Astronomy in Mongolia

International School for Young Astronomers – ISYA-2010

12 September – 2 October 2010, Byurakan, Armenia

F i r s t  A n n o u n c e m e n t

An international summer school will take place on 12 September – 2 October, 2010, in Byurakan (Armenia). It is being organized jointly by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO), and the Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS). It is the IAU 32nd International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA-2010) and the 3rd Byurakan International Summer School (3BISS).

 The Byurakan Observatory is one of the main observational centers of the former Soviet Union and is an important observatory with modern facilities in the Middle East region. It was founded in 1946 by V.A. Ambartsumian and is well known for its large spectroscopic surveys: the First and Second Byurakan Surveys (FBS and SBS), undertaken by B.E. Markarian and colleagues.

The Byurakan Observatory hosts a number of medium-size optical telescopes, the most important being the 2.6m classical telescope and the 1m Schmidt telescope. There are different modern astronomical instruments, including the multi-pupil spectrograph (VAGR). The Byurakan Observatory holds the Digitized First Byurakan Survey (DFBS, or the Markarian survey), containing low-dispersion spectra for ~20,000,000 objects. Many qualified specialists work presently in Byurakan, who are prepared to teach modern observational astrophysics to young people. A number of well-known scientists are invited to lecture during the school on various interesting topics.

Upper-level University students and post-graduate students are eligible to apply for participation. In exclusive cases, some excellent B.Sc. students will also be accepted. Apart from the local students we also expect students from our neighboring countries (Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan), Arabic countries, Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc.), China, India, Pakistan, Europe (including former Soviet Union countries), etc. to apply and to benefit from this ISYA.
Students must have a working knowledge of English which will be the official language of the school, as well as sufficient level in physics and mathematics. A maximum of 30 students will be selected.

The participants will stay in the Byurakan Observatory hotel. The lecturers will stay in Yerevan at the Yerevan State University (YSU) hotel. A bus will take them to Byurakan and back. Meals will be offered in Byurakan, too.

Star party-IV

July 1, 2009

Wednesday, July 1

“Star party” in Khongor soum, Darkhan-Uul province.

The following activities were taken during the  “Star party” start.

                  - Exploring stars and the universe

                  - Meeting nomads people

                  - Teaching basic astronomy introduction

                  -Taking photos and  movies.

The Workshop "Empowering Astronomical Communities in Mongolia" was funded by "Developing Astronomy Globally" and organized by "NUM-ITC-UNESCO" laboratory for Remote Sensing and GIS at National University of Mongolia on 1-2 July, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Workshop 1 -Empowering Astronomical Communities in Mongolia

Wednesday, July 1

This workshop is designed to raise public awareness for International Year of Astronomy 2009 and Space Science

Workshop 2 -Galileo Telescope for school kids

Kaz Sekiguchi,   National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Thursday, July 2

This workshop is designed for school kids to understand our universe and stars. The kids will learn how to use Galileo telescopes.

Workshop 3 -Astronomy teaching, Galileo telescopes for school teachers.

Kaz Sekiguchi, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Thursday, July 3

This course will discuss the teaching materials and principles of astronomical telescopes.

Galileo telescopes and astronomy education.