• Fördergemeinschaft für naturwissenschaftliche Jugendarbeit e.V., Ostfildern, Germany
• E.B.D. Group (Carola Schropp)
• Galileo Brussels, Zaventem, Belgium
• Lichtenknecker Optics, Hasselt, Belgium
• Meade Instruments Europe
• Jules Destrooper, Lo, Belgium
• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt (Main), Germany
• Neue Züricher Zeitung, Zürich, Switzerland
• Einsiedler Brauhaus, Chemnitz, Germany
• Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Bonn, Germany
• Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Belgium

The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) is a three-week long summer camp aiming to promote knowledge on astronomy and related sciences in an unique international atmosphere. Every year the IAYC takes place somewhere in Europe. About seventy people from many different countries live together for three weeks. They are between 16 and 24 years old and share a common interest: astronomy.

The IAYC is different from most astronomical camps for two reasons: the international character and the fact that you carry out your own small research project. You will not just accept facts, but you will discover them yourself, or together with people with whom you will work together. The IAYC is therefore not like staying in a hotel and following a summer school or an astronomy course.

Every participant, with his or her own cultural background, forms an important piece in the complex puzzle of the IAYC camp life. As a participant, the success of the camp depends on your contribution.

The IAYCs are organised by an international team of students and young scientists. They are all volunteers who started as participants in the IAYC and were then asked to join IWA, the association that has been organising these camps for almost forty years now. It must be stressed that we do not have any commercial interest in organising the IAYCs. However, IWA, the organisation behind the IAYC has a great deal of experience in organising these camps.

To participate in the IAYC you must be between 16 and 24 years old. You also must be able to communicate in English. As we all come from different countries, English is the common camp language. Therefore, you have to speak English not only during the activities in the working groups and the non-astronomical programme, but throughout the entire camp. The aim of this is also to discourage people from the same country or language group to spend all their time together. IAYC offers you a great opportunity to make friends from other countries and it would be a pity to waste that opportunity. You should not worry though, as your English does not need to be perfect. But you should be able to have a normal conversation without a dictionary.

The IAYC is an astronomy camp, therefore it should be clear that you should be interested in science in general, and astronomy in particular. You have to be willing to carry out a project autonomously, though there is always your leader for support. We think that your financial background should not be a criterion for participating in the IAYC. If you cannot come to the IAYC for financial reasons (for instance in case of a non-convertible currency), then contact us about our grant programme by writing an email to info@iayc.org.

The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) 2009 will take place in southern Poland, near the small town of Korbielow at Schronisko na Hala Miziowa, a mountain hotel in the Beskid Zywiecki district which is part of the outer Eastern Carpathians. The house is situated close to the 1557 metre high Pilsko mountain being the second highest peak in the region, and to the Slovak border. The climate is of a semi-continental type. The average temperature for August is 20-27°C. The yearly precipitation sum reaches 750-1500 mm. The bigger polish cities close to the region are Tychy (81 km), Krakow (92 km), Zilina (Slovakia) (104 km). The Slovak border is really close, and lies only cca. 4 km from the camp site. The closer towns on the Slovak side of the border are Oravska Polhora (9.9 km), Liptovsky Mikulas (99 km).

The camp house is a Polish mountain hotel and offers plenty of space. There are bedrooms with up to six beds, a dining room for the whole group, a party room and rooms for the working groups. There is a building and a field that can be used for the Non-Astronomical Program (NAP). The observation field is a short walk away from the camp house. No light pollution should disturb our observations.

The IAYC day starts at noon (12:00) with breakfast to allow you to catch enough sleep after long observation nights. After breakfast, the first of two daily working group sessions is held. Each working group session lasts two hours. During working group session, you will work on a project that you choose at the beginning of the camp. Every working group is based around a different topic and has seven to eight participants and a leader who is responsible for the group. Each member of the group works on a project, either alone or in study groups of two or three.

You or your study group will have to work independently on your project, so you will have to read about it, you will have to explain things to each other, you will have to do necessary observations, calculations, measurements ... in short, you should not expect a school-like situation where a teacher tells you everything and you have to blindly believe it. Don't worry that this might be too difficult for you. In every working group you will find something for all levels, and your working group leader will help you if you encounter problems. At the end of the camp, everybody has to write a report about the work done in the camp. All these reports are collected and compiled into a book which will be sent to you after the camp. This makes a nice souvenir and is a good way to learn about everybody's projects. The working groups available in IAYC 2009 will be introduced later in this brochure by their leaders.

After the first working group session you have some free time. Free time allows you to participate in sport activities and workshops which are organised by participants who want to teach the group something new. You can also develop photos or learn how to do it, you can sing with your friends, take a walk... you choose! If you feel like organising something yourself with other participants, that's great! Free time ends with lunch at half past five in the afternoon.

Doing astronomy for three weeks without anything else drives you nuts. That's why, every day after dinner, there is an anything-but-astronomy activity with the entire group. That is the Non-Astronomical Program or NAP. There will be group games, singing evenings, discussions and much more. Further on in this booklet the NAP leader will explain the plans he has in mind. After NAP, at ten o'clock in the evening, the second daily working group session takes place. A light meal at midnight ends this evening working group session. If the sky is clear, you will have the opportunity to observe afterwards.

Although most days during the camp are like the previously described one, there are a few special events. One day, usually during the first week of camp, is reserved completely for a special programme: the excursion day. Another day later in the camp is a free day which you can spend almost any way you want. You could go on a trip with some IAYC friends, catch up some sleep, go hiking...

Observations will mainly be focused on getting results for your projects rather than gathering observational data that can't be used in the camp. Photographs that are taken at night can be developed in the camp darkroom. The darkroom is set up with material to adequately develop black and white films and print black and white photos. Aside from or as a part of your project you can learn all about darkroom techniques during the camp. Of course there will be time for stargazing as a tourist too, for the fun of seeing the marvels of our universe. If you're not experienced in observing you can learn from the leaders and other participants. For the people who have no feeling yet with observations and telescopes, there will be an introduction in observational techniques and usage of telescopes at the beginning of the camp.

The participation fee for the IAYC 2009 will be 570 Euro. You will have to transfer this fee after you have received a confirmation of your acceptance. People having serious problems paying this participation fee can apply for a grant. If our financial support is necessary for you to attend the camp, then contact Ana on the address below or write an email to in order to obtain the application form for our limited grant programme.

On the following pages you can find the abstracts of the working groups offered in the IAYC 2009. On the application form you have to indicate in which working group you want to participate. At the end of the working group overviews, the leaders who are not responsible for a working group will also introduce themselves.

Every Italian will be proud to tell you that in 1609 Galileo Galilei was the first human to point a telescope at the night sky. The telescope had been invented in the Netherlands a year earlier, but the inventors decided it was more important to spend their time getting their invention patented (which they failed to do), than to look at the night sky. Right...

The year is now 2009. If you’re good at mathematics, you will already have deduced that it is exactly 400 years ago that Galileo looked at the stars and planets. And the beauty of it is, that this year, it can be you following in his footsteps, looking through a telescope at everything the summer night sky has to offer! That’s exactly what we will be doing in this working group. And, to impress everyone else in the camp, we will try to gather evidence of the objects we observe. Choose astrophotography, choose CCD imaging, choose a pencil! In the camp darkroom it will be possible to develop the black and white pictures you took the night before. Obviously our goal will be to obtain all sorts of evidence. Pictures of galaxies, moon craters, sunspots, nebulae, planets, like Jupiter with its moons, complete constellations, the Milky Way... anything visible can be turned into a picture.

The life you will lead in AA will be quite different from the life you’re used to. You see, during the day, when the Sun is up in the sky, you can’t really see anything interesting. Except for the Sun of course. Therefore we are forced to live at night. More than other groups, we will spend our time under the stars, in the dark and the cold of the summer night. Of course it need not be mentioned that this is the most romantic way in which you can spend your summer...

Unfortunately, also the life in AA is not only about starry skies. Sometimes, it is cloudy. But no need to panic: obviously this is the perfect excuse to lay our work aside, turn on the music, open a bottle of wine, catch up on some sleep or organise a legendary working group party. Join me in making sure AA will not go into IAYC history unnoticed!!

Erik

I hope it’s not just my belief that every big adventure in science should begin with something along the line “Have you ever wondered...?” Without any doubt, this question has been the driving force behind science for centuries upon centuries. And this summer we will wonder too...

Try tilting your head backwards during the night. Hundreds of books, and an amazing amount of physics has been put together by doing just this, either directly or by tilting a telescope while looking comfortably at the computer screen. All of this made possible by just the little bit of light that cosmic objects are willing to send to us. What information will WE be able to deduce from these little bits of light?

What information can light bring to us? The first thing that comes to mind is that the ammount of light received can tell us something about an object - and this is indeed true. Add some filters and find out even more! What does this mean? Feel free to find out! Essentially, all the stars in the skies look the same. But are they? A closer look will show you that the Universe is not just black-and-white. What can colour tell us about the stars? It is said that the spectrum of an object bears the most information about a shining object. What else can be taken into account? Put lenses in the way of x-rays or gamm radiation. What will happen? Correct: nothing. It’s a big problem to focus these types of radiation. Why is that, and how is this problem tackled in the optics of satellites? Many more interesting questions appear when overlapping an X-ray picture with an optical one.

The summer is still a long way to go. All these ideas will evolve and new ones will be added, which is happening as you read this. As you can see the topics are next-to-undepletable and everyone will find something just for him/her - be it books-and-tea luxury of the working group room or telescope-magic of skies at night. With the right amount of music, sweet stuff (cookies but also sweet smiling :P) and fun I’m sure we will create an unforgettable mixture. Don’t forget your towels!

I'll see you on the dark side of the Moon
Ondrej

This working group has been designed with a very particular kind of participant in mind. The one with an exceptionally open and inquisitive mind, the one who wants to discover, explore, create and discuss, but is also not afraid of getting his hands dirty while building an experiment, or getting his feet cold while observing all night long. The one who doesn’t care about the conventional boundaries between sciences and prefers an extraordinary mixture of astronomy, psychology, philosophy and history instead! You fit the description? Keep reading about a few ideas you could be brainstorming on during this summer…

*Genius and creativity. What makes someone the greatest scientist of his era? What makes Newton or Einstein different from the rest of us?

*Communication. How would we talk to an alien? Even among our species we have troubles with misunderstandings, why? What could be the universal language?

*Size! How big are the things in Universe? What does it look like on a big scale? Just how big is our own Solar System? Build a model to find out!

*What does it take to be an astronaut? Attention, perception, multitasking, conflicting mental tasks, group dynamics – why are all these crucial concepts? Would you make a good astronaut? Let’s make an experiment and find out!

*Life - how would you define it? Is artificial intelligence life? Where and how should we look for alien life? What is the future of life on our pale blue dot?

*Magnificent night sky! How many constellations can you find? Do you know the ancient myths behind them? How did our distant ancestors explore the sky? Can we recreate some or their experiments?

As you see, the topics we’ll explore are countless. You’re free to include whichever theme you’re passionate about, just let me know!
We’ll stargaze, discover, observe, experiment and discuss; all of this while having lots of fun, good music and strong coffee to keep us alive after our amazing parties…

You can imagine being a part of BLUE? Put your biggest smile on and join the unforgettable adventure! I promise your mood will be anything but blue! :)

Looking forward to meeting you,
Anci

From the beginning of the Universe they have the entire freedom… To run! So powerful, moving with the speed of light! Brilliant in their invisibility, they lighten up everything! They have all features arranged to perfection; speed, lithesome, they have no mass to disturb them, pure energy! All that, except one thing… They cannot choose their way. Meet the Photons of Destiny!

* Yaaaaaaahoooooo! This Universe rocks!
* Buddy? Yes, you excited one! Where do you think you’re goin’?
* The Earth!!! Woooohooooo! If I’m not wrong, somewhere in Poland… or
   Slovakia, whatever, it’s Europe, Europe rocks!
* Don’t say it twice!
* Why?
* Well there is a thing… I heard the rumors…
* About?
* Hm…
* Come on!
* Heard about Black Hole?
* Aaaaaaa! Jesus! Stop sayin’ it! Forbidden words! You know The Anti-panic policy!
* Relaaaax… This is even worse!
* What! No, I cannot believe that. There’s… There’s no such thing.
* Oooo there is… I’m talking about… The Capturer!
* Uuuuu, I already feel chills down my spin…
* They say man built a machine only for purpose… of taking pictures of us! Sick bastards…
* The Capturer…
* Yeeeees, the Capturer. You run trough some deforming glass or whatever, 
   I don’t know, but for sure you end up in a dark tunnel, man… and then you 
   stick to some warm plate which turns you to electricity!
* Awesome, man!
* Awesome, if you would not be stuck with thousands of electrons in a small damn box!
* Come again!
* But it’s not the end, my friend! Afterwards, you must go with them, cuz some
   force pulls you down, in some… They organize you in some working groups, 
   called pixels! Coupled together!
* Disgusting!
* That’s why it’s also called Charge Coupled Device!
* Man… I hope we’re not gonna get there…
* Keep hoping, hopeguy! Because, brother, they have it EVERYWHERE!
* What! How do you know it all, smartguy, you’ve never been there!
* Hahahaaa… I got you!
* Ooooh, funny bastard…
* Man… Just relax, The Earth is a paradise… Keep waving…
    

…THIS SUMMER! Night Sky, CCD Astronomy, Games without Frontiers, Cookies, Tea, Books, Computers, Disco, Sleepyness, Work, Hanging Around, Learning, Screaming and Panicking, and much, much more… In production of Photons Of Destiny and IAYC!

Petar

If you don’t honour the small, you are not worthy of the big! This Dutch saying is not only true in normal life, but also in physics. Stars born in primordial clouds of gas have as fuel tiny particles and are understood by a law of physics containing merely eight characters, the Schrödinger equation. It is the clue to understanding quantum mechanics and also the base of great, groundbreaking and even revolutionary achievements in understanding the enigmas of life, the universe and everything. Newton, Schrödinger, Einstein, Maxwell, Lagrange, Hamilton and many others gave us the tools which will be used in this working group. Combining their theories with 0 and 1, two insignificant numbers, leads to monumental scientific achievements trough indications, calculations and simulations.

The main goal of this working group is to understand physics applied on astronomy through the use of simple theories which can be combined with computational models. Quantum mechanical effects like neutrino opacity in Fermi gasses could explain supernova explosions and "nuclear pasta" could lead to the understanding of neutron star quakes and pulsar glitches. Not only quantum mechanics will be addressed in QUAC, but we will use Newtonian dynamics to calculate for example the orbits of planets or the nature of Lagrange points. You could also use its modified version and try to account for the missing matter in the universe.

It all might sound tricky, but believe me it is not. For each level there is something to do. Yes, this will be the working group starting where BASQ left the building, and yes, mathematics will be unavoidable. But hey, if you combine this with the right amount of cookies, tea and coffee anything is possible.

See you in my working group! If not, the mountain is big enough to share a small telescope!
Klaas

If you have looked at the sky more than once, you’ve noticed that it changes constantly. Different constellations become visible, the Moon changes its phase, the planets assume new positions among the stars... Even the stars themselves change positions, but so sublty that we don’t see it right away. The whole Galaxy is moving actually; and the whole Universe also. It changes constanly, it grows and evolves just like we all do.

The timescale of our observations is often inadequate to observe how the Universe changes in time. Does it mean that we are unable to explore these changes? Of course not –simulations are here to help us! You just choose an exciting subject, code some physics into an algorithm and let your simulation run. It will move, spin, grow, shrink and shine inside a computer crunching millions of numbers while you drink tea, eat cookies and discuss Life, the Universe and Everything with other participants. Or attend a nearby party.

You might be interested in the appearance of the sky a very long time ago, or the shape of the Universe even further in the past. Well, there’s no chance you could observe that, so why not simulate it? Many interesting systems can be simulated on a modest computer with beginner’s programming skills, but the experienced ones can also find a chalenge for themselves. Set the Moon into motion and predict phases, send a spacecraft to space and navigate to another planet, build your own planetary system and see how it works, simulate evolving stars and star clusters, crash two galaxies into each other... I’ll do my best to get you there on your own, taking care that you don’t lose your eyes staring at the computer screen – those you should save for the beautiful real starry sky above Hala Miziowa!

Vidimo se u Poljskoj,
Mislav

For a long time, they were a myth - only known in films, on television and in books. The idea of planets around other stars (so – called “exoplanets”) has inspired generations of writers and filmmakers. But a little more than a decade ago, they became scientific reality. Since then, many scientists around the globe have been on a quest to understand more about these strange new worlds. And strange new worlds they are indeed! Some of them are about as massive as Jupiter, but uncomfortably close to their star. Others exhibit more temperate environments, where, under the right circumstances, life could develop. But hey, how do we actually know all this? What is the planet doing so close to its sun? And if there is life, how would we ever be able to find out? If questions like these keep popping up in your mind, then…

Welcome to SUPA!

Of course, these planets are hard to study and it usually requires quite a big telescope to do so. You don’t happen to have a big telescope around? Let me bring the BIIIG telescope to you! In my luggage (or better: in my luggage on some form of electronic data storage device), I will take along fine pictures taken by the real professionals at fancy places such as the European Southern Observatory in the Chilean Andes. You could use this data to search for extrasolar planets and find out the details of these planetary systems. If you are more of a “stellar” person, your project could be measuring distances in space – going from nearby star systems to galaxies other than the Milky Way. Feel like doing a more theoretical project? How about investigating what it takes for a planet to be “habitable” and where there could actually be some extraterrestrials waiting? More basic? Find out how the discovery of exoplanets works. Of course in SUPA, there will be a constant flow of tea (earl grey, hot, if you ask me) and coffee together with a big supply of cookies to stimulate our creativity and inspire us to some truly extraterrestrial working group parties.

See you on top of the mountain!
Monika

Everybody has some sort of idea what time is. Everybody has experienced time flowing by or seeming to stand still. As we all know how annoying it is to run out of time.

But there are lots of things we cannot experience, at least on an everyday-basis. Why does time run differently for different people? Was there a first second or did time always exist? Can we travel through time? And how did our universe change with time? What was different in the past, what will be different in the future? And, does time actually exist?

In this working-group we will have the opportunity to discuss everything that concerns time - if there is enough time. You can either experiment on how time is perceived by people around you or figure out ways of measuring time or travel back in time just by lying on your back. You can also work on how our universe evolved with time or discuss philosophical questions concerning time.

All this will take place in a relaxed atmosphere with lots of possibilities to talk and drink coffee and tea and eat cookies and chocolate. We will listen to music and party and we will go out together and get lost in the sky...

I am looking forward to meet you on the polish mountain.
Aga

You see, we in the IAYC are like one big family and I am the person who is beaing called Padrino, Pate or Godfather. I am responsible for the smoothness of the camp life. The General Coordinator or in short General is the person that you talk to before and during the camp if you have some questions or problems, which need to be answered or sorted out. The General makes sure that all of you will get to the camp house safely and that you will remain safe during the whole duration of the camp.

All of the dealings with the outer world is my work, as for example the niffty bussiness of washing machine time acquisition and scheduling, “how and when will I get to the camp house” logistics, “I caught a cold, and I need a x and y medicine” 24/7 service, “what should I do on the free day” wondering, “what will we see on the excursion day?” unknowns and “what will we do in this camp?” variables and many other question. I will also make sure that you are also properly equipped with gear for your adventures in the deep jungle of your projects.

Short and fast in I am the Guy to ask :).

See you on the mountain!
Cheers,
Martin

Clash of the Titans

Polar-front storms are a result of the clash of two air-masses of different temperature and humidity; these two air-masses are cold, polar on the one side, and warm subtropical air on the other. If the two air-masses meet (along a front which is typically named polar front), cloud formation and rain, as well as stormy weather, is the outcome. That is why such storm systems are also referred to as polar-front storms. The polar front is also the reason why the weather is changing so rapidly in the United Kingdom, as the UK’s climate is dominated by the it.

Luckily, the camp does not take place in the United Kingdom. The number of urban settlements and people living along the world’s coastlines has greatly increased since the middle of the last century and with the establishment of a truly worldwide market. In 1980 alone 66% of the cities with a population greater than 10 million inhabitans, and 53% of all cities with a population between 5 and 10 million people were situated on the coast. These people are highly vulnerable to storm surges, floods and various storm systems.

Luckily, the camp takes place on top of a mountain. Working group sessions are your time to study, to learn new things. Over the course of three weeks, you will hopefully discover many new and interesting facts, you’ll see many scientific-looking figures, and possibly you will drown in a vast amount of numbers.

Luckily, there is the Non-Astronomical Program. The Non-Astronomical Program, or NAP as we love to abbreviate it, is the time of day to chill, to forget about science, to even forget about the fact we are all (almost) grown-ups. NAP is the time of day which catapults you back to childhood. Which will make you laugh, run, cry... Sweat and tears...

Luckily, there is the element of surprise!

See you on the mountain,
Seb

If you want to participate in the IAYC 2009, fill in the application form that is provided with this booklet and send it to us as soon as possible. If you are not yet 18 (21 in some countries) your legal guardian (usually a parent) has to sign the form instead of you.

We also ask you to include a recent picture of yourself. Make sure you have read the terms and conditions on the reverse of the application form carefully. Specifically, we point out that you are obliged to have a valid health insurance. Once we decide to accept your application you will have to send a copy of your insurance certificate to us. The application form should be sent to:

Ana Brajovic
Svetog Save 20/1a
11000 Beograd
Serbia

You can apply any time before the IAYC 2009. But if you apply before April 15th 2009, you will be informed about your acceptance in May 2009. Later applications will be considered if places are still available. Before receiving the letter of acceptance you can withdraw your application without further obligation. If you are accepted as a participant, you will have to submit the full participation fee to the IAYC bank account. The most recent information is always available on our homepage:

http://www.iayc.org/

Well before the camp, you will receive a Second Info brochure containing the contact details of other participants and more detailed travel information, including how to get to the camp house. If you have any questions that are not answered by this booklet, do not hesitate to contact one of us. We are looking forward to receiving your application and to seeing you at Hala Miziowa.

Aga, Ana, Erik, Klaas, Martin, Mislav, Monika, Ondrej, Petar and Sebastian.

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IWA e.V. is registered at the Amtsgericht Bochum, Germany, Abteilung 14, under registration number VR 1743.

This info booklet was compiled by the leaders of the IAYC 2009.