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Europlanet Outreach Newsletter - Winter 2022
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Welcome to the Europlanet Outreach Newsletter for Winter 2022. In this issue:
Community news:
If you would like to share your news, resources, events, or any other outreach-related information with the group in the next newsletter, please email us!
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Updates from Europlanet Outreach
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Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022: Call for Outreach Sessions
The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 will take place from 18–23 September 2022 in Granada (Spain).
EPSC is the annual meeting event of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 15 years and regularly attracting over one thousand participants, EPSC is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe.
The Outreach, Diversity and Amateur Astronomy Programme Group welcomes proposals for sessions on outreach, education, policy, diversity, and amateur engagement topics. Submit your session proposal by 2 March.
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Submit your outreach abstract for the EAS2022 Annual Meeting
This year EAS2022 will take place from 27 June to 1 July in Valencia (Spain). A special Lunch session, co-convened by Europlanet, will be dedicated to "Outreach and Public Engagement after Covid", to share lessons from "lockdown learning" and highlight the role of astronomy and space science in supporting society as we move towards post-pandemic times. Submit your abstract by 1 March here.
Find out more about the LS9 session.
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The animated Universe by James O'Donoghue
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James O’Donoghue, winner of the 2021 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement, is a master in doing good scientific communication in a simple and intriguing way. His trademark is creating short and content-rich animations, which now have more than 200 million views on his social networks, and are used around the world by teachers, in outreach events, for press releases and in space mission descriptions.
Take a look at the Italian version of his animations published every month on EduINAF.
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Report from (almost) another planet: the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
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From 18 – 28 October 2021, researchers Erica Luzzi from Jacobs University (Germany) and Gene Schmidt from the Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy) were funded by the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) Transnational Access (TA) programme to visit the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in Botsawana, one of the most remote places on Earth. Dry environments like these salt pans are hypothesised to have occurred also on Mars. Besides being a life-changing experience, visiting an analogue field site on Earth that we can study with our own eyes and touch with our hands can give us insights into the processes have that shaped Mars into the planet we observe today. Read more about this incredible adventure.
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Newsletter images: mud cracks in the pan, formed by dessication processes typical of playa environments. Credit: E Luzzi
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The Europlanet Telescope Network Science Workshop and Education Opportunities
The first Europlanet Telescope Network Science Workshop took place from 9-11 February, with the aim of encouraging community-led proposals and to highlight scientific results achieved with the Europlanet Telescope Network and other medium-size/small telescopes. Thanks to all the participants for these rich and intense days!
Please note that schools and educational programmes can apply for observing time on Faulkes Telescope facilities via Europlanet Telescope Network. Check out more here.
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Developing a remote observatory to support astronomy outreach in Bolivia
The call for applications for the Europlanet Public Engagement Funding Scheme 2022 will open this spring. Projects funded in previous rounds include the Bolivian San Agustin Remote Observatory, an initiative managed by San Agustín Educational Foundation (FESA). Located in the city of Cochabamba, the project will put in place the instrumentation and the physical and management structures to create an efficient observatory that results in significant impact, to develop sustainable collaboration, inclusive participation, high-quality educational experiences, and innovation in research activities.
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 Find out more about the Bolivian San Agustin Remote Observatory and other stories in Issue 2 of the Europlanet Magazine.
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Inspired By Other Worlds: the winners are...
The winners of our contest were announced before Christmas. Thanks to everyone that particpated! See all the winners.
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 The Mars Collection: New translations available
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EXPLORE: Design your perfect path across the Moon
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The EXPLORE project uses artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced visualistion techniques to analyse space science data and support lunar exploration. In May 2022, schools will be invited to take part in a challenge to design the perfect pathway across a region of the Moon that was explored 50 years ago by the Apollo 17 astronauts. Find out more and stay tuned!
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Il Cielo in Salotto: livestream events for the Winter Sky
EduINAF "Il cielo in salotto" 4th and 5th episodes took place last December 17th and February 4th. Main characters of the streaming the December planetary alignment (with Venus, Jupiter and Saturn) and the winter sky. One rich hour of telescope observations, outreach pills, virtual reality and intriguing discussions. If you weren't able to see the live events, find them on EduINAF's YouTube Channel.
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First Scale Solar System in Spain Inaugurated
Spain’s first permanent, three-dimensional scale model of the Solar System, created by the AstroBriga association, has been installed in the western province of Salamanca. The scale model extends for almost 25 km to the border with Portugal and at this scale (1:290,000,000), the speed of light corresponds to average walking pace, so visitors can stroll from the Sun to the Earth in a little over eight minutes. Interpretation panels and educational programmes integrate the scale model with local towns, UNESCO archaeological sites, and dark skies of the surrounding landscape, with the aim of bringing new ‘astrotourists’ to the region. The completed model was inaugurated in a festival of astronomical events from 3-5 September 2021.
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The Faulkes Telescope Project live tours of the Universe
The Faulkes Telescope Project provides access to a global network of robotic telescopes and free resources for science education. Please check out their Facebook channel, where you will find details of live events to discover the mysteries of the Universe.
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