July 4, 2011 [4:00-7:00 PM]
Lecture on Astronomy
I've discovered my interest in astronomy since my Elementary Years of schooling. I can still recall some of our assigned task then. To convince you that I'm a little bit inclined with this field of science, let me enumerate some proofs. When I go the the bookstore, I always make time to browse some books on astronomy... My attention is easily caught by news on astronomy such as lunar eclipse, solar eclipse, alignment of planets, demotion of planet Pluto, addition of
Ophiuchus as a zodiac sign and related news about comets and shooting stars.
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| Science Teachers together with Ma'am Norie and the two guest lecturers. |
It was only a couple of days before the event when Ma'am Norie, our Department head, reminded our colleagues regarding the Lecture on Astronomy with Stargazing which was supposed to be intended for some junior students. We (some 4th year teachers) overheard the Activity and Sir Raul's attention was caught and inquire about it. Sir Raul proposed that the Activity is more suitable for senior students since it is all about astronomy and is related with physics. At that moment it was approved, and 3 sections from fourth year together with their science advisers were the proposed participants.
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| Ma'am Norie with Physics Teachers and Me (of course) in front of them, taking the photo hehehe... |
'Lecture on Astronomy' was graced by the presence of our two guest Lecturers from respected institutions namely;
Dr. Rogel Mari Sese
Physics Division
Institute of Mathematical Science & Physics
University of the Philippines - Los Baños
together with,
Lordnico P. Mendoza
Astronomy Technology Student
Rizal Technological University
There were more than 100 participants from selected three senior sections; IV-44 students with their adviser Sir Raul, IV-1 students with their adviser Ma'am Ladines, and IV-3 students with there adviser... (trumpet).... (drums).... Sir Jaytee... The Activity was graced also by the presence of Ma'am Weng Reyes and Sir Richard. (Sir Richard was the one responsible for the backdrop design... take a second look at the backdrop above hehehe)
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| wow! attentive! may quiz siguro bukas... |
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| Dr. Sese during his Lecture... |
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| More than 100 senior students attended the Lecture |
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| Lordnico Mendoza discussing about Constellations |
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| Listening attentively to Dr. Sese's Lecture |
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| Sir Richard preparing his lesson for tomorrow hehehe... |
To give you an overview of the Lecture, here is the outline...
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| Outline of the Lecture |
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| Open Forum... |
Curiosity is one of the qualities of our youth - once you've aroused it, you'll surely capture their interest. I see myself to some of our attendees - full of curiosity, very interested & has so many questions to ask. The last part of the Activity was an open forum which somehow cater the need to urgently answer some queries of our participants besides the fact that the time is very limited.
Stellarium
Due to cloudy sky that day, star gazing was not possible. But the Lecturers has a very interesting replacement to this activity. They introduced to us a software that is similar to Google Earth, this time its a 3D map of the sky. It's the stellarium.
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| Stellarium Software |
Stellarium is a FREE open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go. It can also be configured in terms of location, date and time. That means that you can view the sky at a particular ground location you want, say for example, Manila. You can also view past events in the sky like the lunar eclipse last June 15, 2011 by just configuring the actual date and time of the event. This is highly recommended for Freshmen Teachers. A very ideal teaching tool for astronomy!!!
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| A Look into the Sky Using Stellarium |
Stellarium is a FREE software and you can download it from stellarium.org (www.stellarium.org). A portable stellarium software is also available for download at (http://portableapps.com/apps/education/stellarium_portable).
J. Freigh
