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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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),

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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,

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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

light@eps.org. Downloads are available from

www.eps.org/light2015.