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In 2008, the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be held from May 31 - June 4 in St. Louis, Missouri, as part of the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society -- in the form of a symposium with associated workshops.

The ASP IYA Symposium is co-sponsored by the Spitzer Science Center, NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program, the Education Office of the American Astronomical Society, NASA's Science Mission Directorate, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Ball Aerospace & Technologies, and is endorsed by the Astronomical League.

This meeting will bring together everyone interested in astronomy and space-science education and outreach to discuss international, regional, and local programs for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the astronomical telescope. If you are interested in planning activities for 2009, this meeting is an excellent chance to learn more about what various institutions and organizations are proposing to do, and to coordinate your ideas with colleagues around the country and the world. There will also be model workshops on the weekend to demonstrate and develop techniques for reaching a wide range of audiences.

About the International Year of Astronomy (IYA):

In 1609, Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens, and revolutionized humanity's understanding of its place in the universe. Over the last 400 years, new telescopes have allowed us to expand Galileo's work and learn more about the universe, its geography and its evolution. Endorsed by the United Nations, UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union, IYA will be a global celebration of progress in astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with an aim of sharing the excitement of the day-time and night-time sky with as many people as possible. Its theme is "The Universe: Yours To Discover." The U.S. effort has the aim to provide "an engaging astronomy experience to every person in the country, to nurture existing partnerships, and to build new connections to sustain public interest in astronomy." We hope to engage teachers, families, museums, parks, amateur astronomy groups, community organizations, the media, and the public at large in a year of events and programs.

Meeting Format:

Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1:

We are offering a series of interesting half-day or full-day hands-on workshops that will demonstrate techniques for reaching particular audiences for IYA. Such audiences include teachers, museum and environmental-center staff, park rangers, community-group leaders, and scientist and college educators who want to work with them.

Monday, June 2 - Wednesday, June 4:

We will have a symposium on the programs, materials, and approaches that are being prepared for IYA. The idea is to pool information, resources, and techniques, and form collaborations for increasing everyone's effectiveness. Information will be shared using poster papers, brief oral presentations, interactive presentations, round-table discussions, etc.

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How to register for the meeting or a part of it

Frequently asked questions about the meeting

ASP Meeting Schedule Overview:

Saturday, May 31: Workshops (morning and afternoon)
Sunday, June 1: Workshops (morning and afternoon), ASP Membership Meeting (late afternoon)
Monday, June 2: ASP IYA Symposium, Evening Public Lecture
Tuesday, June 3: ASP IYA Symposium, ASP Awards Banquet
Wednesday, June 4: ASP IYA Symposium, AAS Awards Banquet
Thursday, June 5: ASP meeting is over, but the AAS Meeting continues

Meeting with the American Astronomical Society (AAS):

During its summer gatherings, the AAS welcomes "meetings within a meeting", where those interested in a specific branch of astronomy are encouraged to hold a specialized discussion in the same meeting spaces and using the same registration process as the full AAS meeting. That is what will happen with the ASP symposium and its associated workshops in St. Louis.

The ASP will also hold its traditional membership meeting and awards banquet during the same time. The two societies are also sponsoring an evening public lecture by noted science writer and best-selling author Dava Sobel.

The IYA Symposium and associated workshops represent a coordinated effort by the ASP and the AAS to prepare scientists, educators, science communicators and other groups to use the International Year of Astronomy as a vehicle to engage the public in astronomy, education, and science literacy. We hope you will participate in this landmark meeting.

2008 Published Conference Proceedings:

This year the ASP will publish the conference proceedings, edited by Michael G. Gibbs, Jonathan Barnes, James G. Manning and Bruce Partridge. This is an opportunity for all accepted workshop, symposium and poster presentations to be published in the official ASP conference series (both print and e-access). The cost of the proceedings (both print and e-access) is $55. This price includes standard shipping for one book within the U.S. Pre-orders are now being accepted at this special pre-conference price.

Because most presentations at this conference are not given in the traditional "paper presentation" format, authors are asked to summarize their session in a way that best provides an overall feel and description of the activity. Both LaTeX and Word documents will be accepted.

Full instructions for authors will be provided to all successful applicants for workshops, sessions and posters. All manuscript submissions must be received prior to the conference (strict deadline of Friday, May 30, 2008).

Questions can be addressed to proceedings2008 {at} astrosociety.org

2008 ASP Awards Banquet
Tuesday June 3, 2008

The ASP will present this year's awards at the Society's Annual Meeting Awards Banquet on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. The annual ASP awards, including the prestigious Bruce Medal, recognize meritorious work by professional and amateur astronomers, science educators, and those who engage in public outreach. Find out more about the 2008 award winners including Sidney van den Bergh, the Bruce Gold Medalist.You may order banquet tickets online here. Fee: $65

Other Co-Sponsors:

Other organizations will be co-sponsoring this historic meeting as well. Contact the Astronomical Society of the Pacific if you are interested in supporting the meeting as a co-sponsor.