Two young Astronomers will win the chance to attend the Launch Conference of the International Year of Astronomy taking place on 14-18 Jan 2009. The competition launch by the Space Generation Advisory Council in support of the UN Programme for Space Applications, calls for anyone between the ages of 18-22 to submit a 2500 word essay along with a 200 word summary expressing ‘What Astronomy means to you?’. The two winning entries will benefit from the exposure of a world class meeting of experts actively involved in the International Year of Astronomy 2009 – a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO. The competition entries should be in English but are open to all candidates whose first language is not english. The full judging criteria can be found on www.spacegeneration.org and in the following announcement. Deadline is 12 Dec 2008 17.00 GMT and should be submitted to bee@spacegeneration.org

To find out more about the competition, visit www.spacegeneration.org/news

To find out more about SGAC and its activities, visit www.spacegeneration.org

SGAC IYA2009 ESSAY COMPETITION

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.

SGAC is pleased to announce an essay competition.

“What Astronomy means to you?”

We are looking for Young Astronomers who can express their feelings in a creative way. 2 first prize will be invited to Paris to participate “Launch Conference of the International Year of Astronomy” between 14-18 Jan 2009. Local costs will be covered by the organisation committie. Travel costs will be in authors’ reponsibility.

Submission Procedures , Timeline and Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

* Authors should be between 18-22 years old

Requirements:

1.. Essays can be a maximum of 2500 words. In addition, an abstract of a maximum of 200 words is required and should be included with the submission.

2.. Essays must be submitted in English. No high level spell check needed for authors whose first language is not English.

3.. Essays must be typed on Times New Roman 11 and double-spaced and should be delivered in .doc or .pdf format.

4.. Essays should be in a form readily publishable without extensive footnotes.

The selection committee will be guided by the following criteria:

Inspiration on Astronomy
Innovation & originality
Relevance to IYA2009
Quality on writing style and structure

Deadline:

Essays should be delivered by e-mail to bee@spacegeneration.org 12 Dec 2008, 17:00 GMT.

Late Breaking News:

UNESCO partners with SGAC to provide additional travel grants to winners of the SGAC IYA 2009 Competition. We hope that this will allow several youth members from developing countries to take advantage of this unique opportunity. We look forward to hearing from all youth around the world regarding ‘What astronomy means to you?’ ALL Entries received BEFORE 28th of November will be eligible to apply for the full travel grants.

Please see full announcement on SGAC website at www.spacegeneration.org and APPLY NOW!