Live Blog from the IAU 260 Symposium, S12 Astronomy, the Media and Society, Part 4

After the Coffee break I caught 2 of the talks, the participants followed the inspirational journey made by Gernot Meiser from Germany to observe a solar eclipse in the heart of Africa with only a truck and a batch of various telescopes. The duo travelled thousands of kilometres across europe, through turkey down to the tip of the mediteranean through Egypt, Kenya, then through Sudan, with every step stopping and allowing the surrounding communities from each nation to look through the telescopes that they had set up to give the people a view of the day or night sky. The beautiful images captured by the team demonstrated the enthusiasm and commitment by Gernot and co how easy yet hard it is to communicate astronomy with the public. When I say hard, these guys were travelling only in a truck all the way through europe and africa. That’s what I call dedication!

Gernot Meiser, Solar Eclipse in Africa