IYA events at the RAO
2010 Open House Schedule
International Year of Astronomy
What a year! Galileo would be proud!
Hope you enjoyed your Galileo moment! The International Year of Astronomy, Canadian website has recorded over a million names of people who had an astronomical experience in 2009.
In Calgary, the astronomy calgary partners - the Telus World of Science, The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Calgary Centre and the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory hosted over four hundred events. Thank you for discovering your place in the universe with us. We enjoyed sharing our love of astronomy with you and look forward to seeing you under the stars in 2010.
One of the many legacies of IYA is the astronomy calgary website. Find out events and the latest news in astronomical research at www.astronomycalgary.com
Why is 2009 a special year in astronomy? 
400 years ago in 1609, Galileo Galilei peered through a telescope at the heavens. Recognizing the significance of what he saw, he became what many consider to be the founder of modern astronomy - a science which continues to inspire and awe humanity. Then on Christmas Eve of 1629, Galileo Galilei completed his masterpiece Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. The book became a bestseller and appealed to a mass market because Galileo wrote the book in native Tuscan dialect. The 500-page Dialogue is a meeting occurring over four days between three men. With each meeting a new topic is discussed: the Earth's motion, the organization of the heavenly bodies, the ebb and flow of the sea. Dialogue was a vehicle for expressing Galileo’s revolutionary scientific ideas that the earth rotates, orbits the sun and is therefore not the center of the universe. The provocative concepts raised concern with the Catholic Church and Galileo was chastised and humiliated by an inquisition trial. Although censored, Dialogue was smuggled out of
“I loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night”
“We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.”
Galileo Galilei
Who's idea was it to make 2009 special?
The International Year of Astronomy is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to help the citizens of the world become engaged in a personal sense of wonder and discovery and rediscover their place in the Universe.