Figure 1: Rabat Observatory.
To be hosted by the
Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
on behalf of the Government of France at the
Université Paul Sabatier, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées
Toulouse, France, 27-30 June 2000
This Workshop is the 9th in the series of UN/ESA Workshops on Basic Space Science. The Workshop will be oriented to the developing countries, and will focus on reviewing major breakthroughs in planetary science and studies of the remote Universe. Emphasis will be placed on the use of the archives of the various space missions and on the subsequent need for new observations, as a natural result of the analysis of this archived data.
Basic space science represents a dynamic activity trying to solve age-old questions and, in this process, raising new questions which were not even considered by the scientists of only one generation ago. The pressure growing out of this interplay between questions and answers represents an important factor in the drive towards the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, which is an essential aspect of development.
The utilisation of the archives of the space missions represents a natural and efficient tool to initiate active participation in basic space science. In combination with networks of robotic telescopes of moderate size, these archives will supply a very effective mechanism to increase scientific literacy rapidly. This increase represents a very powerful component of an accelerated but sustainable development process.
From in-depth reviews of the status of our understanding of the Universe, from the solar system to its most remote extensions, it is expected that an understanding can evolve which will create new avenues for scientists in developing countries to participate more directly, and at earlier stages, in this voyage of discovery. The Workshop will seek to identify those frontiers of science in which co-operation on a global scale is possible in a modern communications environment.
The Workshop will be be structured around the following main topics:
English will be the working language of the Workshop. Potential participants are advised to check with the local French embassy/consulate in connection with obtaining a visa, if required. Note that adequate health insurance is the responsibility of the participants.
The First Announcement and the Indication of Interest Form
are available on the worldwide web at:
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/~ah297/un-esa/. For further information
contact:
Prof. F.R. Querci
Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées
14, Avenue Edouard Belin
F-31400 Toulouse
FRANCE
Tel: +335 613 328 78
Fax: +335 613 328 40
Email: fquerci@ast.obs-mip.fr
Adapted from the document posted at:
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/~ah297/un-esa/
On 21 October 1999 the Working Group on Space Science and Technology in Zambia (WGSSTZ) was inaugurated at the University of Zambia. The Coordinator of the WGSSTZ is Mr Peter Kalebwe of the Department of Physics at the University of Zambia. The aims of the organization are similar to those of WGSSA and, indeed, all the founder members of the WGSSTZ are also members of the WGSSA. The affiliations of the current membership of WGSSTZ are as follows: University of Zambia (23), Zambia Telecommunications Company (4), Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (9), Meteorological Department (1) and other (1).
The organization is soon to be registered with the Registrar of Societies, whereafter it may commence its public activities. The total solar eclipse of 21 June 2001 will afford the new organization a major opportunity to promote space science in Zambia as the centre-line of totality will pass very close to Lusaka. This also places a major responsibility on the WGSSTZ to educate the public about the dangers of viewing the occulted sun without adequate eye protection.
The formation of the WGSSTZ is the first attempt to organize the Zambian space science community since the demise several years ago of the Zambia Space Administration, which was formed in 1991 with similar objectives.
For further information about the WGSSTZ contact:
Mr Peter Kalebwe
Department of Physics
University of Zambia
P.O. Box 32379
Lusaka 10101
ZAMBIA
Fax: +260 1 253952
PKalebwe@natsci.unza.zm
Of particular relevance to the goals of the WGSSA was the IAU-COSPAR-UN Workshop on Education in Astronomy and Basic Space Science. The Workshop programme consisted of 31 presentations from all regions of the world. There were presentations on programmes by the co-organizers such as International Schools for Young Astronomers, Visiting Lecturer Programmes, Teaching for Astronomy Development, UN/ESA Workshops, etc. This was the first meeting jointly organized by the IAU, COSPAR and the UN and it was felt that there is sufficient overlap in programmes to warrant coordination and collaboration. Representatives from the space industry suggested ways in which developing countries could benefit from educational initiatives in the space industry.
The Workshop produced a number of resolutions to be submitted to the UN for inclusion in the report on UNISPACE III. Among these is the recommendation that major space science projects should allocate 1-2% of their budgets to education and public outreach programmes. This received wide support from educators, administrators and space industry officials.
A proposal that attracted some interest was that of the World Space Observatory. Briefly, this con-cept calls for the UN to coordinate a collaboration between space-faring nations and developing countries to construct, launch and operate a small ultraviolet astronomy satellite, to be called the World Space Observatory (WSO). To limit costs, the WSO proposal calls for using existing technologies and hardware and for in-orbit assembly by the crew of the International Space Station early in the next millennium.
The Proceedings of the Workshop will be published in the Bulletin of Teaching of Astronomy in the Asian-Pacific Region. Interested persons may contact the Editor, Dr Isobe Syuzo at:
National Astronomical Observatory
2-21-1, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181, JAPAN
Tel: +81 422 34 3645, Fax: +81 422 34 3641
isobesz@cc.nao.ac.jp
Figure 1: Rabat Observatory.
The Observatory offers guided tours, science lectures, conferences, programmes for school groups, special programmes for special astronomical events, training in astronomy and support for local amateur astronomers. For additional information, please contact the Director, Prof. Samir Kadiri, or Prof. Hamid Touma at:
CNCPRST, BP 8027 Agdal, 10 102, Rabat, Morocco
touma@cnr.ac.ma
Each scientific session was followed by a round-table discussion that lasted well into the evening. During these round-table discussions, delegates established a framework for a permanent SASNET secretariat to be based in Gabon under the leadership of Prof. F. Owono Nguema. It is planned to hold the next SASNET conference in 2001. Issue No. 5 of African Skies/Cieux Africains will be dedicated to the proceedings of the first SASNET conference.
| Region | Countries | Coordinator |
| Central Africa |
Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon Rwanda Zaire |
Prof. F. Owono Nguema SASNET B.P. 316, Libreville Gabon Fax: +241 72 08 30 |
| East Africa |
Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Somalia Sudan Tanzania Uganda |
Mr S Zewde National Scientific Equipment Centre P.O. Box 5722 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Fax: +25 11 60 18 18 nsec@telecom.net.et |
| North Africa |
Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Tunisia |
Prof. M. A. Mosalam Shaltout National Research Institute of Astronomy & Geophysics Helwan, Cairo, Egypt Fax: +202 55 48 020 malshaltout@frcu.eun.eg |
| Southern Africa |
Angola Botswana Lesotho Malawi Mocambique Namibia South Africa Swaziland Zambia Zimbabwe |
Dr P. Martinez SAAO P.O. Box 9 Observatory 7935 South Africa Fax: +27 21 447 36 39 wgssa@saao.ac.za |
| West Africa |
Benin Burkina Faso Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo |
Dr G. Anene Dept. of Physics Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Nigeria Fax: +234 48 55 03 01 DynaInfo@beta.Linkserve.com Gomach@infoweb.abs.net |
| Independent Island States |
Cape Verde Islands Comores Madagascar Mauritius Sao Tomé and Principé Seychelles |
WGSSA P.O. Box 9 Observatory 7935 South Africa Fax: +27 21 447 36 39 wgssa@saao.ac.za |
As with most large projects, the key element was the necessary cash. The `green light' was issued on the same day that Dr Ngubane and his Polish counterpart, Prof Andrzej Wiszniewski, signed a Science and Technology Agreement and Protocol outlining cooperation between South African and Polish researchers. The Protocol names collaboration on the Southern African Large Telescope as a key activity in the agreement, and commits both parties to agreed levels of financial support. With US$3 million committed by the Polish Ministry of Science and the Nicholas Copernicus Astronomy Centre in Warsaw, US$2.2 million from Rutgers University (USA), US$1.3 million from the University of Göttingen (Germany), and R50 million from South Africa, it is now possible to begin recruiting the project team, breaking ground, and writing contracts. Over the next five years, the Southern African Large Telescope will become a reality, dominating the remote desert mountain-top where SAAO's smaller telescopes have operated since the early 1970s.
Without the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) Board, the fifth partner with a paid-up stake in SALT, it would probably take far longer for SALT to become a reality. The HET Board will contribute the plans, documentation, software and expertise developed for the HET (of which SALT is to be a southern hemisphere twin), in return for a share of observing time on SALT. Not every aspect of HET will be duplicated precisely in SALT. As HET Project Manager, Tom Sebring pointed out on a visit to SAAO, that there are some things the HET team definitely would not do the same way again. Edge sensors to maintain mirror segment alignment have been very successful at the Keck telescopes in Hawaii, and will be a part of the SALT plans from the beginning. Many components will be made to South African designs by South African companies - duplicating function without being strictly identical. Fifty to seventy percent of the cost of building SALT will be spent in South Africa, with technology transfer a priority.
The SALT consortium is not a closed corporation quite yet. Other prospective partners are actively raising funds - something that should be easier now that SALT is definitely going to be built. Carnegie Mellon University, Iowa State University, the University of Wisconsin, a consortium of UK universities, and the astronomical community in New Zealand all hope to claim a share of the new optical giant under the clear dark skies of the Karoo.
Bob Stobie (SAAO)
Cosmic Africa is a one-hour documentary film focusing on African astronomy - past and present. The film is currently under production. Using recent archaeological and astronomical discoveries, Cosmic Africa focuses on Africa's rich past, the origins of lunar calendars, and age-old ceremonies still in existence today. Cosmic Africa is a global project. It will utilise established sources for current information and imagery and present it from an African perspective.
The challenge that Cosmic Africa undertakes is to make sense of and depict the vast arena of space science and astronomy in a way that does not alienate the general non-scientific public. It will examine how Africans in particular see themselves in relation to astronomy. Through the use of mythology, skylore, ethno- and archaeo-astronomy, Cosmic Africa will take African astronomy beyond its cultural context and place it in context with current global astronomical findings.
A project of this nature requires the input of many people from a wide diversity of locations and backgrounds. Readers of African Skies/Cieux Africains are invited to contribute information on:
Cosmic Africa
Eland Pictures
P.O. Box 145
Cape Town 8060
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 21 423 6716
Fax: +27 21 423 7125
carina@gem.co.za
WGSSA