Asteroid Day Kicks Off 2018 Events
Asteroid Day, the UN-sanctioned day for global awareness and education about asteroids, has announced global events slated for Asteroid Day 2018, including the first in a series of expert presentations, scheduled for February 15, the fifth anniversary of Chelyabinsk.
Asteroid Day is held annually on June 30, the anniversary of Tunguska, the largest asteroid impact in recorded history. Now in its fourth year, Asteroid Day has thousands of partners worldwide who have inspired millions more to learn about asteroids, their role in the formation of our solar system, threats posed by asteroid impacts, and opportunities presented by mapping our solar system.
Central to the organization’s work is advocacy for safeguarding Earth from asteroid impacts. The 100X Declaration, calls for the employment of available technologies to detect and track Near-Earth Asteroids that threaten human populations, and a rapid 100-fold acceleration of the discovery and tracking of near-Earth asteroids. Signatories include more than 75 astronauts and cosmonauts; nobel laureates; representatives of the American, Indian, Japanese, Canadian, European and Russian Space Agencies; entertainers and film producers; authors, futurists, esteemed astrophysicists; and leaders in finance. Recent 100X Signatories include: Actors Jack Black and Whoopi Goldberg; Film Producer Ron Howard, Soprano Superstar Sarah Brightman; Creator, Big Bang Theory Bill Prady, and Actor Mayim Bialik; Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke; José Mariano López-Urdiales, Zero 2 Infinity; and Andreas Morgensen, ESA astronaut, among many others. The 100X Declaration is available for signature online for all world citizens concerned about advancing asteroid research and technologies.
February 15 Google Hangout Kicks off Asteroid Day
Asteroid Day 2018 will kick off on February 15 with a high-level Google Hangout hosted on the Asteroid Day website. Host Scott Manley, Astronogamer and asteroid expert, will be joined by Dr. Ed Lu, Director of the B612 Asteroid Institute; Planetary Scientist and Astronaut Dr. Tom Jones; Physicist Dr. Mark Boslough; Debbie Lewis, a specialist in risk, crisis and disaster management; Ian Carnelli, an asteroid mission expert at the European Space Agency (ESA); Dr. Rüdiger Jehn, from ESA’s near-Earth object survey team, and Danica Remy, Asteroid Day co-founder. The expert panel will provide updates on asteroid-related research, public policy and detection and deflection missions, as well as additional information on Asteroid Day 2018 programs and participants.
The Hangout begins at 8:00 AM (Pacific Time/1700 CET) and can be viewed via the Asteroid Day website at: https://asteroidday.org/2018-kickoff. You can ask questions during the Hangout using the Hashtag #AsteroidDay2018 on Twitter or send them to pr@asteroidday.org
ASTEROID DAY LIVE FROM LUXEMBOURG
The country of Luxembourg plays an important role in enabling important asteroid research and education, and is the official home of the Asteroid Foundation which operates Asteroid Day. Thanks to support from the Luxembourg Government and industry partners, including SES satellites, Broadcasting Centre Europe, and others, Asteroid Day will once again present a global broadcast from Luxembourg via its own dedicated TV channel, with expanded coverage on air and online for the entire month of June 2018. British physicist, author and BBC commentator Dr. Brian Cox, is returning as host of ASTEROID DAY LIVE, the 24-hour live broadcast, beginning June 29, engaging world leaders, scientists, technologists, government, business leaders and astronauts in discussions of all things asteroids. Representatives from most national space agencies will participate in discussions ranging from the composition of asteroids, to their role in the origin of our solar system to future exploration and importance of creating the a dynamic map tracking the asteroids in our solar system.
ABOUT ASTEROID DAY
Asteroid Day was co-founded in 2014, by Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and lead guitarist for the rock band Queen; Danica Remy, president, B612; Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart; and German filmmaker Grig Richters. Asteroid Day is held on 30 June each year to mark Earth’s largest asteroid impact in recorded history, the Siberia Tunguska event, which devastated over 2,000 km2 of forest, an area the size of any major metropolitan city today. In 2016, Asteroid Day was declared by the United Nations to be a global day of education to raise awareness about asteroids. Founding partners include: The Association of Space Explorers, B612 and Discovery Channel and global sponsors include SES, BCE and the Luxembourg Government’s spaceresources.lu initiative.
Asteroid Day Resources
In addition to its signature June 30 events, Asteroid Day hosts expert panels and provides valuable information about asteroids on its website. This includes, scientific papers, news, and various films available for viewing by the general public, including Scientists Rock, a seven-part series showcasing the people working on the frontlines of planetary defense. Narrated by famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the series interviews, among others, UK Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Rees; Dr. Brian May, Peter Gabriel, scores of astronauts and asteroid experts.
***
SOCIAL MEDIA: Join us in the Asteroid Day conversation:
TWITTER: @asteroidday #AsteroidDay, #AsteroidDayLive;
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/AsteroidDay #AsteroidDay, #AsteroidDayLive
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/asteroidday
MEDIA KIT, including quotes from supporters and partners, photos, video, and BROLL, are available in the Asteroid Day Newsroom. MEDIA CONTACT: Diane Murphy, pr@asteroidday.org
