Is 2009 Really the Year of Astronomy?

[mjsd]

I heard that this year is the Year of Astronomy. Being a "physicist" at the university, a local science teacher invited me to help out with writing some talks/presentations for the students at their high school on the topics of astrophysics...

So, why 2009? What is so special? What is going to happen? Just a public relation thing or the scientific community have something special install? What are the views of the researchers in the Astronomy sector on this?

comments welcomed

 

[turbo]

It might be a good opportunity to touch on some basics, like the Hubble redshift-distance relation, and put that in some historical perspective. As a very prominent observational astronomer wrote me in 1988 after attending the "Cosmology in Retrospect" symposium (and having reviewed Hubble's papers) "Hubble always said 'if the redshift means velocity', and even in a paper published in 1953 after his death, he said 'c x z = velocity is not formally correct.' " The proponents of the Big Bang (Gamow et al) seized on Hubble's work to "prove" expansion, though Hubble was reluctant to endorse that. He was a cautious and conservative observer.

 

[Nabeshin]

So, why 2009? What is so special?

Formally, 2009 being chosen as the international year of astronomy is because it commemorates both the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescopic observations and Kepler's publication of Astronomia nova.

 

[mjsd]

thanks for the comments.

Formally, 2009 being chosen as the international year of astronomy is because it commemorates both the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescopic observations and Kepler's publication of Astronomia nova.

oh, is that why eh? ok...

either way, should be a good opportunity for me to learn more about astro/cosmology...

 

[Arch2008]

Here is a link I posted of some of the upcoming events for IYA 2009:
http://www.astronomy2009.org/

 

[mjsd]

Here is a link I posted of some of the upcoming events for IYA 2009:
http://www.astronomy2009.org/

Thanks for the link.