It's time to prepare for Cosmonautics Day and St. George's Night

It remains a little more than a month before Cosmonautics Day. This year will be a jubilee, 55 years of Gagarin’s flight, and events begin to be marked on the world map. Unlike the previous year, the first marked event in Russia has already appeared. Roscosmos also published its emblems and slogans of the event. And if the name “St. George's Night” hurts you, let's try to find the most beautiful version of the translation.

Official information of Roscosmos

February 25 Roscosmos introduced the emblem and slogan of the anniversary year:

We invite everyone who is interested in space, who dreams of distant planets, for whom the space activities of Russia is part of life, to join us. Take part in our events, write about the history and modernity of Russian cosmonautics, about the heroes thanks to whom the Feat of Yuri GAGARIN became a reality, shoot and record your video and audio clips. Send materials to the address Gagarin55@roscosmos.ru, and we will publish the best works on the website or in the social networks of ROSKOSMOS. Let's remember together how it was and dream about the future - after all, everything is just beginning!

St. George's night

Unlike Cosmonautics Day, St. George's Night is a more informal event. For him, not only a popular science event is suitable, but also a theme party, watching science fiction at home, and almost anything. At the same time, the number and subject matter of these events allow a good assessment of the interest in space in the country. For example, Iran took the second place in the number of events in 2015. And this despite the fact that the events were serious, were held at planetariums and universities, and the date of April 12 is in no way connected with the Iranian space program. At the same time, Russian events are rarely marked on this map. In my opinion, Cosmonautics Night perfectly complements Cosmonautics Day and these names do not interfere with each other. Accordingly, if you have not thought about how to celebrate this wonderful holiday,

Event Ideas

As a person who “became ill” with astronautics after watching good films in a row, I confirm that “of all the arts, cinema is the most important for us.” If the event is planned to be public, then for it, without copyright problems, you can use freely available films:

1. "The first orbit . " 2011 experimental film. The record of negotiations, news and atmospheric music is superimposed on the ISS flight track, as close as possible to Gagarin's flight. And this film can be crossed with the Orbiter simulator .
2. “Space Odyssey, Century XXI” A four-part film shows life on the ISS.
3. "Outer space . " The film tells the history of astronautics from fiction Jules Verne until 2011.

And if the viewing is planned at home, then I advise you to pay attention to excellent films about space:

1. “The Right Stuff” (1983), about the first US astronauts.
2. "Apollo 13" ("Apollo 13") 1995, telling about the drama of the accident "Apollo 13" .
3. "Gagarin: First in Space" 2013 on the flight and biography of Gagarin.
4. “The Dish” (Plate) in 2000, in which you can see from an unexpected angle on the American lunar program through the eyes of the Australian staff of the Parks radio telescope.
5. “October sky” (1999), showing how space can captivate even in a remote mining province.

There is just enough time to ask friends if there is a telescope or good binoculars in the closet. In the evening around April 12, the Moon will be in the first quarter. This means that it will be visible in the evenings, and the lighting conditions will be very good for observation. Immediately after sunset, Jupiter will be visible in the southern part of the sky, its four satellites can be seen even with good binoculars. And after midnight, Mars and Saturn will rise.

Event Registration

If you have decided how you will celebrate Cosmonautics Day, mark the event on the map. This is not difficult.

1. Go to the website http://yurisnight.net/ and open the registration page ( Take action -> Register your Event ):



2. Register. The easiest way to do this is from your Facebook, Gmail or Twitter account.



3. Open the event registration form ( Take action -> Register your Event )


4. Fill in the data.

Event name and time:



Venue (the event can be virtual, without a place):



Event Description:



The final details. The only complexity of the form is the Timezone field, the time of the selected zone is not indicated there. In order not to be mistaken, look at the list of abbreviations .


Save the event by clicking on the Submit Event button . Your event will be sent for moderation and will appear on the map within a couple of days.

Let's decide

Last year, I noticed a serious rejection of the St. George's Night translation option. Therefore, I suggest you choose the translation option that you like best (or suggest yours in the comments, I will add it as soon as possible). Who knows, maybe the new version will be better and take root? Voting is valid until March 12.