In November 2018, IAU100 launched the short story written competition “Under One Sky”. This contest aimed to stimulate creativity and imagination, by soliciting short written stories related to the themes 'Under One Sky' and 'Inspiring Stars'.

 

More than one hundred entries were received by students worldwide. Entries were accepted from Bachelor students of any field, as well as Masters and PhD students in Astronomy. Various stories were submitted for consideration, including personal stories, short sci-fi tales, fables, anecdotes, essays, short dialogues, etc.

 

Here are the top five winners in each of the contest’s two categories:

 

Under One Sky: This category comprises stories showing the potential of astronomy to bring people together.

1st: María Alejandra Díaz Teodori, Spain - “New Beginnings”

2nd: Nurul Husna Mohammad Bokhari, Malaysia - “Two Minutes of Amazement”

3rd: Alexis Eder Rodríguez Quiroz, Peru - “The Destiny was in the Sky”

4th: Cameron A. Mitchell, United States of America - “Amateur Astronomy”

5th: Marie Madeleine Rodriguez Sanchez, Venezuela - “Euphony”

 

Inspiring Stars: This category comprises stories showing the important role that astronomy could play for inclusion, equity and diversity.

​1st: Sac Nicté Medina, Mexico - “Kaxan Eek'oobo' – The Hunter of Stars”

2nd: Alisa Latifatul Munawaroh, Indonesia - “Supernova”

3rd: Yolanda Bezerra de Andrade, Mexico - “My Life Under a Starry Sky”

4th: Paula Manuela Leguizamon-Pineda, Colombia - “Nothing but Stardust”

5th: Naman Sushil Bajaj, India - “Something New, Something Different”

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The two first place winners from each categories read their winning entries aloud at the IAU100 Flagship Event in Brussels, Belgium on 11 April.

 

All of the above winning short stories can be read here.