Global Astronomy Month

Astronomers Without Borders'

Inspired by the 100 hours of astronomy, this annual offshoot began upon the inception of Astronomers Without Borders and remains one of its flagship programs.

A mix of various programs ranging from Astro Arts to Observational Programs, this festival runs the whole month of April and features partners that creates a larger community of astronomy enthusiasts that span the globe.

Something for Everyone!

Visit GAM2023 Schedule of Events

Highlight Programs:
Global Star Party and SunDay
Special Interest Facebook Events
Astro Arts - Poetry and Visual Arts

Partners:
Asteroid Search Campaign - International Astronomical Search Collaboration
Observational Challenges - Astronomical League
Globe at Night Citizen Science Project - Globe at Night
Dark Skies Awareness Week - International Dark Sky Association
Online Night Sky Tours - Virtual Telescope

HOW TO REGISTER YOUR EVENT?

To register your event, click on the "Add Event" button.
1. Become a free/paid member.
2. Log in.
3. Register your event here. Click here for instructions on how to add an Event.
4. Don't forget to tag your event by adding #GAM2023 at the end of the text.
5. Please add the appropriate theme tag #Ethno-Culture, #GlobalConnections, #Inclusion, #Accessibility so the people can find your event more easily.
6. After your event, don't forget to share your success on your member report!

Check out what's happening at Global Astronomy Month 2023!

QUICK LINKS

Global Star Party and SunDay are international call-outs for everyone to go outside and enjoy the sky. Check out our GAM calendar to find out where you can join a star or sun party in your area!

Whether you own a telescope, binoculars or are just using your eyes, the Global Star Party and SunDay events are both simple celebrations of "looking up"! These are All Hands on Deck call-outs when our 500+ affiliates along with our 42+ National Coordinators connect with their communities and celebrate with the world. It happens all on one day. Our highly knowledgeable and eager members reach out, teach, and share their knowledge.

In the past, our Global Star Party and SunDay had consistent participation of more than 50 countries and encouraged thousands of individuals to star gaze.

In 2020, both the Global Star Party and our SunDay event, due to their innate nature of gatherings, were cancelled and the public was encouraged to participate by themselves and share their experiences with us on our social media channels.

Global Astronomy Month Facebook Special Subject Videos

Our Special Interest Facebook Events have been growing since our first Global Astronomy Month and with that, our social media followers. It also became an easy place for our international members and specialist to interact with the public and our membership. Our special subject Facebook LIVES are now a staple now engrained in our membership since GAM 2020.

Subjects range from what National Coordinators are doing locally, to Indigenous star stories of Australia, touring distant galaxies and globular clusters (Messier objects), drawing tutorial of moon craters, bouncing visuals and audio off of the moon, or a cosmic concert. Highly popular and engaging, these online events draw a crowd without geographical borders.

AstroArts and AstroPoetry programs have evolved over the years. AWB organized and held both AstroArts and AstroPoetry contests to encourage people of all ages, from all cultures to create art and poetry. These contests motivated many to not only share their love for the night sky but to further their knowledge of astronomy science.

The AstroArts and AstroPoetry contests were open to both children and adults in both art and poetry competitions. The results were hundreds of entries differing in media used, rhyme or verse, pencil or color. They brought images of what planets looked like, or how man stepped on the moon, or how children saw themselves traveling through space in words and pictures.

Astro Art Winner 2019, Adult Category, Luo Fangyan, China

Global Astronomy Month Partners

International Asteroid Search Collaboration Logo

Asteroid Search Campaign

International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Groups of young adults are called upon to find asteroids during a month-long period. Our partner, IASC, provides support and software that aids in searching 20 image sets from the Pan-STARRS telescope. Objects that move compared to background stars are measured and submitted to potentially find new asteroids.

30 teams from Astronomers Without Borders are chosen during GAM to participate. Through this educational program, 62 asteroids have been numbered by the International Astronomical Union(IAU)!

Observational Challenges

Astronomical League

These challenges are aimed at EVERYBODY! Whether young or old with a telescope, binoculars or just your eyes, The Astronomical League formulates easy to follow projects that teach how to see specific celestial objects or demonstrate the movements of the Earth, the Moon, the Sun or the planets. Included are maps and all the directions you need.

These small projects can be observations that are made throughout the month, over a few days or one specific day.

Evaluate Your Night Sky Citizen Science Program

Globe At Night

Simply look up at the night sky and use your naked eyes to evaluate how dark your skies look. How many stars or what stars do you see in the area where you live?

Globe at Night's ongoing program is essential to understanding the impact of the use of artificial light in populated areas. It calls upon everybody to go our on moonless evenings, use a sky map app on your phone and then enter what you see in their online form. Easy, quick, fun and important.

Dark Sky Awareness Week

International Dark Sky Association

The goals of International Dark Sky Awareness Week are to appreciate the beauty of the night sky and to raise awareness of how poor-quality lighting creates light pollution.

A week full of blogs and vlogs about the impact that artificial light has on the environment and the importance of dark skies on all walks of life on our planet.

Click here to view what happened during International Dark Sky Week in 2020.

Online Night Sky Tours

Virtual Telescope Project

The Virtual Telescope Project presents online programming that allows everybody around the world to view the night sky regardless whether it is cloudy or not. With a seasoned astronomer from Italy and AWB National Coordinator, Gianluca Masi takes viewers on a voyage through the stars showing remote galaxies, nearby planets or our own Moon.