4
Space News
Establishment of the New
Ecuadorian Solar Physics
Phenomena Division
[E. D. López (Observatorio Astronómico de
Quito, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ecuador)]
There is a relatively new field of scientific
research devoted to studying the physical
phenomena that take place at Earth in close
interaction with the Sun and its variable
activity. This field has been denominated
Space Weather, and it includes many
interesting complex phenomena currently
poorly understood which are waiting for
sensitive instruments and adequate physical
models.
Fortunately, activities such as the United
Nations Basic Space Science Initiative
(UNBSSI) through the Committee on the
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the United
Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
(UNOOSA) have provided considerable
support over more than two decades to
establish regional centres for space science and
technology in developing countries. Moreover,
the United Nations initiative has played a
pivotal role in organizing the scientific
community around the world through the
realisation of space science schools, symposia
and the annual UN workshops such as those
under the auspices of the International Space
Weather Initiative (ISWI; running from 2010-
2012), events that facilitate communication
between space science students, engineers and
scientists, enabling agreements for educational
programmes, deploying instruments in new
regions and enhancing international
cooperation in research projects.
Figure 1: The Quito Astronomical Observatory, after restoration in 2010
5
The United Nations Space Weather Initiative
(UNSWI) has involved leading scientists from
around the world in the participation of three
meetings giving continuity to follow-on
activities from the successful International
Heliophysical Year 2007 (IHY; run between
2005-2009).
The first ISWI Workshop was held in Helwan,
Egypt and hosted by the Helwan University,
Egypt, in 2010, for the benefit of nations in
Western Asia. In 2011 the United
Nations/Nigeria Workshop on ISWI was
hosted by the Centre for Basic Space Science
of the University of Nigeria at Nsukka,
Nigeria, for the benefit of nations in Africa.
The third ISWI workshop was hosted by
Ecuador in 2012 for the region of Latin
America and the Caribbean.
Thus, Ecuador hosted the final ISWI
Workshop in which key decisions were taken
in order to give continuity to future activities in
space science, technology research and
education. We took advantage of that
workshop to promote space science studies in
our country, starting with the creation of the
new space station supported by the Quito
Astronomical Observatory of the National
Polytechnic School. The new station began
with the operation of the AWESOME
instrument provided through cooperation with
Stanford University (USA), and with the
MAGDAS instrument provided by Kyushu
University (Japan) and installed at the time of
the UN/Ecuador Workshop. This article is
mainly devoted to describing the establishment
of this new Ecuadorian space station, called
Solar Physics Phenomena, as a division of
Quito Astronomical Observatory.
Quito Astronomical Observatory is one of the
oldest observatories in Latin America. It was
founded in 1873 by the Ecuadorian President
Gabriel Garcia Moreno as part of a national
government plan for investing resources in the
promotion and development of education,
sciences and technology, at that early epoch of
the republican life of Ecuador. At the
beginning, government support was
exceptional, providing the necessary resources
that have made this astronomical institution
one of the best equipped in the world.
However, a few years after its creation, the
observatory suffered an extended lack of
financial support and attention, to the point that
its development and scientific production was
critically affected. This unfortunate situation,
in a country where the benefits of science—
particularly of astronomy—have not been
appreciated enough, continued for decades.
The beautiful observatory building
deteriorated, the old instruments and
equipment were out of operation and
abandoned and, moreover, all related physical
and human aspects were unattended.
In recent times, being part of the National
Polytechnic School (since 1964), it took almost
a decade to reverse this situation and restore
the Quito Observatory. Work started in 1996
and thanks to the dedicated and patient labour
of several groups of students and technicians,
driven by the dreams and persistence of a
young Ecuadorian astronomer, Director of the
Quito Observatory, this noble institution has
been completely restored in all aspects.
Today, the Quito Observatory is in good
condition and fully operational. It is now a
place with an active scientific life, where
young students, technicians and scientists
devote their time and best efforts to making
this observatory a serious scientific institution,
contributing to understanding the physical
phenomena of the universe.
Nowadays, the activities of the Quito
Astronomical Observatory are mainly in three
major fields: the first is scientific research into
several areas of astronomy, space science and
meteorology; secondly, the Observatory is
involved in educational activities in astronomy
and, thirdly, the Observatory is involved in
public and outreach activities. In the following
subsections we will describe these activities in
more detail.
a) Scientific activities
Research activities include areas of theory and
data analysis. It has to be said that, in Ecuador,
there is no ideal place for an optical
observatory: the high frequency of cloudy
skies is a serious impediment and it is a natural
6
consequence of the singular topography of the
Ecuadorian land; high mountains in the
cordillera surrounded by neighbouring tropical
regions of Pacific coasts and to the east the
Amazon jungle. In addition, there is a
permanent difficulty in raising government
funds to find the necessary resources to
provide adequate observational facilities.
Consequently, the best choice that we have is
to drive scientific institutional activities toward
modelling and theoretical work. However, the
observational necessities mainly linked with
the special geographical position of the country
on the equator, are being considered under a
future project for the construction of a radio
astronomical observatory, designed in such
way as to avoid climate inconveniences.
The theoretical work, data processing and
analysis have started with some interesting
contributions into high energy astrophysics
(active galactic nuclei, quasars and
microquasars, gamma ray bursts) and
cosmology (models with non-zero
cosmological constant, microlensing and
standard candles). In the future, we are looking
to incorporate new branches, in addition to
radio astronomy, for example studies in the
infrared region of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
Figure 2: The first QAO astronomical instruments were installed in 1873
Thanks to the United Nations’ promotion of
space science research, the Quito Astronomical
Observatory has appreciated the importance of
including space science research in its
institutional plan of scientific interests.
Ecuador, located in a particular geographical
position, is potentially interesting for installing
instruments from the international space
science community, in order to provide a new
source of valuable scientific data for the study
of space weather influences on the Earth’s
atmosphere. This will bring great benefits to
the scientific community, providing valuable
information to understanding ionospheric and
magnetospheric phenomena in the equatorial
zone.
b) Education in astronomy and space
science
In Ecuador, formal education in astronomy is
unfortunately not provided at schools, high
schools, or even much at university level. In
the past, we had several unsuccessful attempts
to incorporate astronomy into student
curricula, but the administration of the initial
and middle education in the country did not
give the necessary importance to these topics.
We hope for increased dialogue with local
7
educational authorities, with the aim of
including subjects that relate to education in
astronomy and space sciences adequately in
the programme of studies. Currently the only
place where we provide formal education in
astronomy is at university level and only in
some institutions where there is this interest. In
this context, the Quito Astronomical
Observatory plays a pivotal role in promoting
education in astronomy and space science in
Ecuador.
The Escuela Politecnica Nacional is one of the
few institutions where attention is paid to
education in astronomy. This is thanks to the
existence of the Sciences Faculty and its
physics department, where the students are
trained to do research in several branches of
physics, astronomy and astrophysics. The
professional astronomers that Ecuador has
were initially trained in this department and
later completed their careers with postgraduate
programmes in astronomy abroad. The Quito
Observatory is involved in the educational
activities of the physics department and
education in astronomy has been provided by
its staff. Currently, we are planning a more
aggressive programme to intensify formal
education in astronomy at the Polytechnic
School and to promote expansion to other
academic institutions.
Besides formal education in the classroom,
scientific meetings, technical and academic
talks, and stargazing sessions are organized to
stimulate the interest and to spread ideas
among students and professionals working in
astronomy.
c) Promotion of astronomy and
communication with the public
This is the third activity of the Quito
Observatory. Locally, news, data and reports
on astronomy are provided by the Observatory.
For the media, the Observatory is the primary
source of astronomical information. In order to
involve the community in astronomical
science, in particular, children and students,
the Observatory offers several facilities: the
first Ecuadorian astronomical museum has
been created with the old instruments and
equipment from Quito Observatory’s heritage.
This new museum located inside the
Observatory installations in the Alameda Park
in downtown Quito was fully open in the
summer of 2012. A large collection of
astronomical, meteorological and
seismological instruments are on permanent
display to the public.
Otherwise, when clear skies allow, the
Observatory opens its doors to the public to
spend nights in stargazing sessions.
Unfortunately the number of clear nights in
Quito and in general in Ecuador is low, though
the best time to organize these observation
campaigns, using the telescopes available in
the Observatory, is during the summer season.
These astronomical observations and
especially videos of astronomical events such
as eclipses, comets, conjunctions, etc. are
accessible to the entire population online. The
telescope views are broadcast on the internet
and everyone has the possibility to participate
live in these observations, no matter where
they are located. This is the streaming
astronomical system of the Quito Observatory.
Currently, this system, which uses two large
telescopes, has been disabled due to updating
and improvements by the technical personnel
of the Observatory.
In addition, from time to time, the Observatory
organizes astronomy traveling fairs, visiting
several cities in Ecuador, engaging with the
population and local schools, in a programme
of astronomy with instrument exhibitions,
talks, games and night observations.
Finally, complementing these outreach
activities, the periodic publications of the
Observatory contribute to the popularization
and divulgation of astronomy and space
sciences.
Solar Physics Phenomena Division
Thanks to the valuable support of the United
Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, many
schools and workshops on the basis of the
International Space Weather Initiative have
taken place around the world, providing the
opportunity for instrument deployment and
close international scientific collaboration. In
particular, as result of this important
8
cooperation, in recent years Ecuador has been
involved in space science research and its
leading institutions are deeply committed to
dedicating effort and resources to contributing
jointly to study the physical phenomena which
occur in the equatorial region of the
atmosphere, in close interaction with the Sun.
As part of this interest with the support of the
Ecuadorian government, the United Nations
and NASA, among other important
contributors, the UN/Ecuador Workshop
hosted by the Quito Astronomical Observatory
of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional was held
in Quito on 8-12 October 2012. This was the
20th in a series of workshops on basic space
science, the International Heliophysical Year
2007 and the International Space Weather
Initiative.
This workshop was mainly focused on space
sciences and its main objective was to provide
a forum in which participants could
comprehensively review the achievements of
the International Space Weather Initiative and
further plans for the Initiative, as well as assess
recent scientific and technical results in the
field of solar-terrestrial interaction.
The 2012 UN/Ecuador Workshop was a real
contribution that has established the primary
base for incorporating space science studies in
Ecuador, enforcing the parallel efforts that
scientists and engineers of neighbouring
countries, such as Peru and Colombia, make in
the same context.
A wonderful consequence of this ISWI
Workshop was the agreement and support of
our authorities and in particular of the National
Polytechnic School. The School understands
the importance of carrying out space science
studies in Ecuador and has demonstrated
strong interest in giving the necessary support
for the development of these studies. This
commitment starts with the acceptance of the
creation of the Solar Physics Phenomena
Division of the Quito Astronomical
Observatory, which will be charged with the
responsibility for promoting and realizing
studies of physical phenomena that take place
in the equatorial region like the influence of
the Sun on the Earth’s atmosphere.
Currently, in the nascent space station two
instruments are in operation: the Atmospheric
Weather Electromagnetic System for
Observation Modeling and Education
(AWESOME) system, installed in 2010 under
a collaboration with the USA (Dr. Umran Inan,
scientific leader) and the Magnetic Data
Acquisition System (MAGDAS) installed at
the time of the UN/Ecuador Workshop, with
the cooperation of Japan (Prof. K. Yumoto and
G. Maeda, scientific leaders). Both instruments
are in operation and calibration is ongoing to
guarantee data quality.
Other important collaborations are coming: the
South American VLF NETwork (SAVNET)
currently in implementation, the solar
spectrometer Compound Astronomical Low-
cost Low-frequency Instrument (CALLISTO),
and the Dual frequency GPS Network are
expected to join the instruments installed in
Ecuador in the near future. Discussions are
underway, to assess the feasibility of these
projects, their scientific benefit and
contribution to space science.
In this context, the new Solar Physics
Phenomena station of the Quito Astronomical
Observatory initially will be structured with
five instruments that will provide unique data
for the study of space weather influences on
Earth`s atmosphere. The data from this station
will be distributed and publicly available to
guarantee the optimum utility and
applicability. The main objective is to create a
well-established space station, operating for
the local, regional and general benefit of the
global scientific community, who will be able
to obtain quality data for space science studies
of the equatorial atmosphere.
One concrete result of the UN/Ecuador
Workshop is that the Rector of Escuela
Politecnica Nacional of Ecuador is now
committed to the project, and this led to the
creation of the Quito Solar Physics Phenomena
Division and currently, as the topmost
authority of the University, he is providing the
necessary support for the construction of the
new building for the space station, work that is
ongoing. Students from the Sciences Faculty
have become interested in space science topics
9
and after the Workshop they joined the Quito
Observatory staff and are learning about the
physics of atmospheric interaction with the
Sun and understanding the processes related to
data collection and processing techniques. We
hope that the first scientific papers will be
submitted soon, derived from the ionosphere
and magnetic field data from the AWESOME
and MAGDAS instruments, currently in
operation.
Figure 3: Examples of the first spectra from the AWESOME (top) and MAGDAS (bottom) instruments installed in
Ecuador
2012 UN/Ecuador Workshop on ISWI
Without doubt the 2012 UN/Ecuador
Workshop on the International Space Weather
Initiative was a major event for the
Observatory, and we report on that Workshop
here. The Workshop was made possible mainly
thanks to the enormous support from the
United Nation Office for the Outer Space
10
Affairs (UNOOSA), the Secretary of Higher
Education, Sciences, Technology and
Innovation of Ecuador (SENESCYT), the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration of USA (NASA), and the Quito
Astronomical Observatory of National
Polytechnic School of Ecuador (OAQ-EPN),
among other important contributors and
supporters. This scientific meeting was
attended by about 100 participants from 20
countries, with oral and poster contributions on
the Workshop topics: Observations of the Sun,
ionosphere and magnetosphere, Very-Low
Frequency (VLF) studies of the Sun-Earth
connection, climate studies, atmospheric
physics, space weather modelling and UNBSSI
Follow-up Projects in Astronomy.
The UN/Ecuador Workshop has importance
for Ecuador in order to promote and stimulate
space science studies in this equatorial region,
where no research in these topics has been
done before. Now, under the umbrella of the
Quito Astronomical Observatory and with the
support of the scientific community we have
the opportunity to contribute to understanding
the physical process behind phenomena which
occur in the complex Solar-Earth system. For
that, scientists and students are being involved
in operating and processing data obtained from
instruments installed with the support of
international research groups, to study the
equatorial atmosphere.
We conclude that the UN/Ecuador Workshop,
the third and final of the International Space
Weather Initiative series, was very successful
and brought much new experience and benefits
to each participant. Particularly, in the case of
Ecuador, we can summarise the following
important outcomes of the workshop: first,
Ecuador is currently measuring the local
magnetic field in the Jerusalem site, where the
magnetometer of the MADAS array was
installed. This was possible thanks to the
valuable contribution of Kyushu University,
Japan. The workshop was essential to
consolidate the local support of our authorities
for the creation of the new space science
station in Ecuador, combined with future
collaborations from the Savnet, Gps and
Callisto networks. Possible new space science
events in Ecuador are in mind for the near
future, like the 2014 space science school on
MAGDAS data processing. New students are
interested and involved in space science
studies. New contacts and future projects in
joint research collaboration were coordinated
during the workshop. However, from our point
of view, one relevant result of the meeting is
the fact that space science studies are better
understood and appreciated by both the local
government and university authorities. This
point in turn could facilitate the development
of space science studies providing the required
financial support. Finally, the regional interest
for mutual international cooperation and trust
in Ecuador’s ability to carry out space science
studies was enhanced.
The UN/Ecuador Workshop was of key
importance for taking decisions to guarantee
the support and promotion of space science
studies around the globe. In this context,
essential recommendation has been resolved
during the five-day meeting, resolutions
incorporated into similar reports issued by the
United Nation Office for Outer Space Affairs
(UNOOSA) and the Quito Astronomical
Observatory (QAO). We considered it
important to indicate below some of these
recommendations, with the purpose of
assisting in their dissemination:
It is recommended that the ISWI continue
the operation and development of existing
arrays and deployment of new instrument
arrays as appropriate.
It is recommended that the ISWI
undertake a process to examine data sets
to determine data utility, to develop
connections with virtual observatories to
make data more readily available, and to
facilitate collaborative modelling of
regions of interest (e.g. the equatorial
ionosphere) in collaboration with
modelling centres of the ESA, JAXA,
NASA, and others.
It is recommended that data from ISWI
instrument arrays be combined with
space-based and other ground-based data
to advance space weather science leading
to robust research output and scientific
11
papers in international journals. It is
recommended that ISWI and GNSS
communities collaborate in terms of data
sharing and space weather research.
It is recommended that the ISWI Space
Science Schools and the annual UN
workshops for ISWI continue indefinitely.
UN/BSS workshops and Space Science
Schools are an integral part of ISWI, to
train early career and new researchers in
instrument operation and the science of
heliophysics. The partnerships already
established with international scientific
organizations need to be strengthened to
assure that these capacity building
activities are accomplished efficiently and
for the benefit of all member states.
It is recommended that new knowledge
generated by ISWI activities be
effectively communicated to the public
and the scientific community at large via
newsletters, the ISWI web site, and other
media.
Given the enormous contribution that
Japan has made to the astronomy and
space science communities, it is hoped
that Japan will continue the operation of
the Nobeyama radio-heliograph on a long-
term basis. The international scientific
community would be grateful if the
operation of the Nobeyama radio-
heliograph is continued. The effort would
be recorded as another outstanding
Japanese contribution to humanity.
Therefore, the participants of the
UN/Ecuador workshop on International
Space Weather Initiative strongly
recommend the continued operation of the
Nobeyama radio-heliograph either by the
current institution or by a consortium of
new institutions.
Concluding remarks
Since space science studies and in particular
space weather is an international matter, a
mutual effort from all nations should be made
in order to promote the deployment of
instruments in regions unobserved before, and
to guarantee the continuity of high quality data
acquisition, processing and modelling.
The International Heliophysical Year 2007 and
International Space Weather Initiative made
significant contributions to the installation of
new instrumentation, and also providing the
opportunity to meet scientists and technicians
working in space sciences, creating with the
Space Workshops and Schools appropriate
spaces where it is possible to exchange ideas,
review new achievements, plan future
activities and discuss mutual collaboration in
specific projects.
Considering that the United Nations and Space
Agencies contribution has been significantly
effective for the development of space science
studies around the world, it is fundamental that
this support continues, as part of the space
weather agenda item of the Scientific and
Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on
the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, in 2013 and
beyond.
The United Nations and space agencies’
initiative on the peaceful uses of outer space
and space weather studies plays a great role as
the irreplaceable component for promoting and
organising scientific studies around the world
for understanding the behaviour of the Sun and
its influence on the Earth’s atmosphere and
global climate. Without this organizing
component, the efforts could be individual,
isolated and in a certain way disordered,
provoking slow growth and development of
scientific activity in the space science field
with consequent misunderstanding or poor
comprehension of the physical phenomena that
occur in the Sun-Earth-atmosphere system.
Fortunately, this is not the case and research
activities in this field have been greatly
promoted and boosted by the Space Sciences
Initiative of the United Nations. Consequently,
at the level of development of the current space
science structures, the support of the UN and
space agencies is fundamental and the priority
should be to maintain these studies for the
benefit of all nations.
The development of sciences depends in great
part on the available facilities and their
adequate organisation. At the same time, each
12
nation and its researchers should contribute
with local support for organizing space science
centres, training students and using the data for
corresponding studies and the production of
scientific papers. In this context, Ecuador
through the Quito Astronomical Observatory
of the National Polytechnic School has been
inserted into the space science process and
with the Japanese and international
cooperation of MAGDAS, a space weather
instrument has been installed in the Jerusalem
site located 20 km north of Quito - a valuable
and immediate result of the UN/Ecuador
Workshop. Moreover, the Solar Physics
Phenomena station is being created and the
Quito Astronomical Observatory of the
Escuela Politecnica Nacional of Ecuador has
offered to act as a regional centre for space
weather science and education.
In the meantime, we have the intention of
organising a space sciences school on
MAGDAS data analysis and modelling, in
joint collaboration with Japan. In the same
way, we are ready to carry out the necessary
work to introduce space science and
technology education at elementary, secondary
and university level together with astronomy.
We expect that this initial work inside the
Solar Physics Phenomena Division of the
Quito Astronomical Observatory will be the
basis for promoting and strengthening space
science studies in Ecuador, where a significant
number of high level researchers and students
could be potentially involved.
Acknowledgements
E.L. gratefully acknowledges the continuous
support from the United Nations, and the space
agencies: NASA, JAXA, ESA, for the
development space science studies around the
world and for making possible the 2012
UN/Ecuador Workshop for the benefit of
South America and the Caribbean. Similarly,
he wants to thank and recognize the huge and
permanent contribution from Dr. Sharafa
Gadimova; her valuable work was always a
real guarantee for the realization of this
Workshop.
Special thanks to Prof. Yumoto and George
Maeda for the installation of the MADAS
instrument in Ecuador at the time of the
UN/Ecuador Workshop. My deep gratitude to
the Ecuadorian Government Secretary
Senescyt and its personnel for the valuable
support and contribution to development of
sciences and technology in the country. In the
same spirit our recognition to the Escuela
Politecnica Nacional for the continuous
support offered to the Workshop and in
preparing this manuscript. E.L. was supported
by the National Secretary of Higher Education,
Science, Technology and Innovation of
Ecuador (Senescyt, Fellowship 2011).
References
Burgos M.:2011, Observatorio Astronomico de
Quito: una puerta al Universo, Arte y Cultura,
http://elimperdible.ec/web/arteycultura.
Lopez E. (Ed.): 2005, 132 años de Historia del
Observatorio Astronomico de Quito, Nina
Comunicaciones, Quito, Ecuador, 2005.
UNOOSA and QAO: 2012, UN/Ecuador
Workshop reports.
Cassini Nears 100th Titan Flyby
with a Look Back
[NASA/JPL release 5 March 2014]
Ten years ago, we knew Titan as a fuzzy
orange ball about the size of Mercury. We
knew it had a nitrogen atmosphere--the only
known world with a thick nitrogen atmosphere
besides Earth. But what might lie beneath the
hazy air was still just a guess.
On 6 March NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will
swoop down within 933 miles (1,500 km) of
Titan to conduct its 100th flyby of the Saturn
moon. Each flyby gives us a little more
knowledge of Titan and its striking similarities
to our world. Even with its cold surface
temperatures of -290 ° Fahrenheit (94 kelvins),
13
Titan is like early Earth in a deep freeze. Since
its 2004 arrival at Saturn, Cassini's radar
instrument has identified remarkable surface
features on Titan. The features include lakes
and seas made of liquid methane and ethane,
which are larger than North America's Great
Lakes, and an extensive layer of liquid water
deep beneath the surface. Organic molecules
abound in Titan's atmosphere, formed from the
breakup of methane by solar radiation.
A recent innovation was the discovery that
radar could be used to determine the depth of a
Titan sea. “It’s something we didn’t think we
could do before,” said Michael Malaska, an
affiliate of the Cassini radar team at NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. “The
radar can measure the depth by receiving two
different bounces: one from the surface and
one from the bottom of the sea. This technique
was used to determine that Ligeia Mare, the
second largest sea on Titan, is about 160 m
[525 ft.] deep. When coupled with some
laboratory experiments, it gives us information
about the composition of the liquid in Ligeia
Mare, too.”
As spring turns to summer in Titan’s northern
hemisphere for the first time since Cassini
arrived at Saturn, scientists are looking
forward to entering potentially the most
exciting time for Titan weather—with waves
and winds picking up. With increasing
sunlight, the north polar lakes and seas can
now be seen in near-infrared images, enabling
scientists to learn more about their composition
and giving them clues about the surrounding
terrain.
“Methane is not only in the atmosphere, but
probably in the crust,” said Jonathan Lunine, a
scientist on the Cassini mission at Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY. “It’s a hint there are
organics not only in Titan’s air and on the
surface, but even in the deep interior, where
liquid water exists as well. Organics are the
building blocks of life, and if they are in
contact with liquid water, there could be a
chance of finding some form of life.”
Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at JPL,
speculated on the type of life that could exist.
“The astrobiological potential for Titan is two-
fold,” she said. “Could a unique form of
methane-based life exist in Titan's liquid lakes
and seas? With a global ocean of liquid water
beneath its icy crust, could life exist in Titan's
subsurface ocean?”
Although the official Cassini mission name for
this flyby is T-99, it is, in fact, the 100th
targeted Titan flyby of the mission. Why the
discrepancy? An extra flyby was inserted early
in the mission, after the Titan flybys had been
named.
UN Proclaims an International
Year of Light in 2015
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly
68th Session during its 71st Plenary Meeting
proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of
Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL
2015). In proclaiming an International Year
focusing on the topic of light science and its
applications, the United Nations has
recognized the importance of raising global
awareness of how light-based technologies
promote sustainable development and provide
solutions to global challenges in energy,
education, agriculture and health. Indeed, the
resolution was adopted as part of a more
general Agenda item on Science and
technology for development.
This International Year will bring together
many different stakeholders including
UNESCO, scientific societies and unions,
educational and research institutions,
14
technology platforms, non-profit organizations
and private sector partners to promote and
celebrate the significance of light and its
applications during 2015.
Light plays a vital role in our daily lives and is
an imperative cross-cutting discipline of
science in the 21st century. It has
revolutionized medicine, opened up
international communication via the Internet,
and continues to be central to linking cultural,
economic and political aspects of the global
society. For centuries light has transcended all
boundaries, including geographic, gender, age
and culture, and is a tremendous subject to
motivate education. It is critical that the
brightest young minds continue to be attracted
to optics and photonics in order to ensure the
next generation of engineers and innovators in
this field.
IYL 2015 will promote improved public and
political understanding of the central role of
light in the modern world while also
celebrating a number of important significant
anniversaries that take place in 2015—from the
first studies of optics 1,000 years ago during
the Islamic Golden Age to discoveries in
internet optical fibre technology in 1965.
As the Chairman of the IYL 2015 Steering
Committee John Dudley explains: “An
International Year of Light is a tremendous
opportunity to ensure that policymakers are
made aware of the problem-solving potential
of light technology. Photonics provides cost-
effective solutions to challenges in so many
different areas: energy, sustainable
development, climate change, health,
communications and agriculture. For example,
innovative lighting solutions reduce energy
consumption and environmental impact, while
minimizing light pollution so that we can all
appreciate the beauty of the Universe in a dark
sky. IYL 2015 is a unique opportunity to raise
global awareness of advances in this field.”
The IYL 2015 resolution was submitted to the
United Nations Second Committee on 6th
November 2013 by the nation of Mexico, with
delegates from both Mexico and New Zealand
speaking in support. As Ana María Cetto from
the National Autonomous University of
Mexico (UNAM) says: “Light matters to all of
us. It is thanks to light that we know our place
in the Universe, and that there is life on Earth.
The IYL will create a forum for scientists,
engineers, artists, poets and all others inspired
by light to interact both with each other and
with the public so as to learn more about the
nature of light, its many applications, and its
role in history and culture.”
The resolution was adopted with co-
sponsorship from 35 countries: Argentina,
Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Ghana,
Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Italy, Japan,
Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco,
Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau,
Republic of Korea, Russian Federation,
Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey,
Ukraine and United States of America. This
impressive list of co-sponsors reflects the truly
international and inclusive nature of the theme
of an International Year of Light.
The IYL 2015 is endorsed by a number of
international Scientific Unions and the
International Council for Science (ICSU). The
IYL 2015 will be administered by an
International Steering Committee in
collaboration with the UNESCO International
Basic Sciences Programme and a Secretariat at
The Abdus Salam International Centre for
Theoretical Physics (ICTP) which is a
UNESCO Category 1 Institute. The Founding
Scientific Sponsors of IYL2015 are: the
European Physical Society (EPS), international
society for optics and photonics (SPIE), The
Optical Society (OSA), the IEEE Photonics
Society (IPS), the American Physical Society
(APS) and the lightsources.org international
network.
National and regional committees and contact
points currently being established will ensure
all nations of the world can participate.
For more information, and to be placed on a
mailing list for updates, please contact
[email protected]. Downloads are available from
www.eps.org/light2015.