Astronomy for all: An approach from the point of view of the OACS / UNAH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5377/ce.v2i1.619Keywords:
Astronomical Observatory of Honduras, Astronomy Education, Astronomy OutreachAbstract
Astronomy is a science that attracts the attention of people of all ages and from a variety of views and interests. At the Central America Suyapa Astronomical Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (CASAO/NAUH), in addition to the general course of Introduction to Astronomy (AN-111) and the regular courses for a master´s degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics, three different academic outreach programs have become important after less than a decade of experience. “Visiting CASAO/NAUH”, a program for elementary and secondary schools, involves thrice-weekly astronomers’ presentations to groups of from 15 to 100 students and teachers; conferences on selected topics of astronomy, illustrated with real sky and astronomical images; opportunities to observe the Sun, Moon, and planets using a small telescope; and explanations of how contemporary astronomers do their observations, with comparisons drawn to the methods of observaing used by the Maya who once inhabited Central America.
On Fridays nights, the “Astronomical Nights Program”, intended for a general public of children, youth, and adults, involves visits to the astronomical observatory, where the visitors learn about the properties of astronomical bodies, the sky during the week, and the differences between making observations using telescopes and with naked eye alone. “Introduction to Astronomy @ Internet Program” is an online course disgned not only for school teachers but also for Central American college and iniversity students who are willing to learn more systematically on their own, using new technologies for studying the sky, the Solar System, the stars, galaxies and the Universe. In this paper I present a complete description of these programs at CASAAO/NAUH, and a discussion of how they contribute to the implementation of the IAU Resolution on the value of Astronomy Education.
Ciencias Espaciales 2(1) 2009 92-107Downloads
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