AWB Monthly Newsletter November 2011

November 2011 Newsletter

A Message From the President

It's been some time since we've sent out a mailing.  It may seem like nothing is happening at AWB but I can assure you that couldn't be further from the truth.  The Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) staff has been working very hard to reorganize our operations, recruit more active participants and prepare for major fundraising efforts.

Why the changes when things have been going so well?  Because we've been successful - and demand has been growing - at a pace far greater than expected.  The world now looks to AWB to bring more programs, resources and activities to everyone, and our barebones staff just can't keep up with this rapid growth for long.  We're building a more solid foundation that will allow us to continue to grow and do more.  This is an important transitional time for AWB and we're looking at why we've been so successful and what we need to do to prepare for an even brighter future.

You will be hearing much more from AWB in the near future.  We hope that you will take an interest in the exciting news and continue to support AWB.  After becoming one of the world's foremost astronomy organizations in such a short time, we will continue to depend on the support of the community that has brought us so far.

Clear skies,
Mike Simmons

New AWB Board Chairman

Astronomers Without Borders is pleased to announce the appointment of Stanley Weinstein as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  Stanley is recently retired after 42 years in the nonprofit sector, having served as President of Stanley Weinstein & Co. and providing services for more than 300 nonprofit organizations throughout the US. Stanley replaces AWB's Founder, Mike Simmons, as Chairman.  Mike remains as AWB President and CEO.

Irish National Coordinator Wins Prestigious Award

Deirdre Kelleghan, AWB National Coordinator for Ireland, has been honored with Science magazine’s prestigious SPORE (Science Project for Online Resources in Education) award for her work in opening up the wonders of the universe to schoolchildren.  Science magazine is the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

National Geographic Features TWAN Photographer Video

“The Island,” a time-lapse video by Christoph Malin - internationally known photographer and member of the presitigious AWB project, The World at Night - was featured on the National Geographic website on August 15. The video shows, in time-lapse motion, the stunning vistas of La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands, some 62 miles off the African coast.

The World at Night in Ground-Breaking Digital Exhibition

Digital screens, an auditorium, and the unique 16 by 18-meter (53 by 59 feet) display of the DeepSpace hall at Ars Electronica Center (AEC) presents the images and time-lapse videos of The World at Night from 6 October 2011 to 15 February 2012. Several aspects of The World at Night are displayed to visitors, including the connection between the sky and nature; the importance of dark skies; the connection between diverse cultures and civilization under one all-embracing sky; the exotic travel and nighttime adventures involved in creating these awe-inspiring images; and the One People, One Sky philosophy of Astronomers Without Borders.  But at the center of it all is AEC's gigantic screen, which even includes the floor, allowing visitors to actually walk into the enormous images.

Astropoetry Blog

The very popular Astropoetry Blog continues to post a collection of classic and original sky-related poems from around the world.  Recent entries include several on the close pass of Asteroid 2005 YU55, and a poem inspired by the Venus transit of 1882 as we look ahead to a similar event in 2012.  Poets include Jane Houston Jones of JPL, well-known for her What's Up? webcasts, Andrei Dorian Gheorghe of Romania, and the Astropoetry Blog's Editor, AWB Poet Laureate Bob Eklund, author of a collection of his astropoetry, First Star I See Tonight.

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