Astronomy's big year

The organizers of the International Year of Astronomy are using an instrument that's bigger than the twin Keck Telescopes to focus on the sky in 2009: the World Wide Web.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's groundbreaking observations of the night sky - which led to the discovery of the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and other evidence that established the foundations of modern astronomy (and ticked off the Inquisition in the process).

More than 130 countries have signed on for the International Year of Astronomy, an event that aims to raise public awareness about astronomy's past, present and future. That means getting more people out to look at the night sky, through activities such as the "100 Hours of Astronomy" event set for April 2-5, October's Great World Wide Star Count and a host of Dark Skies Awareness events (including GLOBE at Night and Earth Hour in March).

It also means getting more telescopes into the hands of the general public through projects such as Galileoscope and Britain's Telescopes for Schools program. And it means telling people what to look for, through a yearlong series of printable and watchable IYA Discovery Guides.

Did you notice how all those activities have Web sites associated with them? That's just the start: The organizers have also set up a bevy of blogs (including Cosmic Diary and Dawn of IYA 2009), a Twitter channel, a Facebook group (plus other groups for Cosmic Diary and She Is an Astronomer), a Web catalog called Portal to the Universe, a daily podcast series called 365 Days of Astronomy and a clickable calendar of events. There's also a Web site set up to complement the documentary "400 Years of the Telescope," due to air on PBS in April.

In the United States, astronomy's big year gets its official kickoff on Tuesday at the American Astronomical Society's winter meeting in Long Beach, Calif. You should be able to watch the opening ceremony at 10:45 p.m. ET Tuesday via streaming video. Meanwhile, in the virtual world known as Second Life, your avatar can attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony presented Tuesday night by Second Astronomy. The trigger for the celebration will come in the form of some 400-year-old photons from the Pleiades star cluster.

There's so much to see and do online that you just might forget to go out and look at the darn sky. If you need a reminder of what's up this year, check out the aforementioned calendar and this roundup of 2009's sky highlights. Stay tuned to hear more about activities linked to the International Year of Astronomy, including these cornerstone projects that are just getting started:

• Developing Astronomy Globally: Training, development and networking in regions that don't already have strong astronomical communities.
• From Earth to the Universe: Exhibits of stunning cosmic imagery, online and in your neighborhood.
• Universe Awareness: Astronomical resources to inspire children in underprivileged environments.
• The World at Night: Photography that highlights Earth's landmarks and celestial sights.