July 9th, 2010

Update: Open Dates in August, September and Beyond

Here’s your big chance to be a podcast star! We have some open dates coming up the next few months, and would love to have more people contributing to the 365 Days of Astronomy. See below for upcoming dates that we need filled.

We also have decided to change our deadlines of when we would like to people to submit their recordings: Instead or the previous 30 days before your scheduled “air” date, the deadline is now 10 days. You can still submit them 30 days (or more) ahead of time, and we will gladly and thankfully accept them.

If you’re the kind of person who can’t commit to a specific date, we also are in need of back-up emergency podcasts for when people either bail out or unexpectedly have a famous “life happens” event. As you may have noticed, we were recently forced to resort to using “encore” episodes — re-airing podcasts from 2009. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as some of our podcasts are classics and should be heard again. But our real goal is to have a new podcast every single day. That’s why we need you!

As always, send us an email if you want to sign up or have questions. We love to hear from you!

And as promised, here are the upcoming open dates (you can also see our calendar for a look at the available dates.)

~ Nancy

August:
11
18
31

September:
5
6
20
21

October:
16
18
20

November:
1
3
4
8
9
10
24
27
28
29

December:
2
3
5
6
12
28

Announcements, Updates 0

April 20th, 2010

Call For More Podcasters!

Hey, 365 Days of Astronomy fans! We still have some dates open in 2010, so if you’ve been thinking about doing a podcast but haven’t yet made the commitment, now’s the time. We have one day coming up in May — May 26 — that is open, plus several days in June. We also need some backup “emergency” podcasts to have on hand in the event that a scheduled podcaster drops out or fails to submit their podcast. Check out our calendar, choose an open date, and send us an email!

Here are some of the upcoming open days:

May 26
June 4
June 9
June 10
June 12
June 13
June 15
June 19
June 27
July 20
July 23
July 24
July 29

Announcements, Updates 1

December 11th, 2009

We Need Podcasters!

Hey, all 365 Days of Astronomy fans! By now you have probably heard the tremendous news that our humble little podcast is going to continue in 2010. But the success of ’365 Days’ hinges on having community-generated podcasts for every day of the year, and so far the signups for the early part of 2010 is sparse, to put it mildly. While we have close to 3 months worth of signups so far throughout the year (and a big thank you to everyone who has signed up so far!), for January, we only have six days filled. We know January is quickly approaching, so some of you might be intimidated by a looming deadline. But, on the other hand, if a looming deadline is what gets you motivated — here’s your chance!

And here’s your chance to have your voice heard by upwards of 10,000 people! Join in and share your experiences, expertise and interests in astronomy and space exploration! You don’t have to be a podcast pro (we provide you with all the info you need on how to podcast), but just have a passion and/or interest in astronomy or space. 365 Days of Astronomy is — as far as we know — the only podcast on the planet that is completely community generated, as we need YOU for it to continue to be a success!

Signing up is easy: Click on the blue “Join In” tab at the top of the page or simply send an email to us and request the date you would like. Check out the calendar for days that are available in 2010. If you need ideas, we also have a calendar of astronomy-related events throughout the year.

We also need sponsors for the podcast to continue, so if you are interested in sponsoring an episode or ten, (and again, having your dedication, or info about your product or service heard by nearly 10,000 people) email us or click on the “Donate” link on the lower left side of the page. You can help sponsor the podcast for $30/podcast for a message at the beginning of the show or $100/week for a message at the end of the show. This helps pay for bandwidth, and the editing and posting of the podcasts to this site, and helps make the podcasts available for download.

So please, help us continue the excitement of the International Year of Astronomy into next year and hopefully years beyond by taking part in the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast!

Announcements 0

December 4th, 2009

365 Days of Astronomy to Continue in 2010!

Here’s the official Press Release:

The award-winning 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is proud to announce the project will continue for another 365 days, and is now accepting sign-ups for participants for 2010. This is a legacy project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA).

In 2009, the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast was a major project of the IYA, publishing 1 podcast for every day of the year. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people all around the world. “This podcast gives a voice to everyone in astronomy – professionals, amateurs, and those who just enjoy the amazing discoveries and images of our Universe,” said Dr. Pamela Gay, chair for the IYA’s New Media Group. The continuation of the project was officially announced at the .Astronomy (dot Astronomy) conference in Leiden, The Netherlands on Friday.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is now looking for individuals, schools, companies and clubs to submit 5 – 10 minutes of audio for our daily podcast.

The 365 Days of Astronomy has gained a wide audience, and each podcast is heard by 5,000 – 10,000 listeners. The project was awarded a Parsec Award for “The Best Info-tainment” podcast of 2009.

Participants can sign up to do just 1 episode or up to 12 episodes (one per month, subject to editorial discretion). The 365 Days of Astronomy team encourages people to sign up for a particular day (or days) of 2010. A calendar of astronomical events is available on the project’s website to provide ideas but the podcasts can be about virtually any astronomical topic. “We are seeking a wide range of contributions, from simple concepts or how-tos to more in-depth discussions of complex concepts,” said Dr. Gay. “In 2009, we received a wide range of contributions, from simple at-home first-time podcasts to highly polished and professional recordings. We expect the same for 2010 and are looking to sign up a wide range of participants, from graduate students in astronomy to science bloggers to big media companies.”

The project is also asking individuals and organizations for financial support.

The podcast team also invites people and organizations to sponsor the podcast by donating $30 to support 1 day of the podcast, with your dedication appearing at the start of the show. For just $360, it is possible to sponsor 1 episode per month. Alternatively, you can also have a dedication message at the end of the show for a week, for a donation at the $100 level. These donations will help pay for editing, and posting of the podcasts.

For more information visit http://365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

CONTACT
Pamela Gay
Nancy Atkinson

“The Universe is a big place – but the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast brings a little piece of it down to Earth each day.” – Chris Lintott, BBC Sky at Night

Announcements 10

October 21st, 2009

We’ve surpassed one million downloads

I’m not sure why we humans like these nice round numbers but we do. It’s been looking like the podcast would break one million downloads but I hadn’t checked lately so I got a nice surprise just now: we are currently at 1,224,401 downloads! We get about 30,000 downloads per week, so sometime within the last 7 weeks some lucky listener downloaded the 1,000,000th episode of this historic podcast.

Yippee!

So with just about 2 months left, if you help spread the word, we can surpass our wildest expectations for getting astronomy into people’s ears during the IYA 2009. We have more people from more places talking more about astronomy than any other podcast, radio show or forum in the world. And it’s all because of you. Thank you!

Announcements 0

October 18th, 2009

iTunes is back

As we noted earlier, our podcast mysteriously disappeared from iTunes. After many back and forths with Apple and some RSS wrangling we are happy to report that the daily podcast is back in iTunes. Please go there and give us a good rating and a good review and help us spread the word about this remarkable podcast.

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast on iTunes

Announcements, Updates 0

September 16th, 2009

Problem with iTunes

If you use iTunes to listen to 365 Days of Astronomy, you have probably noticed that our daily feed is not showing up, and is listed as “unavailable.” Many of you have written us about this issue, and we thank you for writing. We are aware of the problem, and are working with Apple to try and fix it. But it appears we need to go back and fix a problem with all 260 (so far) podcasts, which is taking time.

In the meantime, you can always hear and download the podcasts at our website , or get them via RSS feed.

Also, the weekly version (52 Weeks of Astronomy) — where you get 7 podcasts at once — is still available on iTunes.

We hope to get the problem resolved soon.

And thanks for listening!

IYA New Media Group

Announcements, Podcast 1

July 26th, 2009

Daily sponsorships are full

The daily “on air” sponsorships that begin each episode are full until the end of the year! That is great news and many thanks to the many sponsors who have supported the podcast.

You can still help! The $25/day sponsorships do not get all the bills paid. If your pockets are a bit deeper, you can get your name added to the after-episode on-air thank you’s that are on every episode. These sponsorships are $300 per month.

Remember, every dollar we collect goes to paying the production expenses of the podcast. We have benefited from thousands of hours volunteerism and thousands of dollars of services, all of it so you can listen to this podcast.

Email info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org if you want to help out.

Announcements 0

June 11th, 2009

Wanna do a podcast?

While our year has been officially full for quite some time, we are running into issues where people who signed up for a podcast don’t deliver. In those cases we rely on having a few podcasts on ready reserve that we can put in at the last moment.

We would be honored if some of you who missed out reserving a date would prepare a podcast for this purpose. Just follow the normal rules and prepare your podcast. When you are ready to send it to us, email us and we’ll send you a link to the uploader. We will let you know if/when we use your podcast and you will get full credit just like everybody else.

Given that we are just about out of ready reserve podcasts, there is a very, very good chance your podcast will be used if you send it to us.

Thank you in advance!

Announcements 3

March 26th, 2009

The 52 Weeks of Astronomy

Want your 365 days divided neatly into 7-day weeks? Or perhaps you are one of those people for whom the daily dose of blistering guitar hath run its course? (Shame on you, BTW.) Or maybe you just prefer listening an hour at a time instead of 10 minutes at a time?

If so you can subscribe to The 365 Days of Astronomy Weekly Edition. We have it in 2 flavors, the normal RSS feed and the iTunes feed. Someday we may even have a Zune feed, whatever that is.

So get it daily or get it weekly but keep on listening to The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast, the Daily Podcast of The International Year of Astronomy 2009!

Announcements 0