Outreach Update

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue6 1–31 July 2020

National Science Week is 15-23 August and there are BIG things planned. We are working with the ACT National Science Week Coordinating Committee on an out-of-this-world event: Canberra’s very own Satellite Selfie!

All 450,000+ Canberrans will be invited to ‘attend’ from their school, home or workplace and position themselves outside for a giant photograph taken from space!

The satellite will have three flyovers across National Science Week, and we encourage everyone to create something outside on the ground, either at home or work (or both!) that can be seen from space. This could be a name, message, picture, or just everyone outside wearing the same colour ⁠— the sky’s the limit. The satellite image is at a resolution of 50cm which means that details of individuals cannot be seen but your creative works can be if they're big enough. The flyovers will occur between 10am-2pm from Monday 17th-Friday 21st. The exact dates and times of the flyovers will be released in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on the National Science Week ACT Facebook and website for more information, including instructions for making a sign big enough and additional activities.

If you have ideas for something we could do at Mount Stromlo, let us know!

In other news, we have continued doing talks on Facebook Live for students, teachers, families, and adults. You can find recordings of our latest talks (listed below) on our Facebook page in the “Astronomy at Home” playlist.

 Staci Pearlman: “Constellation Storytime: Orion, Scorpius, and the Pleiades”

Staci Pearlman: “Constellation Storytime: The Southern Cross, the Emu In The Sky, and the Jewel Box”

Rajsekhar Mohapatra: “Lifestory of a Galaxy”

 You can also find recordings of past talks on the RSAA website.

 

At our June public night, RSES PhD student Geoff Bonning talked about “Asteroids and Meteorites” and PhD student Eloise Birchall talked about the “Building Blocks for Baby Planets”. Our next (online) public night will be on 17 July.

 We are also continuing our Sunday Space with the Canberra Times.

On June 21st, undergraduate student Tegan Clark talked about light pollution and its effects on astronomy and wildlife.

On June 28th, Alex Wallace explained how to tell the difference between a star and a planet in the night sky.

 Back on April 26th, Eloise Birchall also detailed the recipe to make a star.

 

If you’d like to be involved in any outreach, such as giving a talk on Facebook Live or writing an article for Sunday Space, please email outreach@mso.anu.edu.au