Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) is a U.S.-based organization founded by Mike Simmons, dedicated to spreading

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

throughout the world and connecting people through this universal interest. Projects include crowdfunding in

developed countries A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...

to sponsor the purchase of equipment and training for people in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. The group's aim is to create "goodwill and understanding" across all boundaries through the sharing of astronomy. The group was founded in 2007, and achieved official tax-free status in 2009, which was the

International Year of Astronomy The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the pu ...

(IYA2009). AWB sponsored several events that year, including

The World At Night The World At Night (TWAN) is an international project to produce and present a collection of high-quality photos, videos, and virtual reality (VR) images of the night sky taken at various natural, cultural, and historic locations worldwide. Bas ...

(TWAN), and assisted in the IYA2009's Global Cornerstone Project 100 Hours of Astronomy. Utilizing important historical and natural settings across the globe, The World at Night created wide-angle images of the sky, in order to show the universality of star-gazing. 100 Hours of Astronomy ran April 2–5, 2009, the goal of which was to get as many people across the world to look through

optical telescope An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through elect ...

s. The World at Night was the idea of Babak A. Tafreshi, the editor of Iran's ''Nojum Magazine'', at the time the only astronomy magazine in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. As a follow-up to 100 Hours of Astronomy, the group has organized Global Astronomy Month every April since 2010.

References

{{Portal bar, United States, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomy organizations 2009 establishments in the United States Scientific organizations established in 2009

See also

References