THIS time, I'm presenting to high school seniors! And it's May! Surely their brains are already out the door by now? I'm more than a little bit scared, but I think I'll be okay. Once again, my sun talk is the preface to a star party, but it's an opportunity to get the word out about the upcoming Transit of Venus that I can't let pass. And, yes, I am working toward hosting an actual solar party.
Talk is short and to the point; safe solar observing, the Transit, the 2nd Anniversary of SDO...
Wow! Is it ONLY two years?? That's simply amazing to me.
Not sure if any photos will be forthcoming. We're a small outreach group, so everybody tends to be busy with something. If they don't eat me alive, I'll post a follow up report. :unsure:
Heading out to my 2nd outreach this evening
-
swisswalter
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 17948
- Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:28 am
- Location: Switzerland
- Been thanked: 1 time
- Contact:
Re: Heading out to my 2nd outreach this evening
Hi Jan
good luck. Looking forward to your report.
good luck. Looking forward to your report.
Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE 
from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch
from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa
from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch
from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa
-
marktownley
- Librarian
- Posts: 42614
- Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
- Location: Brierley Hills, UK
- Has thanked: 20908 times
- Been thanked: 10564 times
- Contact:
Re: Heading out to my 2nd outreach this evening
Good luck Jan! Looking forward to hearing how you got on
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
-
Wissixwe
Re: Heading out to my 2nd outreach this evening
Report: 50-60 people attended the star party, mostly students. Turned out the event was open to all students in the senior high school who were members of their astronomy or science clubs, so the group was a mix of freshmen, juniors and seniors. Since we were blessed with a nice clear, calm sky, my presentation was brief and well-received. Other presentations were about Dark Matter and the Mars Pathfinders. The highlights for the kids were 1) two small meteorites were given as door prizes, and 2) surprisingly good conditions to treat them to their first real views of the Universe, with Saturn being the big hit.
Cute footnote: I set up a "Goodies" table for the kids to select what they wished from, even providing big ziplock bags to secure their loot in. Despite a lot of posturing about being "too cool" to take those eclipse and 3-D glasses, I noticed one after another kid coming to the table and slipping a thing or two inside hoodies. Kids!!!
Next time, I will supply bags that you can't see through, so they can hide what they selected.
About the meteorites: I'm fortunate that one of my astronomy clubs has a well-connected "sales table" manager, who has found sources to get vials of small meteorite fragments for a very modest price. I get those and then separate the fragments, placing them into small plastic containers, label them and attach a copy of the information about the fragment. It's a small personal investment that I make which pays me back in delighted kids who get them.
Cute footnote: I set up a "Goodies" table for the kids to select what they wished from, even providing big ziplock bags to secure their loot in. Despite a lot of posturing about being "too cool" to take those eclipse and 3-D glasses, I noticed one after another kid coming to the table and slipping a thing or two inside hoodies. Kids!!!
Next time, I will supply bags that you can't see through, so they can hide what they selected.
About the meteorites: I'm fortunate that one of my astronomy clubs has a well-connected "sales table" manager, who has found sources to get vials of small meteorite fragments for a very modest price. I get those and then separate the fragments, placing them into small plastic containers, label them and attach a copy of the information about the fragment. It's a small personal investment that I make which pays me back in delighted kids who get them.