Asteroid Day is Coming! Check Out Our Event Ideas Guide and Get Involved!

This year Asteroid Day will be on a Friday! Make the weekend a time to raise awareness in your community about protecting our planet, how asteroids tell the story of the origins of our solar system and the possibility of extracting its resources in the near future. Here are some ideas for Asteroid Day events:

Stay on top of asteroid hot topics!
The global topic for Asteroid Day’s 2023 edition will be “Thank You DART. Here Comes Hera”. The historic results of the DART mission, successfully altering Dimorphos’ orbit, and the expectations of the Hera mission have been frequently published in the media and brought the public closer to the asteroids.

Credits: (NASA/DART mission)

The OSIRIS-Rex sample return mission from asteroid Bennu and the launch of the Psyche mission will also help keep you tuned for what is yet to come. These themes are a great source for lectures, conferences and debates that give a chance to interact with astronomers, scientists and asteroid specialists from all over the world. Would like to host a virtual event? We have tips for you here.

Instigate talent and creativity in your audience
Contests are great opportunities to interact with audiences of all ages. For example, consider bringing science and art together in a single event by organising contests involving music or cartoons about near-Earth asteroids and planetary defence.

Infographic contest winners about planetary defence ideas presented at the Tercero Festival Colombiano del Asteroide.

Host your event at home!
Some people prefer to learn about asteroids in the comfort of their own home, together with family and friends. Here you will find a selection of films that will help understand the differences between the fiction and reality of asteroid threats and planetary defence strategies.

The kitchen can become the best place to teach, learn and popularise asteroids. These tips will give you delicious ideas that can be used by restaurants, bakeries, cafés and pastry shops as well as your own kitchen.

“Goodnight Meteorite”(https://freddysharajuku.com/2020/10/12/goodnight-meteorite-a-plated-dessert/) and “Goodnight Meteor” https://freddysharajuku.com/2018/03/10/goodnight-meteor-a-plated-dessert/), two thematic frozen desserts created by Freddy Chang from Los Angeles, USA.

Introduce asteroids to younger generations!
Children love to hear and learn about space and they are the majority of the audience at Asteroid Day events. The famous character, The Little Prince, could be a good starting point to help them learn about the fascinating space rocks .

To enhance interaction, consider dedicating a time slot at your event for them to make spacecraft paper models that have explored asteroids, including those that have collected samples to bring back to Earth. Teenagers could engage in solving exciting asteroid quizzes created for them.

It is very important that you register your event with us. That way, it appears on our global map and people from all corners of the world will know of your involvement with asteroids:

Map of independently organised Asteroid Day event around the world

Even better, if you report your event to us, it will get featured on our social media and will inspire many people to join our global movement and organise their own Asteroid Day events:

Organisations highlighted on our website

Have a great Asteroid Day!