$150,000 grant (Texas Regional Collaboratives, UT Austin)

• $150,000 grant (Texas Regional Collaboratives, UT Austin)

• 17 high school teachers (6 Texas Regions)• 3-week course at the Lawrence Berkeley

National Laboratory• Introductory astronomy course• Participation in IASC (Astrometrica)• Use of Internet-based telescopes• Use of HOU software and exercises• Follow-up programs and activities:

IASC Asteroid Search Campaigns (Fall 2008)INO Internet-Based Telescopes (Fall 2008)Annual HOU TRA Meeting (June 2009)NASA WISE E/PO (Spring 2010)

Texas Regional Collaborative Astronomy

Project

International Astronomical Search Collaboration

(IASC)

Yerkes Observatory(University of Chicago)

The seeds for IASC began in June 2006 at the Hands-On Universe annual meeting

held at the Yerkes Observatory (University of

Chicago).

Teachers expressed a need for an on-going program in astronomy and astrophysics that allowed them access to

real-time images for analysis by their students.

This expressed need and the networking of professionals, amateurs, and educators at

the Yerkes meeting led directly to the creation of

IASC.

The International Asteroid Search Campaign (IASC) is an Internet-based educational service program provided at no

charge to participating high schools and colleges.

Centered at Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, TX), IASC is a collaboration of the

Lawrence Hall of Science (University of California, Berkeley)Astronomical Research Institute (Charleston, IL)

Astrometrica (H. Raab, Austria)

Students make original discoveries of astronomical objects that are officially certified and recognized by the

International Astronomical Union.

ARI

IASC Program Flow Diagram

Astronomical Research Institute

Hardin-Simmons University

Astrometrica

ARI

HSU & Astrometrica Minor Planet Center (Harvard)

Since the start of IASC in October 2006,126 high schools & colleges have participated from 10

countries:

A total of 107 original asteroid discoveries have been madealong with 2 comet confirmations and over a thousand

NEO confirmations including 6 VIOs.

Country # of Schools

Bulgaria 1

China 6

Germany 1

Italy 1

Japan 6

Morocco 1

Poland 7

Portugal 3

Russia 1

United States 73

Object Students SchoolLocatio

n Date

K08Q34Z K. McCrory Sidney High School TX 10/01/08K08S07B Reagan, Terpe, & Kemppainen Folsom Lake College CA 10/01/08K08SK9A Mapes, Howerton, & White Jefferson High School VA 10/01/08K08SF1W S. Caldwell Vernon High School TX 10/02/08K08SK9C B. Glass Hardin-Simmons University TX 10/05/08K08SK9D Johnson & Kran IASC Astronomer CA 10/05/08

K08SK9M Cardenas, etal.Mountain View Community College TX 10/05/08

K08SK9E D. RothrockMadisonville Junior High School TX 10/05/08

K08SK9B Bedkowski & Zaborowski Zespó³ Szkól nr 7, Szczecin Poland 10/06/08

K08SK9G Ogg & TheilerMadisonville Junior High School TX 10/12/08

K08SK9H Terpe & Kamppainen Folsom Lake College CA 10/12/08K08SK9F Morin & Jones Plymouth State University NH 10/12/08

K08SM3Z Cardenas, etal.Mountain View Community College TX 10/17/08

K08SM6TBedkowski, Dziedzic, & Jacyszyn Zespó³ Szkól nr 7, Szczecin Poland 10/17/08

K08TG0A Mapes, Urbach, & White Thomas Jefferson High School VA 10/17/08K08U20N Howerton, Vanaya, & Urbach Thomas Jefferson High School VA 10/17/08K08UO0J Majszak & Waczynska Zespó³ Szkól nr 10, Toruniu Poland 10/19/08K08T62B Ziemer, Lentz, & Peng Cordova High School CA 10/19/08K08U00K Majszak & Waczynska Zespó³ Szkól nr 10, Toruniu Poland 10/19/08K08U99Q Lisiewicz, Palma, & Porebski Zespó³ Szkól nr 10, Toruniu Poland 10/25/08K08U99P S. Terpe Folsom Lake College CA 10/25/08K08U99R Morin & Jones Plymouth State University NH 10/29/08K08UJ9X Busey & Schmidt Meredith College NC 10/30/08

• 1. Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane (Morocco)2.      Ball State University (IN)3.      Broad Run High School (VA)4.      Cracow Pedagogical University (Poland)5.      Downingtown High School West (PA)6.      Escola Secundaria de Alvide (Portugal)7.      Escola Secundaria Fernando Namora (Portugal)8.      Gimnazjum Miejskie im. M. Ko (Poland)9.      Hitachi High School (Japan)10.     LO im Adama Mickiewicza (Poland)11.     LO im Marii Sklodowskiej-Curie (Poland)12.     LO im Tadeusza Czackiego (Poland)13.     Madisonville Junior High School (TX)14.     Meredit College (NC)15.     Sturgis Charter Public School (MA)

• Contact Information:• Keely Finkelstein• [email protected]• http://people.physics.tamu.edu/keelyf/

• The state offers waivers to supply reimbursement forpurchases of Astronomy textbooks. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/waivers/desc.html

“Pursuant to TEC §7.056. This waiver allows the district reimbursement for the purchase of non-state adopted textbooks used in Photojournalism, Astronomy, Environmental Science, and Human Geography courses for which no textbooks were adopted by the state. Reimbursement is equal to the state maximum cost or the cost of the textbook, whichever is lower.”

You can download a related pdf at:http://www.tea.state.tx.us/textbooks/waivers/subjectsnobids.pdf

An article about surveying introductory astronomy textbooks at the college level is available athttp://aer.noao.edu/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=218