www.astrosociety.org  

January 2009   

SOCIETY NEWS
February 7th is the ASP's 120th Birthday.

ASP Board of Directors Nominations.

The International Year of Astronomy Has Begun.

ASP Secretary Wins Prestigious Education Prize of the American Astronomical Society.

ASP Publishes 400th Conference Proceedings Volume.

New! ASP Monograph Publications.

EVENTS
Tour Paris Art, Astronomy, and History.

ASP EDUCATION STAFF & PROGRAMS
The ASP at the AGU.

AFGU Update for IYA.

Shop the AstroShop

2009 Astronomy Calendars still available!

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Your purchases help support the education programs of the ASP.

Travel with the ASP

Join us in China for a celebration of one of the many long-duration total solar eclipses of Saros 136.
July 13-26, 2009

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astronomy tours

February 7th is the ASP's 120th Birthday

On February 7, 1889, 40 professional and amateur astronomers gathered in a meeting room in San Francisco to found the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Now, 120 years later, the ASP is one of the largest and most active astronomical and educational organizations in the world. February 7th is on a Saturday night this year; it's a great time to show friends or family members the night sky, organize an astronomical event, or even cut a birthday cake in the ASP's honor. And, of course, if you should want to send a birthday donation to support the ASP's work in education, the Society's officers and staff won't turn you down.

The Centennial History of the ASP by astronomer/historian Kate Bracher, with much more information about our founding, is on line at: http://www.astrosociety.org/about/history.html.

ASP Board of Directors Nominations

The Nominations Committees of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific have announced that the following individuals have agreed to stand for election to the ASP Board of Directors. Three regular seats are up for election in 2009, as well as the seat representing the amateur astronomy community.

The current list of candidates for the three regular seats are, in alphabetical order:

Dr. Daniel R. Altschuler
Professor
University of Puerto Rico
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

Dr. Geoffrey Clayton
Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Doris Daou
Director of Communication and Outreach
NASA Lunar Science Institute
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California

Dr. Evalyn Gates
Assistant Director
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Don McCarthy
Astronomer
Steward Observatory at The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

Sandra Preston
Assistant Director for Education and Outreach
The University of Texas McDonald Observatory
Austin, Texas

The current list of candidates for the amateur astronomy seat, to be voted separately by the membership, includes:

Doug Brown
President
Fremont Peak Observatory Association
San Jose, California

Scott W. Roberts
President and Manager
Explore Scientific, LLC
Laguna Hills, California

According to Society bylaws, members may submit additional nominations, provided that the nomination is signed by at least 25 active members and is accompanied by a written declaration of the nominee's willingness to serve. The nomination, with 25 signatures of active members and statement by the nominee, must reach the Society office in San Francisco on or before April 15, 2009, and should be sent to:

Executive Director
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
390 Ashton Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112-1722

The ASP offers its thanks and good wishes to all of the candidates. Ballots will be mailed to all active ASP members around May 15. Ballots must be returned to the Society with a postmark no later than July 15 in order to be included in the tally.

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The International Year of Astronomy Has Begun

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning the telescope to the heavens and has been designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). The ASP is taking a leading role in the educational and outreach efforts for the IYA throughout the year. For those who want to learn more about Galileo, the man and his science, a new resource guide is on line at:
http://www.astrosociety.org/iya/galileo.pdf

The Society's education staff (with generous support from NASA) has prepared a series of activity guides for each month of the International Year of Astronomy. You can download one or all of these guides at:
http://www.astrosociety.org/iya/guides.html

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ASP Secretary Wins Prestigious Education Prize of the American Astronomical Society

The Secretary of the ASP's Board of Directors, Mary Kay Hemenway of the University of Texas, has been announced as the winner of the 2009 Education Prize of the American Astronomical Society, given for "outstanding contributions to the education of the public, students and/or the next generation of professional astronomers." We will have more about Dr. Hemenway's work in future issues, but want to congratulate her on this honor.

ASP Officers have won more than their share of this award during the 14 years it has been given. Previous winners include the current ASP President James Kaler, former Presidents Sidney Wolff and Frank Drake, and former Executive Officer Andrew Fraknoi.

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ASP Publishes 400th Conference Proceedings Volume

ASP is proud to announce the recent publication of its 400th Conference Series volume: Preparing for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy: A Hands-on Symposium, edited by Michael G. Gibbs, Jonathan Barnes, James G. Manning, and Bruce Partridge. Celebrating 400 years of astronomical discovery, this 400th volume shares a wealth of knowledge and ideas for activities and events relating to the 2009 International Year of Astronomy (IYA). In addition to information presented in the workshops and symposium held during the AAS/ASP 2008 summer meeting, this volume also includes valuable resources for sharing the wonder of astronomy throughout the IYA celebrations and beyond. Breakout sessions, oral presentations, workshops, and hundreds of astronomy resources for art, music, culture, formal and informal education, websites, and IYA calendars are included. Amateur and professional astronomers, educators, and astronomy enthusiasts will all find interesting ideas, projects, and resources inside.

Special Offer: To celebrate 400 years of astronomical discoveries, this volume is available for a limited time for $69.95 and includes free electronic access to the proceedings of the 2007 ASP Conference, Volume 389, EPO and a Changing World: Creating Linkages and Expanding Partnerships.

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New! ASP Monograph Publications

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific now publishes scientific monographs in addition to the ASP's scientific journal, Publications of the ASP (PASP), the compelling Mercury magazine, and the worldwide conference proceedings of the ASP Conference Series.

Two spectacular new monographs, edited by Bo Reipurth, are now available through the AstroShop and include electronic access:

The Handbook of Star Forming Regions:
Volume 1, The Northern Sky

The Handbook of Star Forming Regions:
Volume 2, The Southern Sky

The Handbook describes the ~60 most important star forming regions within approximately 2 kpc, and has been written by a team of 105 authors with expertise in the individual regions. The set consists of two full-color volumes, with a total of over 1900 pages. The Handbook is full of stunning color images from some of the best astrophotographers, complementing the extensive research, figures, and tables presented by the authors. These volumes aim to be a source of comprehensive factual information about each region, with extensive references to the literature. A useful reference guide for both researchers and students, the Handbook provides a unique and detailed presentation of our current knowledge about the nearest and most important star forming regions.

These acclaimed Handbooks join the previously published 3-volume Spectral Catalog of Arcturus in the ASP Monograph Publications series. The Monograph Publications are now available electronically at www.aspmonographs.org.

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Tour Paris Art, Astronomy, and History

Join astronomy historian and writer, Dr. William Sheehan, author of MARS: Lure of the Red Planet and In Search of Vulcan, from September 17-24, 2009, in Paris, France, for an incredible astronomy and art history vacation. Tour members will visit the Paris, Juvisy (optional) and Meudon Observatories, during the week of the Societe Astronomique de France and International Astronomical Union's celebration of Mars observations. Interlaced in the tour will be all things French: French food with wine, tours to nearby villages, and art, with special emphasis on the Impressionists, and personal commentary by Dr. Sheehan relating to art and science.

More information.

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The ASP at the AGU

The fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) is usually held in San Francisco in December. This year's meeting featured several sessions on the International Year of Astronomy and was attended by ASP staff. Education Manager Suzy Gurton was an invited speaker for a morning session about Dark Sky Awareness. Her presentation, "The Astronomical Society of the Pacific and Globe at Night: Dark Sky Collaborations for IYA" described collaborations between the ASP and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (with Connie Walker) and their Globe at Night Program.

Both the Night Sky Network and Astronomy from the Ground Up have featured the Globe at Night educational activities, resources and call to activism to preserve the night skies through workshops and telecons for our program participants.

James Manning also represented the Society's IYA efforts at AGU in a press conference and in a poster: "Communicable Astronomy for IYA: Using the Networks of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for Education and Outreach."

ASP partners also mentioned their work with us in three other presentations: "Strategies for Creating Cornerstone Education Projects for the International Year of Astronomy 2009" by Stephen Pompea and Doug Isbell, National Optical Astronomy Observatory; "Bring the Process of Science to Life! Use Galileo's Historic Observations to Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009" by Theresa Roelofsen Moody and Wil van der Veen, Raritan Valley Community College, New Jersey; and "GLOBE at Night: a Citizen-Science, Dark Skies Awareness Star Hunt during the International Year of Astronomy" by Connie Walker and Stephen Pompea, National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

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AFGU Update for IYA

Close to 400 educators from museums, nature centers, and parks in 47 states have received training and materials through Astronomy from the Ground Up. Even after they complete a workshop, they have many opportunities for continued learning and networking on the AFGU website, with added offerings in 2009 for IYA. In December, ASP staff ran a two-week online workshop covering the NASA IYA themes for January - April 2009, focusing on the Night Sky Network Discovery Guides.

This month, thirty AFGU educators are preparing to become local leaders of the GLOBE at Night campaign by participating in an online workshop moderated by Connie Walker of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Participants of this workshop also received Dark Sky Education Kits with materials and information about light pollution, courtesy of NOAO.

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