Have you ever wanted a telescope signed by astronauts? In collaboration with the Belgian initiative Sterren Schitteren voor Iedereen (SSVI) and Universe Awareness (UNAWE), we are giving away 10 Bresser Refractor telescopes that have been signed by astronauts to support astronomy educational activities with children around the world. These will be used during the 100 Hours of Astronomy 2.0 Global Project on 10-13 January 2019.

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The 100 Hours of Astronomy 2.0 project invites amateur astronomers, educators, professional astronomers, planetaria, science centres and more to arrange stargazing and other astronomy-related events around the world on 10-13 January 2019. This event is part of the IAU100 Celebrations that commemorates a century of astronomy research and discoveries since the founding of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1919.

 

We invite everyone to submit an application to win a telescope that can be used for the 100 Hours of Astronomy event. The telescope is a refractor Bresser 90/900 and will be delivered with a special mount, custom-made by ATM group “kijkerbouw VSRUG” (Ghent Belgium) for the project SSVI. The equipment comes complete with telescope tube, viewfinder, zenith prism, one accompanying eyepiece plössl 25mm and the mount. This telescope can be used to observe the Moon, the planets of our Solar System, some of their moons, and the most bright Messier objects (for example the Orion Nebula, globular clusters and binary stars).

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How to participate
Submit 1 paragraph (max 300 words) describing how and where you would use the telescope to inspire underserved children with astronomy. Priority will be given to activities that take gender and minority populations into account and those that pay special attention to the inclusion of girls and those with disabilities in astronomy.

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Please also include how many children and/or teachers you aim to reach, and whether you can have technical support available to help you with the building, use and maintenance of the telescope. Send your submission through this form before 5 October 2018.

 

Eligibility

• Submission is open to entries from any country

• Submissions will be judged on creativity, impact, feasibility and sustainability of the project. Please note: the telescopes are meant for educational and outreach activities, not for individual use.

• Only one entry per group/individual will be accepted.

• The closing date for the competition is 5 October 2018. As long as it is 5 October somewhere in the world, applications will be accepted. Winners will be announced by late-October 2018 with distribution of the telescopes shortly thereafter.

• Winning entries will be asked to provide photographs of their use of the telescope, including the ones taken during the 100 Hours of Astronomy event.

• Winners will be sent a telescope (in several packages) with a tracking number. Information about the educational value of the telescope will be included. The recipient of the telescope will be responsible for any local expenses (like customs taxes). It is not possible to resend the telescope, so accurate address and contact phone number should be provided.