2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy

2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy

www.eso.org

20-December-2007, Paris: Early this morning (CET) the United Nations (UN) 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. The Resolution was submitted by Italy, Galileo Galilei's home country. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is an initiative of the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:

AIU press release at www.aiu.org

[edit on 23-12-2007 by UM_Gazz]

Astronomy has come a long way since Gallileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the stars 400 hundred years ago and this pathed a way for countless others to do the same. Now here we are scoping systems and galaxies with huge and powerfull telescopes who give us so much insight and information to better and improve our knowledge of the universe.

What can we say about Gallileo that hasn\'t been said or written, for one who discovered moons around Jupiter and craters on the moon over 400 years ago, simply amazing!!

To commemorate this event the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 to be the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY.


(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by angelc01
Just whanted to add a little info about a recent discovery by astronomers at E.S.O.

Anatomy of a Bird
VLT's NACO instrument reveals a triple cosmic collision
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers [1] has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed 'The Bird' - albeit it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy.

ESO PR Photo 55a/07
The Tinker Bell Triplet The galaxy ESO 593-IG 008, or IRAS 19115-2124, was previously merely known as an interacting pair of galaxies at a distance of 650 million light-years. But surprises were revealed by observations made with the NACO instrument attached to ESO's VLT, which peered through the all-pervasive dust clouds, using adaptive optics to resolve the finest details [2].
My avatar is the photo
This was a suggestion by my friend MIKE

I am very pleased and excited with this news. My SO is getting a telescope for me for Christmas. Of course it is nothing like the big boys use but it is the starting of an adventure for me.

I have a chair and a table set up in a perfect spot to start my sky watching. If all goes well and there aren't too many clouds I'll probably stay up all night watching the heavens.

I know nothing about astronomy and noticed the full moon tonight with a small speck at the lower right hand side. Could someone tell me what I was seeing? I'll look again when I get this telescope put together and in operation.

Happy star gazing to all.

reply to post by dizziedame
I am very pleased that you find this info exciting and to your liking, mabe when you get your telescope this christmas and with it you just might get another gift, -- an amateur astronomical discovery ---

Many discoveries are made by amateurs which search the skys with more adventure and curiosity than some professionals do, and who knows you migh get lucky. Keep searching the skys and watching the stars.

reply to post by dizziedame


You were seeing mars. Go to this thread to learn more about it. Object Aound The Moon

Enjoy your telescope and tell us if you see something out of the ordinary.


[edit on 12/23/2007 by Solarskye]