Welcome to IYA2009 - Sri Lanka !
With the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) we celebrate a momentous event, the first astronomical use of a telescope by Galileo — an invention that initiated 400 years of astonishing astronomical discoveries. This event triggered a scientific revolution which has profoundly affected our worldview. Now telescopes on the ground and in space explore the Universe, 24 hours a day, across all wavelengths of light.
2009 is also the anniversary of many other important dates in the history of science, such as the Kepler’s publication of Astronomia Nova. 2009 is also the anniversary of many other historic events in science, including Huygen’s 1659 publication of Systema Saturnium. This will be modern astronomy’s quadricentennial, and the 2009 Year of Astronomy will be an international celebration of numerous astronomical and scientific milestones.
The IYA2009 is a global collaboration for a peaceful purpose – the search for our cosmic origin, a common heritage that connects every citizen of planet Earth. The science of astronomy represents millennia of collaborations across all boundaries: geographic, gender, age, culture and race, providing a full consistency to the UN Charter principles. In that sense, astronomy is a classic example of how science can contribute towards a deepening international cooperation and collaboration.
For this celebration astronomers around the world will be inviting people like you, and your friends and family, to look up in wonder at the night sky, and to seek out answers to some of life's biggest questions.
This website will provide everything you need to know about what is happening in the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in the Sri Lanka, making the Universe yours to discover!
Upcoming Events
October
Annual Solar Eclipse 2010
Ring of fire to hover over Jaffna - By Kavan Ratnatunga
More than 50 years after the total solar eclipse of 1955, Lankan star gazers, have a not- to -be- missed opportunity as another eclipse crosses the country’s northern region on January 15.
Eclipses have fascinated humans through recorded history, and astrologers in Lanka have imagined two planets "rahu" and "ketu" being the head and tail of a mythical dragon to explain them.
An eclipse of the Sun, is one of those spectacular displays of nature you must watch in your lifetime. Although there are at least two solar eclipses each year somewhere on earth, they are however rare in any particular location, since the central path is less than about 250 km wide. But come January 15, 2010, those in northern Sri Lanka will be able to see another solar eclipse.
Continue reading the article here.