Fiami Sent me a Christmas Gift for IYA2009 : The Lives of Galileo

This was the most amazing bit of highlight that I've got at the moment. It is all about Fiami and his generosity. Yep, he send me a hard copy of his book "Lives of Galileo". I received the English version during this Christmas week, and I was very delighted to have received it. I'm sure I'll never ever forget this in my life. I've also attached the images of the book and you can browse them here. Credit should go to my Uni friend Lakitha for photos.I have been trying to get this amazing science, astronomy much popularized among all. Therefore I believe Fiami's this exceptional service should be highly valued and appraised, for Fiami, himself...

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Merry Christmas with IYA2009

This is the Christmas season, and it's so much special because of this is IYA2009 !!A Christmas in the International Year of Astronomy, However these are late wishes from me to you all !!This was due to my absence in online during the Christmas season, In fact I went to Southeastern Sri Lanka for the small break I had. I went with my friends down to Tangalle, a coastal area some 220Km far from capital Colombo.And I have good NEWS, The skies in Tangalle were clearer and less polluted. I looked at the the heavens so eagerly grabbing the pure sight which is not polluted with human activity, as in Colombo. We also enjoyed the beaches and had a fine...

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IYA2009 Closing Ceremony

Preliminary IYA2009 Closing Ceremony Programme SATURDAY, 9 JANUARY 2010 10:00-13.30 REGISTRATION Session I. Welcome & the IYA2009 14:00-15:00 Welcome addresses: Università di Padova Rector; Padova Mayor; W. Erdelen (UNESCO); R. Williams (IAU President); Tommaso Maccacaro (INAF President), Italian University & Research Minister * 15:00-15:30 Catherine Cesarsky: "Overview of IYA2009" 15:30-16:00 COFFEE BREAK Session II IYA2009 in the World 16:00-16:20 Pedro Russo: "Coordinating IYA2009" 16:20-16:40 Lars Lindberg Christensen: "What Worked Best in IYA 2009" 16:40-18:10 Six 15-minutes talks by SPoCs: "IYA2009 Activities...

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9 Days left in IYA2009

There are only 9 days left for this so cherished IYA2009. In fact it was a great year right from the beginning. In Sri Lanka I can recall how the things got kicked off in January 2009.First we had the partial solar eclipse in January on 26th. Then came the green comet Lulin, then a lot of cornerstone and special IYA2009 projects also came into effect. Afterwards, the Hundred Hours of Astronomy / 100HA was an amazing experience with the heavens.Meantime a wide range of outreach projects also took place, you can browse the whole archive here and I'm just rushing through the key events that took place locally and globally. We also conducted seasonal...

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Another Interesting Story for IYA2009 from Jam Jamam

This is such a wonderful story that I came to know yesterday from my Facebook friend Jam Jamam, I thought you guys would also like to hear it and am just gonna blog about it.The wonderful day was last Friday, to be precise the 11th of December 2009. Jam and his friends have had a wonderful session of observation and analysis with sophisticated equipment. I believe the session had been so exciting and is really appealing to me, who has never been with such high-tech astronomy stuff so far, In his gallery Jam had uploaded those pictures, he's taken during the unforgettable night.From his location @ DSO, Normandy, France Jam conducted all this...

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Celebrating Sir Arthur C Clarke's 92nd Birth Anniversary

I believe he's the person of the last century. The mastermind who revolutionized the process of communication, while visualizing about a realistic futurism. Sir Arthur Clarke has already left his legacies behind for all of us, for the whole humanity. Sri Lanka is today proud to have had such a person as a resident throughout many decades. However I believe that it's the time we paid tribute to him in memory of his contributions and ideas in this context, where the 92nd birth anniversary of Sir Arthur Clarke falls on next 16th. (Just 4 days left).Sri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur Charles Clarke was born on 16th December 1917 in Minehead, England. Then...

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FYOSA Ends with Success Achieved

As you have been aware from my previous posts, FYOSA (Forty Years of Space Age & Beyond) took place at the premises of Royal College, Colombo as one of the key IYA2009 projects of Sri Lanka. The FYOSA proved to be a magnificent collaboration of astronomy and had a massive multitude of 6000+ visitors during its 2-day duration from 8th to 9th December.FYOSA was basically conducted with 3 segments which were a workshop, a Sci-Fi competition and a Moon rock exhibition, which showcased stardust from legendary Apollo 11.Here you can watch the trailer of FYOSA and you can watch it here...More details would be found here at Thilina's blo...

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Recording Taru Widu Saraniya The Astronomy Colloquium on Radio @ SLBC

Apart from the special happening of my blog's celebrating its 1st anniversary there was also another news to blog about. It was the recording session we had @ SLBC (Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) yesterday evening.I think you guys are aware of Tharu Widu Saraniya, of which I've blogged before in a previous post, which is here.The radio broadcast is conducted by Chinthaka Weerakoone, a 3rd-year medical student of University of Sri Jayawaradanepura, Colombo. Tharu Widu Saraniya is broadcast once a week on Wednesdays from 4:30 pm onwards in the local radio channel "Swadeshiiya Sewaya" via FM 90.3 and 97.3Except Chinthaka Weerakoone, himself...

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1st Anniversary of IYA2009 Astronomy Sri Lanka Blog

Happy Anniversary !!!Guys, I'm so happy today as today marks the 365th day since the start of this blog. In other words, this IYA2009 blog celebrates its 1st anniversary today. Yes, literally I started this task of blogging on 10th December 2008. You can refer to the archives in this blog for verification !! It's been a whole year full of exciting IYA endeavors throughout !!I feel it's exciting to be a blogger of astronomy as you have updated news regularly to blog about.Initially this blog was started as a my own idea and I tired to blog as frequent as possible updating you people with regular news regrading IYA2009. Right from the beginning...

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CH4 on Red Planet; Mars has origins of life or water, or both: Researches Suggest

According to a latest research Methane (Chemical Formula CH4; where 4 is sub-scripted) on Mars comes as a result of a meteorite impact taken place many eras ago, is no longer valid. New hypotheses include either of following candidates or both may be.The first idea is that CH4 could be a by-product of some metabolism, happening with animalcules on Red Planet and the other suggestion of the research says it could be a consequence of Martian seismic activity. Initially Methane on Mars was detected a decade back in 1999 and again at regular intervals. However there was not strong suggestion earlier about the origin of the organic gas CH4 on Mars.The...

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2009 Geminids Meteor Shower: A Chance not to be missed in IYA2009

Guys, Get ready have your stuff arranged outdoors, Make the Binos ready !!!Well, you might ask me what's the hack's going on and what I'm so much impressed about, Yes it's a big thing.. A bigger thing compared to past years, The Geminids on the Way, Hopefully as per the calculations the Geminids 2009 will likely to be more happening. Yep the best meteor shower in whole IYA2009, is about to show off.Conditions will be ideals for you if you're located in North America, nut if you aren't don't give up I say. It would be a long cold night probably there in the US during next few days. As per the Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office,...

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Galileoscope Another Legacy of IYA2009

It seems like that IYA2009 is leaving us with a lot of legacies left behind. I think many of you guys have experienced Galilean moments and funny moments in this IYA2009. However for us Sri Lankans it was unable to get Galileoscopes and even IYA2009 Firstscope as a legendary tool and as well as a souvenir to cherish the International Year of Astronomy 2009. I tired to get them down via the national node but the efforts didn't succeed.However I believe that there are ample of people with Galileoscopes with them at the moment,Therefore I'm posting this youtube video to show you how how to assemble and utilized, mount the Galileoscope out of the...

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Bringing Astronomy to Galle : Another Outreach Project in IYA2009

IYA2009 is now almost at the end. Already more than 11 months have passed my leaving ourselves with amazing legacies to cherish. I'm publishing this post as the 119th post of this IYA2009 blog. In fact this is an update about the latest outreach project I contributed.I got in touch with this through the Department of Physics, University of Colombo, where I'm reading for my B.Sc at the moment. Especially I would like to thank Ms. Monika Madhavee, Mr. Buddhika Priyasad, Ms. Chethya Vidanapathirana of MAS (Mathematical & Astronomical Society) of UoC (University of Colombo) who made me aware of this outreach project and encouraged me in many...

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The SkyLK's Legacy of IYA2009: Special Award of Sinhalese Blogging Competition

This is the latest wonderful news that is fast spreading in Sri Lanka at the moment. It's not more than 6 hours since the awarding ceremony of Sinhalese blogging Competition. The SkyLK blog was awarded a special prize at this ceremony held by the Royal College IT unit. It can be concluded that SkyLK received the legacy of IYA2009, at the time when IYA 2009 is reaching its conclusion.What a wonderful way to be paid tributes !! Here is the certificate SkyLK received. A big thank goes out to SkyLK for its endeavors in ameliorating the astronomy knowledge of locals to a higher level with manifold initiatives, varying in the range of updated podcast,...

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40years of Space Age & Beyond - FYOSA- by Royal College Astronomical Society

International Year of Astronomy is fast reaching its irresistible end at the moment, However the people have not given up their endeavors in organizing mega events to celebrate the 400th anniversary of first Galilean telescopic observations back in 1609. Especially the students of RCAS- Royal College Astronomical Society have prepared themselves to showcase yet an extraordinary event for IYA2009.Yes, literally speaking these young fellas have come up with a great theme - 40Years of Space Age & Beyond. What a theme for an IYA event !!This will be the largest IYA 2009 project organized by RCAS integrating an astronomy workshop, Sci-Fi competition,...

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Youtube Video of IYA2009 Featured Scientist of the Day

I hope all of you guys remembers the series of featured scientists that I introduced under an enhancement step for this IYA2009 blog. Now they are all collected in this video. You can watch them all with this video and enjoy.Please do contribute to spreading news information on lives of these eminent scientists, whose knowledge has immensely contributed towards the understanding of Universe. Starting from early ages, the series expands to modern Scientists, who lived in the industrialized world as well.Here is the video for you to enjoy !!! Please note that the above picture is a courtesy of Asia Tra...

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Send Your Messege to Venus along with Your Name; Your Gift for IYA2009

Today, I come back to you with this cool news, which will make many of you amazed. Yes, it's true. Now you can send your name to Venus together with your name aboard AKATSUKI, (Planet-C) The Venus Climate Orbiter, scheduled to be launched in 2010 by JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency)According to their project, JAXA is allowing anyone, interested to send their names across AKATSUKI to Venus. You can send them online @ following page of JAXA site.http://www.jaxa.jp/event/akatsuki/index_e.htmlMomentarily you will be given a certificate upon the submission of the message together with your name. The certificate portrays your message together...

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A UNAWE project @ HFC, Dehiwala : Featured with IYA2009 & Observation Astronomy

In fact I think that I should have blogged this earlier. However now the story has already hit the UNAWE site, thanks to Dr. Carolina Ödman, the Single Point of Contact of UNAWE. This has already fallen as an IYA event into IYA 2009 projects of Sri Lanka.This project was organized in last August, by the Girl Guides of Holy Family Convent Dehivala, Sri Lanka. There was a participation of over 50+ students for the event, which is also tagged as the very first program of UNAWE in Sri Lanka. The students who were from Grades 6 to 9 got a chance to have a scope on looking at heavens. In addition to students, there were teachers among those who took...

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Annual Astronomy Workshop 2009 at Southlands College, Galle, Sri Lanka

It was the last day of the October in fact. The 31st to be precise. The day dawned with promising sun light from the East. However we were supposed to travel to South , to Galle for the annual Astronomy Workshop of Southlands College. I think doing many outreach programs like this will help the students/ children in farther areas, to develop their knowledge on science and astronomy in general. They have limited resources and it's an obligation of ours to help them enjoy the life with the beauty of astronomy in this IYA2009.Well let's go ahead with the story !! We left from Colombo at about 7:00 am in the morning. Here is the outreach crew.Professor...

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My Tribute to IYA 2009 : A Poem on Pluto

Here is my tribute to IYA 2009: A Poem I composed this in early 2007, when I was the president of Anandian Astronomical Association for the years 2006/2007. However now it's the almost the end of 2009. Therefore, while IYA 2009 is still due, I hit on the idea of paying tribute to the Galileo's efforts with my poem which has not yet been published online. however it was printed on this years Star Party 2009 souvenir for the first time and I had good feedback on it. It was the era when Pluto was subject to many colloquial talks on astronomy. They were debating whether Pluto was a planet. I felt sad for Pluto and I though of composing a poem,...

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IYA 2009 Astronomy Sri Lanka just received Google PageRank 5

It's not a short while ago that I came to know Google PageRank has just updated. I usually tend to look at the Google tool bar's PR button when a page loads. For my surprise I had got PageRank 5. I was earlier with Google PageRank 4 for this IYA2009 astronomy blog and now I'm glad to have done that. That's why I made this quick post.Improving PageRank is not very easy. You have to focus on building quality backlinks and updating the site with quality content regularly. In addition you should be patient as well, Last time I jumped into PR 4 from PR 0 during the last week of May 2009. That's when the last update of Google PageRank had been,I also...

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A random Idea I have: Do Atoms & Solar System (Planetary System) share a similarity?

This is one of those freaky matters that I have been thinking of, over the course of time. Now I though of posting it here and getting ready for a better discussion, argument or whatever.So let's straightly get into the topic. I have also supplied pictures to illustrate the idea. Basically, an atom is of course made up of electrons, neutrons & protons. The electrons orbit the the nucleus, which houses the protons and neutrons. Hence the nucleus is positively charged and since the negatively charged electrons orbit the nucleus, in a nutshell, we can say the atom is neutral.Now let's focus on solar system. There is the mighty sun in the center,...

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A Series of Lectures by MAS UoC: Lecture 1- Space Shuttles

The Mathematical & Astronomical Society (MAS) of University of Colombo (UoC) has arranged a new lecture series, commencing from Friday, 23rd October 2009. The lectures are scheduled to continue weekly through the 1st semester of the academic year.The lecturers will be fourth year students, who have been qualified for a special degree and office bearers of the society. Lecturers include following personnel.Ms. Monika Madhavi - PresidentMr. Buddhika Priyasad - Vice PresidentMr. Lasitha Senaratne - EditorThe lectures will be delivered at the PSR (Physics Seminar Room), Department of Physics, UoC from 4 .00 pm onwards.The Lecture No 01- Space...

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Sri Lankan Team @ 3rd International Olympiad of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Tehran, Iran

It's just a while ago, that I got the updated images of the Sri Lankan delegation who left on 17th instant for the 3rd IOAA, at Tehran, Iran. In fact the delegation composed of 5 individual students, who were qualified via the national Olympiad on Astronomy & Astrophysics, together with the leader Dr. Chandana Jayarathne, who also is a senior staff member of Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and Mr. Saraj Gunasekera .Above you can see the Sri Lankan delegation majestically posing with our national flag- The Lion FlagThe delegation is as follows:Leader: Dr. Chandana Jayaratne Saraj Gunasekera Students:Eranga Thilina...

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Hooray !! Star Party 2009 Featured as a Galilean Nights Project of IYA 2009.. Yeah

Guys, I have this wonderful news that we were able to feature the Galilean Nights with Star PArty 2009, representing Sri Lanka. I was just browsing through the Galilean Nights site and the map, at http://www.galileannights.org/ and I noticed Sri Lanka flagged with an event. When I found out it was Star Party 2009..Here is the news in detail posted at http://www.galileannights.org/events/event_country_srilanka.htmlFind Event - Sri Lanka Choose the first letter of the country to see a list of events. A B C D E F G H I J K L ...

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IYA 2009 Highlighted Sci-Fi Competition Organized by Royal College (RCAS)

This post is about the latest Sci-Fi competition organized by the Royal College Astronomical Society. They are gonna have the competition featuring a quest to find the next Arthur C Clarke, as they claim. But I feel these days, students are less attracted to writing stuff, I presume. However this could turn out to be yet an exciting event for IYA 2009, The premier celebration of Astronomy.Are You the next Arthur C Clark ??Age group | Topic>Grade 6-8 ~ "I met an alien!">Grade 9-11 ~ "Colonization on moon">Grade 12,13 & open ~ "Evolution of life in our solar system"You can either send in your stories/ entries to scifi.2009@yahoo.com...

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Successfully Ends Observational Night Camp by MAS , UoC

The very first Observation Camp that I took part at the University of Colombo, ended successfully on the 10th Morning of October 2009. In fact it was more than Successful I presume. My experience is unfolded as follows. Also I should add that the whole scenario was broadcast live with ustream.The camp began with an introductory lecture to Observation Astronomy, delivered by Pulasthi Kanattage, who happens to be a colleague of mine as well. It was featured with basic facts of celestial sphere and the ancient accounts for having the heavens observed.Afterward, we moved to observing the skies with binoculars and our own naked eyes. The skies were...

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Observational Night Camp by MAS (Mathematical & Astronomical Society), UoC

Hi folks,I have a good news for you again. It has not been a long I have posted that I got admitted to the University of Colombo Sri Lanka for my higher studies. Moreover I have also talked about the MAS, which stands for Mathematical & Astronomical Society of University of Colombo in my previous posts. If you have subscribed with me for a quite a long period, you must be aware of Star Quest | Interschool Quiz Competition, organized by the very society ( Read herehttp://iya2009sl.blogspot.com/2009/05/star-quest-09-annual-astronomy-quiz-2nd.htmlhttp://iya2009sl.blogspot.com/2009/05/star-quest-09-annual-astronomy-quiz-1st.html ). However,...

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