May 1, 2009  

IYA 2009: She's an Astronomer

As most of you are aware, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, and all sorts of projects have been launched to promote astronomy. One of the IYA2009 Cornerstone projects is She’s an Astronomer and its aim is to address the issues around gender imbalance in astronomy (only roughly 1/4 of professional astronomers are women) by promoting gender equality and empowering women.

At Galaxy Zoo we have decided to participate in the She’s an Astronomer project. Throughout 2009 we will be posting to the Galaxy Zoo blog profiles and interviews of women who have been involved in the Galaxy Zoo project (both as volunteers and as scientists). We hope you will enjoy reading about the wide variety of women who have been and continue to be involved in the Galaxy Zoo project.

The first post – about Hanny van Arkel will follow shortly.

About karenlmasters

Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Haverford College, USA. Principle Investigator for Galaxy Zoo. Enjoys using radio telescopes and trying to make sure some spectrum remains open for the future. Busy having fun doing astronomy!

4 responses to “IYA 2009: She's an Astronomer”

  1. Georgia says :

    Great idea! Looking forward to the posts! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Joseph K. H. Cheng says :

    This is a good way to move forward on the road to equality and justice to avoid the repeat of the Jocelyn Bell affair in the discovery of the pulsar.

    JKHC.

    Reply
  3. zeus2007 says :

    Equality means a stronger race, a more united specie, and a better Earth. Unfairness and unjustice comes from imbalance.

    Reply
  4. mahesh says :

    Congratulations all round. Looking forward to more discussion, on this important subject.

    Meanwhile, we approach the First Anniversary of Hanny’s Discovery!!! Twenty five days to go. Cause for celebration.

    Thank you Hanny and thank you Galaxy Zoo!

    Clear skies.

    mahesh

    Reply

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