It's been far too long since we've been in touch with the Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) community. A large part of the reason for our silence has been the 100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). In 2008, AWB was approached by the IYA2009 Secretariat to lead an important part of this unprecedented outreach effort – a global star party aimed at giving as many people as possible the chance to look through a telescope. The 24-hour Global Star Party was a huge success with thousands of star parties worldwide and as many as a million people viewing the Moon, Saturn and other objects as darkness swept around the world, with many viewing the Sun before darkness fell. This unprecedented event brought attention to astronomy in more than 100 countries around the world.

Left: Children crowd around a special 100 Hours of Astronomy cart pulled by a camel in western India.

Right: A traditional Kurd in northern Iraq takes part in the 24-hour Global Star Party of 100 Hours of Astronomy. Telescope provided by the STAR program.

But now it's time to get the AWB community growing again and implement the many new programs that have been planned throughout our long silence. The excitement created for 100 Hours of Astronomy will be sustained through some of these programs, and many new partners and countries have joined the effort. New programs discussed with partners at meetings around the world will also be initiated. Despite the silence there has been tremendous progress in many areas, as you'll see soon.

A new web site was also built recently, with the features and capabilities we need for a true online community center. This new web site, created by our new supporter Net-Source Technologies, gives us all we had hoped for and more. The forums are ready for use now but we'll be adding more sections for new programs as they begin, and for discussing programs we'd like to see get started. This is also the place to find partners for your own programs and seek help from others with special expertise. The new photo gallery allows you to show photos of your activities in your own section to share with others as well. There are many more features and activities for bringing everyone together that will come online soon.

To take part in the new forum, post pictures of your group's activities in your gallery and be ready to take part in new programs coming up, log in to your account on the AWB web site. All Affiliates should log in and check their profiles. You can change the information that the public will see and that we use to contact you. And if you don't have your logo showing yet you can upload it. If you need assistance use the Contact form on the web site to write to Account Support.

Non-Profit Tax Status

After 15 months of effort Astronomers Without Borders has finally been granted exempt status from the US Internal Revenue Service. This means that donations to AWB from individuals and companies are exempt from US income tax; the donors do not have to pay taxes on any income that is given over to AWB. This is an important step not only because donors are reluctant to give to organizations when they will be taxed on the money as income, but many foundations and companies will not donate to organizations that are not tax-exempt. AWB is classified as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization.

George Whitesides Moves On

Founding AWB Trustee George Whitesides recently left his position as Executive Director of the National Space Society to accept a position at NASA under the Obama administration. This creates a potential conflict of interest between George's new NASA position and his seat on the AWB Board of Trustees. As a consequence, George resigned his position on the AWB Board in May. George has been a big supporter of AWB since its founding. George has been involved in other groundbreaking international efforts such as Permission to Dream and Yuri's Night so it is with reluctance that he leaves the Board, however he remains a strong supporter and good friend of AWB. We wish George the very best of luck with this great new opportunity at NASA. As the NSS slogan says, "Ad Astra" (to the stars), George.

Upcoming projects

Video conferences

To augment the new forum on our web site, several Affiliates have connected with each other using free video conferencing services. This new technology requires only a webcam, a microphone and a reliable Internet connection. This techonology will be used for many new AWB programs.

Remote observing

A very popular activity during 100 Hours of Astronomy was remote observing. Using telescopes operated over the Internet, participants took astrophotographs using their own computers from wherever they were around the world. This emerging technology is widely used in professional astronomy today and there are now telescope networks dedicated to education and amateur astronomy. Several of our partners in 100 Hours of Astronomy have expressed interest in working with AWB to bring observing opportunities to classrooms and clubs this summer, connecting Affiliates around the world working on projects together. On the right is an image of Saturn taken by an observer far from the telescope during 100 Hours of Remote Astronomy.

Sharing Telescopes and Resources (STAR)

This important program was begun to send surplus telescopes in developed countries to groups in need in developing countries. But the problem is the cost of shipping large, heavy instruments like telescopes around the world. Most telescopes have been sent with travelers going from one country to another but that method is very limited. New ideas are now being explored that will allow donations to cross borders more easily.

All groups involved in astronomy, space science and international relations are encouraged to join. There are no individual memberships. Affiliate organizations are the gateways for individuals to participate in Astronomers Without Borders projects and activities. Interested individuals can subscribe to this newsletter on the web site.

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Astronomers Without Borders is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit charitable organization.