Everyone is invited and encouraged to submit their contributions to this special GAM astropoetry project organized by the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM).

This international astropoetry project is based on the theme of visiting the largest international concentration of telescopes in the northern hemisphere – and home to the largest optical and gamma-ray telescopes in the world – at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) at La Palma on the Canary Islands archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.  Contributions combine cultural, educational, literaryand astronomical aspects through both verse and images.

With Sonification for the Blind

April 10 and 11, 18:00 to 20:00 UT

LIVE from NASA, join a special deep space journey through a robotic telescope

The Deep Space Live Web Cast is a global effort coordinated simultaneously by different organisations around the world.  The program provides a unique opportunity for educators, students, amateur astronomers and outreach promoters, as well as the general public, to observe and appreciate our deep space universe using all of our senses. NASA's deep space will be a virtual journey through a telescope with musical representation (sonification) for the sight-impaired, turning light into sound.

Sunday, 10 April at 18.00 UTC

A live audio-visual radio transmission performance between Earth and the Moon

A project by Daniela de Paulis in collaboration with Jan van Muijlwijk and CAMRAS at Dwingeloo radio telescope

Live audio and video broadcast from Dwingeloo radio telescope on Ustream.  Search for "OPTICKS" to find the event broadcast.

Special planetarium program for the visually impaired.

To make astronomy available to everyone during IYA2009, including those with special needs, the Spanish IYA2009 National Node created the national project called “Astronomical Activities for People with Special Needs”. As part of this project, a planetarium program for the blind, “El Cielo en tus Manos (The Sky in Your Hands)”, was produced to bring the beauty of astronomy to the visually-impaired public.

Now, in association with Astronomers Without Borders, the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia has made resources for this special program available to other theaters, institutions and others involved in outreach activities.

Throughout April, 2011

Among the new features of GAM 2011 will be special programs designed especially for individuals with visual and other sensory impairments. Motivated by the example of such outstanding blind astronomers as Kent Cullers of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program, Astronomers Without Borders has organized the People with Disabilities Working Group to develop special programs for visually impaired and hearing impaired people. These programs are designed to help these individuals reach out and explore the universe in ways unlimited by the senses.

Live Stream
Thursday April 28, 2011
19:00 UT
Composer: Giovanni Renzo

Cosmic Concert is a free online musical. It will be live streamed here. We welcome groups to screen this cosmic musical experience to an audience.

Giovanni Renzo was born in Messina, Italy, in 1962. He graduated from the Conservatorio “Corelli” of his hometown in 1986, continuing his musical education in Rome. He made his debut in 1979 as a jazz pianist. In 1994 he founded and directed the Messina Jazz Orchestra. He regularly plays in concerts and festivals in tour around Italy, alternating his concerts with teaching and composition. Renzo has composed the music for more than twenty theatrical performances. He won the Special Mention at the International Film Music Contest “Mario Nascimbene Award 2006.” His first recording, “Eclisse” (1989), is a collection of piano solo compositions. Then he produced “La distanza della Luna” (two editions, 1996 and 2007), “Il mare” (2001), live recording featuring Paolo Fresu and “Suono e ritmo quintet,” and “Infanzia” (2008), again piano solo.

April 12, 2011

Human Spaceflight became a reality 50 years ago with the launch of a bell-shaped capsule called “Vostok 1.” The capsule was carrying Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who took his place in history as the first human to leave the bounds of Earth and enter outer space.

Exactly 20 years later, the United States embarked on a new era in spaceflight with the inaugural launch of a new type of spaceship — the Space Shuttle. Designed to carry a larger crew and large volumes of cargo to orbit, the Space Shuttles became synonymous with human spaceflight for an entirely new generation of young people.

Be part of a chain of events traveling around the world in 30 nights...

April 1 to 30, 2011

THIRTY NIGHTS OF STARPEACE is a global project inspired by the idea of sharing the starry-night experience among neighboring astronomy groups across national borders, one segment of the globe at a time, on successive nights during the month of April. It's a way of bringing to focus a spirit of fellowship, communication, and a love for the high and open sky within a specific part of the world every single night.

Welcome to the GAM 2012 Astropoetry Blog!  We have set this blog up as a special place for astropoems relating to GAM 2012 programs.  Most especially, we’re looking for poems from our readers focused on two areas: (1) Dark Skies, both their beauty and the need for them; and (2) the Moon.  Write your “moonlight cocktails” of poetry now — and send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it — so that during Lunar Week (April 1-7) we will have brand-new moon-related poems to show our readers on every day of that week.  And you will have the satisfaction of being a published poet!  Be sure your submission includes your name and where you are from (city and country).  If you wish, you can also include  a few words about the circumstances that led to writing the poem. And please note on you submission whether the poem is related to a GAM 2012 program.