The D-Space project's objectives are focused on raising public awareness for scientific and technological developments by motivating the wider public to actively participate in the process of realizing the beneficial impact of science and technology on our day-to-day lives. One way of successfully raising awareness and interest on science, especially among the youth, is to present science and scientific research through challenging activities combining intelligence, existing knowledge and innovation. Within the framework of the abovementioned objectives, a scientific contest in the general field of astronomy and astronomical observations is launched in September 2006.

Participation

The SkyWatch 2007 contest is addressing three age groups.
The contest topics, evaluation criteria and presentation format are common for each age group, but eventually there will be nine (9) final winners, three (3) from each group. The age groups are defined according to educational level and perceptual abilities, as follows:

Age group 1: Students < 15 years old
Age group 2: Students between 15 and 18 years old
Age group 3: Adults (Teachers, Researchers, Amateur Astronomers)

All participants are allowed to enter the contest either individually or in pairs
(projects developed by groups of more that 2 people will not be accepted).

Description of the 1st phase of the SkyWatch 2007 contest
(September 11th-November 27th)
During 1st phase, the participants utilize a data base of astronomical observations conducted by the telescopes of the D-Space network of observatories. According to their selection from the pool of the 5 suggested contest topics, the participants are expected to design, develop and implement projects and activities with the use of the provided telescopes' data base and under the guidance and the continuous support of a team of experts in the field. Participants are free to use additional scientific material from other sources, but the use of at least one observation from the D-Space library is obligatory.

The contest participants are asked to create scenarios and well-defined small projects to express their ideas, to seek for answers to scientific issues and to subsequently analyze and interpret the material used, formulating their final answer or viewpoint that will conclude their project. Participants in age groups 1 and 2 are expected to submit projects under the supervision of teachers, while contestants of age group 3 have to create their educational scenarios, based on the selected observations. All projects will be presented and assessed following specific criteria that will be applied by the project's scientific committee. An initial selection procedure will be established that will lead to the creation of a pool of the 30 best projects.

This evaluation / selection procedure will be followed independently for each of the three groups, resulting to the 10 best projects from each group that will qualify for the 2nd phase of the contest.
As a deliverable for this stage, a detailed scientific dossier will be developed per selected project, comprising the essential scientific knowledge, relevant information, and all the available material in the form of a presentation.

Participants must also describe their request for new observations that will be conducted by the D-Space Network of Robotic Telescopes if they succeed to qualify to the 2nd phase of the contest.

Description of the 2nd phase of the SkyWatch 2007 contest
(November 27th-January 12th)
The observation requests of the 30 best teams qualified to the 2nd phase of the contest will be scheduled in the software of the D-Space Network of Robotic Telescopes. In this phase the participants will be assigned a specific task based on each project's main idea. Since the time in which the participants will be provided with their observations depends on exogenous parameters such as weather conditions and visibility of the specific astronomical subject during the period of the 2nd phase, the requested task as well as the overall evaluation will not depend on whether the participants include these observations in their project or not.

The final submission will include the initial project of the 1st phase as well as the answer to the task given in the 2nd phase and the final evaluation will follow.