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| Paper: |
The World at Night (TWAN): A Special IYA2009 Project with a New Perspective of Earth and Sky |
| Volume: |
400, Preparing for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy: A Hands-on Symposium |
| Page: |
221 |
| Authors: |
Simmons, M.; Tafreshi, B. |
| Abstract: |
The World At Night (TWAN), a Special IYA2009 Project, was begun in 2007 to create and collect stunning photographs of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against the night-time backdrop of stars, planets, and celestial events. The TWAN worldwide team of 25 photographers are expert in creating landscape astrophotographs that combine the sky with important natural, cultural or historic landmarks in a single wide-angle image. The TWAN collection includes team members’ existing images and those that they continue to create. As needed, TWAN will send photographers to the most important sites not yet imaged in order to build as complete a collection of the world’s important sites as possible. UNESCO World Heritage Sites are a particular priority. TWAN images also include important celestial events including eclipses, conjunctions, meteor showers, comets and other interesting phenomena. The message of TWAN is that of its parent organization, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), an IYA2009 Organizational Node. TWAN’s images demonstrate that the sky looks the same above all the symbols of different nations and regions, a testament to the truly unified nature of Earth as a planet rather than an amalgam of human-designated territories. TWAN will produce major exhibitions worldwide throughout 2009, as well as support other IYA2009 Cornerstone Projects and activities. A book of TWAN images is being prepared for IYA2009. A DVD of TWAN still and moving images will also be produced. |
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