2009: The International Year of Astronomy

I am still on vacation, but 2009 begins in less than 24 hours. 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first astronomical observations (also the 60th anniversary of first light for the Hale Telescope). The International Astronomical Union will be celebrating all year long with an unprecedented push for public outreach in astronomy.


2009 is the International Year of Astronomy!

Palomar Observatory will be involved in many of the IYA projects. From time to time I'll be posting about the IYA activities that you can enjoy.

First off is the 365 Days of Astronomy - an astronomy podcast for every day of the year. Visit the link, subscribe (its free!) and you can have iTunes drop a new astronomy podcast at your doorstep each and every new day for a whole year. How cool is that? Towards the end of January you'll have a chance to hear my first podcast and others during the year as well.

The International Year of Astronomy has an official trailer. Have a look:



After you've seen the trailer click on over to Astronomy Picture of the Day to see today's entry The Sky in Motion. It is inspirational.

Happy New Year to all the readers of Palomar Skies. It should be an exciting one.