I’ve been getting some mail from folks who are a little unhappy with the customer service when they’ve ordered Galileoscopes — a big effort by IYA to get good but inexpensive telescopes into the hands of people across the globe. The IYA just posted about this: basically, it’s being run by a very small group of volunteers who have been a bit (well, a lot) overwhelmed with the response. They assure us the ‘scopes will be shipped in late April.

That’s good news! I’m very excited to get mine — as I wrote earlier, I think it might be able to show the ISS as an extended body, and not just a point of light. How cool would that be?

A few things:

1) I have been informed by my blogdaughter (I showed her how to get socially networked at an American Astronomical Society meeting last year!) Alice that her blog Alice’s AstroInfo has moved to a new URL (that link goes to the current address). So update your links if you haven’t yet, and/or drop her in your feed reader if you haven’t been reading her stuff.

2) Skepticamp guy Reed Esau tells me that there are two Camps this weekend: one in Phoenix (with the truly awesome Michael Stackpole), and one in Vancouver Canadia.

3) I’ve mentioned this before, but just a reminder that 100 Hours of Astronomy is coming up in early April. Get ready.

4) Also, as many people have noted, I wonder if amateur exorcist and Louisiana doomer Bobby Jindal is scratching his head over volcano monitoring now?

One problem with living in light polluted skies is that you grow up with no familiarity with them at all. You really, and simply, don’t know what you’re missing.

That’s why stories like this one, about two astroninjas bringing astronomy to the streets of NYC, are so cool. I’m really glad there are folks out there willing to literally bring the skies to people who otherwise would never know them.

400 years ago this year, people first started turning the newly invented telescope to the sky, and were astonished at what they saw. Galileo, not a fool when it came to self-promotion (though he stumbled a bit later in life), drew up what he saw and published it… starting a revolution in not just astronomy but in all of science, all of humanity. The aftershocks still reverberate today.

His telescope was crude by today’s standards; lens making wasn’t nearly the craft then that it is now. But it was enough to see craters on the Moon, satellites of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and Saturn’s rings. And now, thanks to the International Year of Astronomy, you can experience what Galileo did and, even cooler, share it with others.

One of the Cornerstone projects of IYA 2009 is the creation of the Galileoscope, a replica of what Galileo used to view the heavens. This little ‘scope sports a glass 50mm (2 inch) lens, tough plastic casing, eyepiece, and a Barlow lens which doubles the magnification. Its construction is extremely simple, so a small child can assemble it in minutes with a little help from a grown-up. I saw one recently, and I was very impressed. It was well-built and quite functional. You can see images of it in action on the Galileoscope site.

The most incredible thing about this ‘scope is the price: you can buy one for just $15! The overriding goal of this project was to make the telescopes as cheaply as possible, so that they could be bought and sent around the world, fulfilling my very favorite goal of IYA 2009: getting everyone who is physically capable of it to observe the heavens.

To make that even easier, the people behind the Galileoscope project have set it up so that you can donate a telescope anonymously for only $12.50. When you do this, some organization somewhere in the world will get a ‘scope. It may be a school in Africa, or Viet Nam, or America, or in England. But some group that needs it will get your gift.

Before writing this post, I bought three: one donated anonymously, one for me to play for a night or two and then give to The Little Astronomer’s school, and one for you. That’s right, when they get here, I will be giving one away on the blog. I’ll announce it when I do.

But in the meantime, why not check out the Galileoscope page. If you’re a teacher, especially a science or history teacher, one of these will really bring the classroom alive. And whoever you are, why not donate one to someone, somewhere on Earth? We all deserve the sky, I think, and a gift like this literally delivers to the heavens to someone who needs it.

Right now as I write this, Venus is a brilliant beacon of light in the western sky after sunset. After the Moon, it’s far and away the brightest object in the night sky, obvious to anyone who can see. It’s also the International Year of Astronomy, so a group of people has decided to merge the two events into one called Beauty Without Borders. Starting February 25 (today!) and going through March 1, they want everyone who can to go outside and observe this gorgeous planet. February 28 is the best day, as the crescent Moon will be near Venus, making a beautiful duet in the sky.

I think this is a great idea. Venus is so bright right now that I’ve received lots of comments on it, from asking me what it is to to people who can’t believe a planet can get so bright! So this is a fantastic opportunity to get people outside and looking up. Tell everyone you know!

I was interviewed a little while ago by the American Freethought Podcast, and it’s now online (here’s the direct link to the MP3). As usual, I ramble on about topics skeptical, the IYA, Darwin, the definition of the word planet, my book, JREF, vaccines, the future of NASA, and other fun stuff.

The interview intro starts at 12:00, and I come in around 18:00 but you should listen to the whole podcast, of course. They’re good skeptics and have a lot of interesting stuff on the ‘cast.

George Hrab’s 365 Days of Astronomy full-length video is up on YouTube!

The best part, of course, is 33 seconds in.

Thesaurus? Fine by me!

The video was done as part of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, in turn as part of the International Year of Astronomy.

And, of course, it’s made of awesome, because that’s how Geo rolls.