What is 365 Days of Astronomy? Hey, it's the amazing website upon which I was featured last week while I was gallivanting all about the Wild, Wild West! 365DOA is a "legacy" project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009)… but built enough steam to keep going for two more years!
The project is a collection of podcasts, that published a recording-per-day for all 365 days of 2009… then they continued in 2010, and lo, they are still going strong in 2011 – named The Year of The Solar System due to all the upcoming robotic missions into space (Juno, GRAIL, Dawn, Aquarius, etc).
Each "episode" features both a small radio show and a written transcript, produced by astronomers, physicists, cosmologists and other… PROUD GEEKS… all over the world! So says Dr. Pamela Gay, the chairwoman of IYA Media, "This podcast gives a voice to everyone in astronomy – professionals, amateurs, and those who just enjoy the amazing discoveries and images of our Universe."
Indeed, the shows include lively discussions about space travel, research stations on Mars, star gazing, observatories all over the world, solar activity, black holes, mars rovers, various missions of multiple space agencies, and mechanical concerns of astronomers right down to their telescope eye-pieces.
Unsurprisingly, I chose to speak about the many NASA studies always being conducted at Johnson Space Center, and their importance to long-duration space missions, whereby scientists are continually seeking counter-measures to the side effects of weightlessness.
Many other "citizen scientists" discuss the topics close to their hearts in the space industry, so if you have something to say, contact 365 DOA and say it! A podcast per day for an entire year is a tall order, and they are always seeking impassioned speakers to share stories with their large audience of space enthusiasts.
Over the nearly three years of operation, 365 Days of Astronomy podcasts have gained thousands of listeners. In 2009, the organization was given a Parsec Award for "Infotainment". Still going strong in 2010, they also won a "Best Fact Behind the Fiction" award. So go check them out!
Start with me. ;)
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