International Year of Astronomy in Syria

Four hundreds years ago was the fist glance through a telescope, it exceeded all horizons and overpassed all barriers. Today hundreds, and maybe thousands, of people stare everyday at the sky through these weird devices, which have opened a new amazing world of exploration. This is the glare of astronomy: to see what you can not touch, to study what you can not bring, and to do whatever you can to learn just a little bit of information about this universe, because you believe you can not bring it down to the lab. The human being has been more and more able to understand the vast universe which surrounds him.

Today we celebrate, perhaps for the first time in history, the science of astronomy, which opened our eyes on this unknown universe. It is the first time that we see such a celebration in both the richest and poorest countries, for  both the most elderly and youngest people, and for both the scientist and uneducated. It is a comprehensive celebration for all mankind, and an invitation for all of them to stop fighting for trivial affairs and to think about the majesty of God, which is reflected in this vast universe.

By the end of 2007 the Syrian Amateur Astronomers Association (SAAA) has received an invitation from the working group of the IYA 2009 to participate in this celebration by assigning a single point of contact (SPoC) in Syria. Because the SAAA strives to popularize astronomy and conveying this science to the largest sector of public since its establishment in 2005, it found that its goals are directly parallel to the aims of this celebration, and that this year presents an invaluable opportunity to expand the association’s activities, reach a wider sector of public, implant astronomy in the minds of people, and present a positive picture of astronomy in Syria.

Upon approval of Syria as a national node of IYA 2009, the SAAA started working as a single sponsor of this event in Syria. The first step was a website design, which is the first website in both Arabic and English for the IYA 2009. We craved to pass the idea to the largest number of people in Syria through the Arabic version, and we also wanted to share our ideas and projects with the world through the English version. The second step was the establishment of the IYA 2009 committee in Syria, which is responsible of planning and regulating the projects and activities. Finally we are working on a list of projects which will be held in accordance with the global ceremony. Our activities started with regulation of the International Week of Astronomy during October 2008, which was a pretty good start.

We want to invite all people to participate with us in every step of this celebration, and to make this ceremonial event successful in the whole world, including Syria. We wait for your opinions and ideas, and we welcome all those who want truly to support us and help us in popularizing astronomy.