Lunar Eclipse, 28 August 2007 August 20, 2007
Posted by astroed in Astronomy.add a comment
There will be a total lunar eclipse visible from Australia on Tuesday 28 August. The entire eclipse will be visible from south-eastern Australia, starting at about 18:50 whilst for those in Western Australia the Moon will already be in eclipse as it rises. This is the last total lunar eclipse visible in its entirety from Australia till 2011. The timing of this eclipse makes it convenient for students to view. It is clearly visible with the unaided eye but will also look great through binoculars or small telescopes. Try photographing it with a digital camera – some of the links provide more details.
The Astronomical Society of Australia has prepared a factsheet about the eclipse for download.
The CSU Remote Telescope will be broadcasting live images from 17:50 AEST and continue until approximately 23:25 AEST.
Some other handy sites include Sydney Observatory’s Monthly Sky Guide & Podcast, NASA’s Eclipse page and Southern Sky Watch.
National Science Week Events August 15, 2007
Posted by astroed in Astronomy, Education.add a comment
National Science Week runs from Saturday 18 to Sunday 26 August 2007. There are activities running around the country so check the website for details.
Macquarie University and CSIRO are running a series of astronomy events under the banner Macquarie – Centre of the Universe. Their observatory will be open for night sky viewing, there will be a special double feature of IMAX films – Solarmax and Descent to Titan and some great talks. Professor Fred Watson from the Anglo-Australian Observatory and well known to ABC Radio listeners will host a panel of experts discussing Telescopes of the Future. Professor Joe Silk, a cosmologist from Oxford University will talk about The dark side of the Universe.
Will Mars be as big as the Moon? August 9, 2007
Posted by astroed in Astronomy, Education, ICT, Skepticism.add a comment
This question has become an occupational hazard for those of us working in astronomy education and public outreach. Each year in July and early August we receive emails from the public – some tentative, others skeptical, some just wanting to know. There are variations on the question but all ask whether Mars really will appear as big/large/bright/close as the Moon in the sky in late August.
How did this question arise?
It dates back to the opposition of Mars in August 2003. An opposition occurs when a planet outside the orbit of Earth (that is Mars and beyond) is opposite the Sun in the sky. From Earth the planet therefore is visible all night, reaching maximum elevation at midnight. More importantly for observers the planet is at its closest to Earth so also appears at its brightest. Due to the elliptical orbit of planets, some oppositions bring them closer to Earth than others. This is particularly the case with Mars as its orbit is lightly more elliptical than the other planets.
The email doing the rounds mentions August 27 but omits the year so it is easily recycled year after year. Rather than dismissing the email out of hand though, use it as a timely, useful exercise in critical thinking and investigation in the classroom. Don’t answer the student questions, get them to think how they can go about finding out if it is true, where Mars will be in the sky, how far away it will be and how large it will appear. This is a great Problem-Based-Learning exercise. It draws on several skills and blends reading with simulations, some ratios and mathematics and modelling.
Several sites have background on the hoax email and the misconceptions:
- ABC Science page on the Mars email
- Universe Today page on the topic
- Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy site (excellent coverage of many misconceptions and hoaxes)
- Snopes page
Free programs such as the open-source Stellarium are also a great way to let students explore what the sky will look like in late August.
Exploring this email could easily take up one or more lesson but will be time well spent in developing students’ questioning and thinking skills. Let me know if you try it.
