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2009 will be the International Year of Astronomy.



In 1608, Dutch spectacle makers Hans Lippershey, Zacharias Janssen, and Jacob Metius of Alkmaar crafted a device to enable "far seeing". A year later, in 1609, Galileo pointed it to the night sky, and telescope-based observation (and the word "telescope") was born.

Now, 400 years after Galileo first saw the wonders of the heavens, the world celebrates the International Year of Astronomy. The Year was declared by the 62nd General Assembly of the UN. A global scheme, laid out by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), has also been endorsed by UNESCO.

Here is the link to the main site:

International Year of Astronomy 2009

Here is the link to our Philippine hub:

Pandaigdigang Taon ng Astronomiya 2009 - Partners

Local astronomy groups that will spearhead the IYA2009 activities in the Philippines will be the Philippine Astronomical Society (PAS) and the Astronomical League of the Philippines (ALP), as well as PAGASA, headed by our IAU SPC representative, Dr. Cynthia Celebre and the Rizal Technological University (the only school in Asia, aside from Japan, that offers BS and MS in Astronomy).

Unfortunately, most of the Philippine-based activities will be in and around Metro Manila, but since we have ALP member Chris Go here in Cebu, there is a chance that he might engage in astronomy related activities here in the city soon.

Right now I'm no longer involved in any major Philippine astronomical group or society. However, as an independent amateur astronomer, I'll still use my iStorya blog to post any relevant news about the IYA2009 activities and perhaps, given time, I'll also post local events and activities related to astronomy. One of the things I plan to do next year, is to build a new Dobsonian reflector. It will probably be based on a 6" or 8" f/8 design, and I will show how I construct/build the telescope in my iStorya blog.

Here is an example of a telescope I helped build sometime in 2006...

...my daughter is viewing the planet Saturn when I took this image. This is a 4.5" f/8 truss-type.

The design for the telescope I plan to build will be similar to this one, because it's the easiest one to construct, in terms of materials and effort--most parts in this telescope are made from scrap/junk materials. There are a lot of other elegant designs out there, but it will prove to me more time consuming to create. After I finish it (assuming I DO finish it hehehe), I'll invite you iStoryans to celebrate "first light" (first use of the scope) somewhere here in Cebu City.

So to those of you who are interested in getting into amateur astronomy, now is a good time to get into it, because there will be a lot of activities about astronomy for the entire year of 2009.

-RODION