Dawn reports from Vadodara,India

Dawn of IYA2009 in vadodara was very successful, in terms of all areas from Press coverage to people attraction and reaching to people. major Gujarati news paper publish press-note of DAWN on 1st January, all local media telecast News in evening and again major newspaper publish Report on next day after event.

We have arrange 2 telescoe at 2 places of Vadodara.

1. at our Regular meeting place Balbhavan of Vadodara. 5inch Reflector telescope without filter on Projection sheet we shaw sun to students. (today we also launch our prime project "hamari hi mutthi me Aakash sara - reaching to unreached" showing and teaching astronomy to those who still unexplored, about 35 physically and mentally disable students see the sun through Scope, it was quite exiting for them when i ask few of them did you know what is this white Ball ?? they says "DADA-suraj dada" it is quit fascinating for them too see telescope and to look at screen..i also learn that it is very difficult to teach them still i love it. and hope we get surely good success in our project. Gujarat Samachar of Vadodara edition publish image of this on next day.)

team members at place :Myself (bhargav) on scope, Lekhraj on Screen,Prakash at PPT and sundial. timings 9:45 AM to 12:10 NOON.

2. 2nd place is Faculty of Science of MS university , we placed our 5 inch reflector with filter at entry gate of faculty of Science and near H.M Library so students of all stream can benifit to watch sun.about 300 students watch sun through scope we have announced time from 10 to 12, but we have to extend it till 2PM.

team members at Place : Mansi at Scope, Riddhi at sundial, Sreejit at PPT. Mehul and Rakesh with students to explain physics funda (just to avoid big rush and que) later on at 12:30 we three people from place 1 join place 2 till 2 PM.

timing:10:15AM to 2:00 PM

apart of showing sun through scope, simultaneously we have arrange ppt presentation on Sun , it's structure and phenomenons on sun at both place. also make small 15CM dia sundial and teach them concept of Sundial. all in all Good Successful Event.

Cluster Oaks Drive - Humble, TX, USA

My objective was to introduce folks on my street to the IYA by setting up the telescope to look at the sun. We were ready a little before noon (local time), skies were clear, and curious neighbors began to emerge from their homes. We were prepared to go all afternoon. The Sun was there, in the eyepiece, still no clouds, but alas, no sunspots either. We had some good discussions about the sun, the sunspot cycle, the IYA, and the new, soon to open observatory. Sadly, by 1 PM, the clouds moved in and we were totally overcast for the rest of the day. So brief, but we got the IYA off to a good start. We had 13 visitors ranging from elementary school children to adults. - Aaron Clevenson

Dawn IYA 2009 in Coastal NC, USA

Dawn IYA 2009 was not only a fun way to usher in (and introduce) the International Year of Astronomy 2009, it offered me a perfect opportunity to share the sky with fellow residents of my small town of Shallotte, North Carolina, USA.

We had beautifully clear skies for the event - that famous cloudless, Carolina Blue; and the temperatures were just right - not too hot for a sunny day, nor too cold considering the winter season.

My husband helped me with the event, assisting in the transport and setup of my telescope, banner, chairs, and pamphlets table, and by keeping me company for the duration. I was glad to have him with me. We don't often get to enjoy the sky together, and this gave us that time.

We set up near the entrance to our town, along what is essentially the only main road, fittingly named Main Street. Passersby were greeted by a large banner announcing Dawn IYA 2009 and free solar viewing and a smaller sign encouraging people to stop and look at the sun.

The solar viewing apparatus included a 10" Dobsonian telescope outfitted with a Seymour Solar filter, a 10x25 pair of Coronado White Light Binoculars, and a 12x50 pair of Celestron binoculars for non-solar viewing. Our table included various handouts printed from the Dawn IYA 2009 resources page and a homemade solar kit that included a solar glasses template and a swatch of Baader solar film.

The turnout was small but respectable considering the date. Few people were out, probably home recovering from the festivities of the night before. The good news was that all of our visitors were completely new to astronomy and had never before viewed the sun through a filter. One man even asked, "What am I looking at?" - and nearly all asked about that bright "star" in the sunset sky. They were intrigued to learn that it was actually a planet and were thrilled when I showed them Venus and the crescent moon in the daytime sky.

The excitement and curiousity was genuine and even contagious between those who happened to stop by together. Several people even asked where they could get their own telescope or binoculars. Fortunately, one of my handouts - a Fun Sun Facts that I created - included a list of various astronomy websites where they could learn more about the nightsky and even download simple charts for backyard observing.

The one unfortunate thing in all this is that I spent so much time answering questions, I forgot to take pictures! After each visitor left, I reminded myself that I needed to take pictures of the next visitors - and each time, I forgot. I do, however, have pictures of our handouts and equipment. Nothing exciting.



I have several handouts remaining and plenty of baader film for more solar viewing kits. I am planning to host another solar viewing event in a few weeks; and this time I will promote it more heavily to bring in more people. I've already been offered free printing and banner services from the local printers (Skippergraphics) for any future events.

Ultimately, my Dawn IYA 2009 event was a success. More people will "look up" and I feel confident that they, too, will encourage others to look up, as well.

Happy IYA 2009 and Clear Skies to All!
Tavi Greiner

Solar Observation in Fife, Scotland, UK

As could be expected, the sky was mostly overcast at the appointed hour. However, the telescope (Celestron Nexstar 5i with glass solar filter) was set up at a country location outside Cupar, about 15 miles from St Andrews, in the county of Fife, Scotland. House-guests from the New Year Party made it to the telescope nursing the customary hangover and we all managed to make a solar observation at 12 noon. It was disappointing that the solar disk was clear of sunspots but at least we had enough clear sky to take part in the first event of IYA 2009. Then it was back inside for a hair of the dog!
Happy New Year to all.
Lyn Smith, BAA Solar Section Director,
Chris Hobster and Chris Longmore.

moore new years day party

We had about fifteen come out an look at the sun in my 4" DOB with a white light filter. Not much to see. Talked about haow large a sunspot would be before we could see it and what they really are. We then looked at the moon. Most were suprised to be able to see in the daylight. I used a basketball and a tennis ball to show how the moon "Phases" and why we could see it in the daylight. Most were interested and stuck around while I answered questions. We even discussed how planets are being discovered around stars other than ours.

Fred Gassert, President
Kansas Astronomical Observers

"Dawn" in CiWalk Mall, Bandung, Indonesia - 2

Here are some videos from the activity in Indonesia:

"Dawn" in Bharuch, India

Arvind Panchal sent this report:


Greetings,

The dawn of new year was welcomed by over 450 students, accompanied by their teachers, students and members of Astronomy Club, Bharuch
The venue was at Narayan Vidhyalay Bharuch, in the centre of the city. I contacted the Principal well in advance and the manage for the same nicely.

All the students enjoyed Solarsys CD presentation , observe the Sun by Projection method as the safest way.

In the evening at the terrace of B/3 Narayan Nagar 4 , Bharuch I have arranged to view Jupiter, Venus and craters of the moon

Clear skies and IYA2009 greetings,
Arvind Panchal

"Dawn" in Porto, Portugal

I just realized I'm guilty of the same fault as most other participants. I also haven't properly described the activity in Porto, so here it goes:

Has I posted before,the skies in Porto where cloudy, and it even rained later in the afternoon, so we couldn't observe the Sun directly.


We started around 14h00 (2 p.m.), with a live interview in the national TV channel (RTP), to the news leader at lunch time, "Jornal da Tarde" (check at 04:07 minutes in the video). The bearded guy being interviewed is me, so you now know what the annoying guy that keeps sending you "Dawn" e-mails looks like.

Later in the day we also had the visit of a regional TV Channel, "Porto Canal". Other references where made in the portuguese news agency "Lusa" the 2 most read daily newspapers, "Público" and "Jornal de Notícias".

Over the next 4 hours (we finished after sunset), we got around 100 visitors, which is pretty good, considering we where "watching the Sun" on a rainy day.

We had the debut of our next Planetarium show, called "The Sun: Diary of a Star". We intended to have only 2 presentations, but by popular demand we ended up doing 4. The crowed seem pleased with the result.

Among younger children, the sundials where without a doubt the favorite (and among some of the parents). We had both equatorial and horizontal cut-out sundials, of our own design. These were corrected for Portugal's latitude and longitude, but you can donwload the "international" equatorial sundial in "Dawn's" resources webpage.

Southeastern Wisconsin, USA

We were going to have solar observing at Bayshore Town Center in the northern Milwaukee suburb of Glendale, but skies were overcast and it was lightly snowing! Since we were unable to secure an indoor alternative site ahead of time, we had to cancel the event. For 100HA, we'll be sure to have the indoor site reserved in case of inclement weather.

The Dawn of IYA2009 did have a very special meaning for at least one person in the area. We had a good friend from Minnesota stay with us over the holiday, and on New Year's morning she had a gift waiting for her -- an Orion XT 4.5 Dobsonian telescope. Her very own first telescope! That night it was clear enough to catch the Moon for a short while, which she never saw through a telescope before. She is excited to take the scope back with her and go stargazing with her young nephew, who always wanted a telescope, so in a small way the spirit of the Dawn of IYA2009 was fulfilled.

Where are you?

I'm a bit disappointed (and surprised) by the low number of posts so far.

We have 30 countries registered, with more than 100 activities. So where is the rest? Are you still catching up from the lack of sleep on New Year's day?

If you haven't done so already, please, please, please post.

Even if you don't have any photos/videos to post, post a brief description of your activity anyway. How it went, roughly how many people visited you and so on... We are all eager to know how it worked out in you part of the world.

We want to ear from you, whether you are from the Middle East (thanks for the posts from both our Iranian and Iraqi friends), Asia (the smile of that little Nepalese girl is worth a billion euro) South America (obrigado Florianópolis), or Oceania (nice sunrise New Zealand).

Where are the rest of our friends from USA, India and Brazil?

Your reports are important for us in the International Year of Astronomy 2009, because they help us to know what worked and what went wrong, so we know what to repeat and what not to do again.

By the way, I know some of you already know about this, but I personally invite every one from the "Dawn" family to register in the IYA2009 Cornerstone project, 100 hours of Astronomy. Please check it out.