Astronomy is for everyone. Unfortunately, there are far fewer women working in astronomy than men. To encourage women to consider careers in astronomy, Astronomers Without Borders is promoting a series of programs featuring women in astronomy. The programs should be of interest anyone interested in astronomy, but because they are presented by women astronomers we hope they will help girls and young women see themselves as future astronomers, too.
The first program will be launched during Global Astronomy Month in April 2015 with a collection of short instructional videos covering entry-level observing techniques. Written and produced by Dr. Paula Turner, these videos demonstrate the use of relatively inexpensive equipment and materials to begin observing the night sky. Dr. Turner, a professor of physics at Kenyon College in Ohio, USA, is currently spending a year as a visiting astronomer at Mount Wilson Observatory in California where the videos will be filmed. We encourage astronomy clubs to show these videos in preparation for observing events. They may also be useful in preparing outreach programs for schools.
Please watch these videos and share them with your networks. If you would like to submit your own videos featuring women in astronomy, please share them with us on Facebook, Twitter using #GAM2015 (@gam_awb) or via email ([email protected]
Check back here weekly for the latest video.
