LUXEMBOURG, June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Asteroid Day events are scheduled around the globe after two years of mostly digital events and programming. These events are largely independently organized by museums, planetariums, space agencies, universities, clubs and enthusiastic educators around the world for people of all ages and are mostly free-of-charge. Events range from lectures and to short story contests to live concerts and broader community events.
"This year there are events scheduled in 34 countries around the world and our network of regional event organizers has grown over the years. We work to highlight their creativity organising their events as part of our global tools provided through our website and through our social media promotional activities," said Saulo Machado, Asteroid Days Global Event Coordinator.
"Every year we continued to be impressed and inspired by the scope and breadth of the global event organizers' ability to develop fresh programming and gather together increasingly larger audiences to learn about asteroids risks and opportunities," said Danica Remy, Asteroid Day co-founder. "These local leaders are the heart and soul of Asteroid Day."
Global programs span from evening events, to full week long programing covering everything space related including discussions about the International Space Station, Mars and visiting asteroids and more. The Asteroid Day independent organizers have access to Asteroid Day's LEARN series about asteroids to all the past years Asteroid Day LIVE program which feature leading asteroid experts from around the globe and many more digital resources to support their program actives. Asteroid Day is a program of Asteroid Foundation and is supported by donations from donors around the world. A sampling of events leading up to or on Asteroid Day around the globe include:
USA
Premier Event | The Bureau of Global Public Affairs will host an online event on asteroid impact risk and international partnerships dedicated to protecting planet Earth, with the participation of Professor of Physics and Astronomy from University of Central Florida, Dr. Humberto Campins, scientist and veteran NASA astronaut, Thomas D. Jones, and NASA's Planetary Defense Officer, Lindley Johnson.
Premier Event | Meteor Crater in partnership with Lowell Observatory in Arizona are planning a full day of events complete with panels, speakers, food trucks, local beer, tours of both facilities, poi performances, and night-sky viewing. Meteor Crater is the best preserved asteroid impact site in the world.
Premier Event | The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Los Angeles-Las Vegas Section this year will host a hybrid event on planetary defense and asteroid exploration, including a guided tour of UCLA's amazing meteorite gallery, expert presentations on the progress of asteroid missions, how to track them and mitigate impact hazard.
The Fernbank Science Center and Jim Cherry Memorial Planetarium in Atlanta will host the 5th edition of the Annual Space Rocks! with meteorites and impacts demonstration in addition to a show of asteroids, comets and impact craters projected onto their 70-foot planetarium dome. Concluding the program there will be a talk with planetary geologist R. Scott Harris.
The Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology will present its own meteorite collection and offer the public fun meteorite and comet activities, including a scavenger hunt for the kids and delicious "space" ice cream!
Argentina
El Firmamento and City Hall of Mendoza will organize an event for the sixth consecutive year, inviting experts to explain to the public about asteroids classification, their dimensions, composition, where to find them and the consequences of impacts on our planet. Other information here (in Spanish).
Austria
Premier Event | The Natural History Museum Vienna will host the "Space Mineralogy" event with a workshop and liveshow for kids, lectures and access to its meteorite collection, one of the largest in the world.
Belgium
The Observatoire Royal de Belgique will hold a free event on the Hera mission and planetary defense against asteroids at the Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen - Muséum des Sciences Naturelles in Brussels with interactive lectures and followed by an exhibition.
Brazil
Premier Event | The University of Campinas will hold The workshop "Look Up! Challenges of Communicating Planetary Defense," a debate with Brazilian and foreign experts about the characteristics and risks of collisions between asteroids and comets against Earth, on measures to defend our planet from this type of natural disaster, as well as on the implications of this phenomenon for the human species. See all the event attractions here (in Portuguese)
Colombia
Observatories, universities and planetariums will organize the II Colombian Asteroid Festival, with free workshops, lectures with experts and sky watching sessions. As an integral part of this festival, there will be a contest where competitors must illustrate a strategic mission of planetary defense against the impact of asteroids. See activities schedule and contest rules (in Spanish).
France
The Société Astronomique de Bourgogne will organize a meteorite exhibition and interactive workshops for teens and adults at Jardin de l'Arquebuse in the city of Dijon. Access the booklet with the full schedule here (in French)
Germany
The Berlin Planetarium will have the live lecture "Gefahr aus dem All - ist Abwehr möglich?" ("Space Hazard - Is Defense Possible?"), with Professor Dr. Jürgen Oberst, one of the leading experts in planetary research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Afterwards, the public will have free time to ask questions to the speaker and equipment will be available for observing the sky. See here how to participate (in German).
The Stuttgart Planetarium will organize a 3-day science festival ending on Asteroid Day with a presentation on the exploration of minor planets by planetary scientist Ulrich Köhler from the DLR Institute for Planetary Research, Access the full festival program here (in German).
Haiti
Tabarre Astronomy Club will organize the online conference "Earth facing the Asteroids", which will be presented by John Maksen Larose and Lydie Perpignan, both members of Haiti NOC from the IAU Office of Astronomy Awareness network. More details here (in French).
Italy
Premier Event | GAL Hassin Foundation will offer two days of activities including lectures, sky observation and asteroid search using the Galhassin Robotic Telescope 1. More information here (in Italian).
Latvia
The Meteorite Museum will participate with an event centered on the DART mission with discussions on many aspects of asteroid research, their threats to Earth and their relationship to meteorites. See details here (in Latvian).
Malaysia
Premier Event | An asteroid quiz competition will be the first in a series of activities organized by Planetarium Negara in Kuala Lumpur. Their Asteroid Day celebration will be quite extensive, ending in August! You can follow the program here (in Malay).
Spain
The Universidad of Alicante will participate with lectures on the DART mission and the European Space Agency's planetary defense actions. There will also be a meteorite exhibit and an inclusive activity using 3D models of asteroids.
Switzerland
The Sternwarte Planetarium SIRIUS of Sigriswil will participate in Asteroid Day, holding special exhibitions on the topic at their dome. See details here (in German).
Asteroid Day is been made possible thanks to partnerships with the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), B612 Foundation, the European Space Agency (ESA), OHB Systems, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), The Planetary Society, SES and Twitch. Asteroid Day, Asteroid Day LIVE, Asteroid Day TV and SpaceConnectsUs are all programmes of Asteroid Foundation, a Luxembourg-based non-profit.
Join in the Asteroid Day conversation on Social Media!
A Media Kit including quotes, photos, video and B-Roll video is available in the Asteroid Day Newsroom. Photos from previous Asteroid Day events in Luxembourg are available on Flickr.
About Asteroid Foundation:
Asteroid Foundation was formed in 2017 with a mission to promote worldwide awareness of asteroid opportunities and challenges, and the emerging space economy. The Asteroid Foundation undertakes programmes and activities to support scientists, engineers and students around the world providing free educational tools, newsletters, original articles and resources year round. Annually, the Foundation organizes events surrounding International Asteroid Day, a United Nations recognized day of education and awareness observed on 30 June. Visit their Flickr account to see pictures from previous events. https://asteroidfoundation.org/
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