unique, standardizedproper names for stars in anticipation of future IAU naming ofexoplanetary systems). The WGSN has adopted over 300 names over thepast two years, compiled into an IAU Catalogue of Star Names(https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/#table). Beyondstandardizing the names of many of the Latinized Arabic star names incommon use, the WGSN recently included many names from otherastronomical traditions (e.g. Chinese, Hindu, Aboriginal, Polynesian,etc.) into this catalogue. We discuss the progress of the WGSN overits first two years and its plans for the next triennium.
Report for the Inter-Commission B7-C1 WG Achieving Sustainable Development within a Quality Lighting Framework
Walker, Constance
“Achieving sustainable development within a quality lighting framework” is a joint Working Group of the IAU C.B7 & C.C1 Commissions. An extensive plan was developed in 2016 by the WG co-chairs, Margarita Metaxa and Constance Walker, and the Commission C.C1 and C.B7 presidents, Beatriz García and Richard Green. There are 20 members. Significant progress has been made in implementing educational programs along the theme, in particular with the NASE Kit, the IYL Quality Lighting Teaching Kit and the Globe at Night citizen-science campaign. Work in progress includes establishing a national contact in as many countries as possible for the joint Working Group, as well as establishing liaisons with government, educational and environmental organizations. These and other details will be reported on August 24 at the Division C meeting during Session 3 on Reports from the Commission WGs of C.C1 and its business meeting.
Astronomy Education, Outreach and Heritage: The Next Triennium
Deustua, Susana
Astronomy education encompasses a range of activity: scholarly research, professional development, capacity building, and teaching. The settings include classrooms, science centers, and parks, among others, and the audiences are equally varied. From an astronomer's viewpoint, I will briefly describe the changes in the perception of astronomy education and some of the highlights in its practice.
Sun, solstice and Makar Sankranti: an astronomical significance in our cultural practice
Shrestha, Pritisha
In many cultures around the world, Sun is revered as life giving component on earth. People of the past have therefore created various celebratory festivals to mark the importance of the star. And one of such festivals is Makar Sankranti, which is celebrated in the region of Indo-Gangetic Plain. Unlike other festivals, it follows a solar calendar.Predominantly performed by Hindus, the festival marks a transition or transmigration of the sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn zodiacal constellation. To be more specific, the festival takes place when we have winter solstice and the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn. What it predominantly indicates is that the people of the past were not only very observant of the celestial events, but also commenced festivals around such cosmic occurring. Therefore, my paper would propose that by studying such festivities at various cultural settings would arm scientific researchers further with the indigenous and cultural knowledge of astronomy. Furthermore, by bridging the gap between ancient practice and new findings, such intangible cultural heritages could additionally be given scientific back up as well as new research areas could be traced back to the past knowledge. I would be presenting the very significance of the annual festival in relation to astronomy education and how the cultural practice has been celebrated since the time immemorial. The second portion of the paper would focus on how the festival follows a solar calendar instead of lunar and what it implies..
A Chinese efforts to determine the solar model in the eighteenth century: the case of the Lixiang kaocheng
Wang, Guangchao
Ancient Chinese mathematical astronomy in its maturity was generally described as independent with the assumptions about the real motions of the physical luminaries. It was not until seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Chinese astronomy experienced a conceptual revolution under the influence of Western astronomy. Western astronomy, which Jesuit missionaries introduced during that time, had a more pervasive and profound influence on Chinese astronomy. Chinese native astronomers adopted Western mathematical methods from their Jesuit astronomers, they shifted their original paradigm from numerical and algebraic procedures to geometric model. This change allowed them not only to predict but also to explain astronomical phenomena. The solar model which adopted in Lixiang Kaocheng provides a concrete example of the way how Chinese domestic astronomers deal with computation and observation. Different with the eccentric solar model in Xiyang Xinfa Lishu,Kaocheng used the double epicycle model considering that the computation should be in agreement with the observation. Though it was a big apparent change from eccentric model to double epicycle model, but the accuracy of the data computed from the solar model did not increase largely compared with the previous calendar. Moreover, it has been found that the observational data which was the basis for computing the parameters of the solar model were so accurate that the astronomical instruments could not reach. These data probably come from the calculation result of extant western astronomical tables.
Analysing and visualising MUL.APIN – a witness of Babylonian astrometry
Hoffmann, Susanne
The compilation of MUL.APIN has been canonical for more than a millennium and dates back before 1000 BCE. The first of two tablets contains of astronomical data like lists of heliacal rising dates, simultaneous risings and settings as well as constellations crossing zenith (the so called ziqpu-asterisms). Thus, the very first section of the text might also be a list of asterism and it is, therefore, called a star catalogue. Nevertheless, the list does not contain a single number to describe the position of a constellation. For the few single stars mentioned the position is given relative to their constellation. However, we think, we had been able to reconstruct the depiction of the Babylonian sky chart by this part of the text – within huge margins of error.Since it is also possible to use the data of risings and settings in Mesopotamia to map the reconstructed Babylonian asterisms on the celestial sphere, we wish to present a virtual 3D-image of the Babylonian globe.This leads to a new hypothesis: Using a globe like this, it appears very intuitive to obtain the data written in the second to sixth section of the first tablet of the series. Up to now, there had been many speculation, computations and guesses, why all dates of risings are multiples of 5 and how to interpret the lists's order. If they are read from a globe, all this is an automatic product: Positioning the globe on a certain date, it is easy to read the asterisms above the eastern and western horizons as well as the asterism following below the eastern horizon in soandso many days. Hence, the usage of a globe to compile the lists of MUL.APIN might explain many aspects in an easy way.Therefore, in our contribution, we do not only want to suggest a fulldome-visualisation of Babylonian constellations for modern planetariums but also a historically brave hypothesis of a Babylonian globe and encourage archaeologists to dig for it.
The AWHI comes of age: three potential astronomical World Heritage sites for 2019
Ruggles, Clive
This has involved developing — in conjunction with UNESO's advisory body ICOMOS — robust general principles for assessing the value, and potential "outstanding universal value", of different types and categories of scientific and technological heritage relating to astronomy._x000D_ This long-term process is now beginning to bear significant fruit. Three countries are in the process of nominating astronomically related properties as potential World Heritage Sites for inscription in 2019: Peru (Chankillo astronomical complex), Spain (Risco Caido and the sacred mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape) and the United Kingdom (Jodrell Bank Observatory)._x000D_ This presentation will briefly review the cases being made in support of these potential World Heritage Sites and the potential for further global recognition of key astronomical heritage in the near future.