Running Large-Scale Astronomy Events on the Web

摘要

The 100 Hours ofAstronomyIYA2009 Cornerstone Project was a four-day event designed to bring astronomy to the public around the world. In this paper, we review 100 Hours of Astronomy (100HA) with particular reference to how a large-scale event of this nature is tied to the Web presence, evolution of the Web site, and issues that were experienced in the time preceding, during, and following the event. Of particular relevance was evolution of the technology environment required to support the event, software employed, and how the technical environment responded to the anticipated and unanticipated volume of participants. Finally, the paper examines how lessons learned during the 100HA event can be used to plan for future events during the International Year of Astronomy and beyond.