24-hour Global Star Party

Organized by Sidewalk Astronomers and International Sidewalk Astronomy Night

Date: 4 April 2009

Starting Time: Sunset local time

Join Us!

International Sidewalk Astronomy Night (ISAN) joins 100 Hours of Astronomy this year to hold the biggest public outreach ever! Amateur astronomers, astronomy clubs and other groups should all set up telescopes in public places to allow as many people as possible to look through a telescope. Join the dedicated community of sidewalk astronomers in reaching out to as many people as possible in every country around the globe.

Everyone with a telescope should bring it out under the stars throughout the 100 Hours of Astronomy – especially during the global star party! – to share the wonders of the sky with others. Along with the usual locations on streets and at shopping malls where foot traffic is high, participants are encouraged to go to non-traditional locations to reach those who cannot come to them. Military bases, rest homes –wherever there are people to look through a telescope, a telescope should be there.  Amateur clubs should have members at several locations to reach as many people as possible.  Groups should also approach science centres, museums, libraries and other facilities to work together in bringing astronomy to the public throughout the 100 Hours of Astronomy.

Be Creative

Events can be as diverse as the amateur astronomers themselves! New ideas are the key to increasing participation, attracting the public and getting the media's attention.  A public observing marathon, a busy street lined with telescopes, telescopes at local historic sites – new ideas get attention. Events should be accessible to the disabled community whenever possible.  The International Year of Astronomy 2009 and the 100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project are the perfect opportunity to bring astronomy to the people and showcase this fantastic science.  100 Hours of Astronomy will be the largest international astronomy event ever and everyone should take part!

Register Your Event and be Eligible to Win

If you're holding a public event of course you'll want to go the the Event Registration page to add it to to all the other registered events so people near you can find out about it. But there are also eight more reasons to register...

Awards and Prizes: We are pleased to announce that all registered 100HA Star party and Sidewalk astronomy events will have a chance to win awards and prizes. There are eight categories to choose from.  See the award categories and competition rules for more information.  Great prizes to be won, good luck everyone.

Join the Party!

Whatever your plans be sure to be out during the 24-hour Global Star Pary on 4 April!  Join amateur astronomers in every country who are sharing the sky with their fellow citizens as darkness sweeps around the world.  Be a part of the biggest science outreach event ever!

Broadcast your Star Party to the World!

We encouraged groups to webcast their star parties on Ustream, and this worked very well. We had groups from all over the world take part-- you can find out more at the Star Party Webcast page.

100 Hours of Astronomy Videos on YouTube

You can see videos from 100 Hours of Astronomy events around the world on our YouTube group "100 Hours Starparties".  If you filmed your event, it's not too late to put your video there for all to see! For instructions about how to upload your video to 100 Hours Starparties, click here.

Contact: Donna Smith, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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