About Galilean Nights
About Galilean Nights
Galilean Nights is a Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. On 22-24 October 2009, amateur and professional astronomers, enthusiasts and the public took to the streets all around the globe and pointed their telescopes to the wonders that Italian astronomer Galileo observed 400 years ago.
Spread over three nights, astronomers shared their knowledge and enthusiasm for space by encouraging as many people as possible to look through a telescope at our planetary neighbours. The focus for Galilean Nights was the objects that Galileo observed, including Jupiter and the Moon, which were well-positioned in the night sky for observing.
Introduced following the great success of 100 Hours of Astronomy, another IYA2009 Cornerstone Project, Galilean Nights was the second biggest event of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. More than 1300 public events took place in 88 countries, with well over 600 000 people seeing the skies through a telescope and having their own Galileo experience.
