Www.euhou.net [email protected] Hands-on Universe/Europe Ana Inés Gómez de Castro Universidad Complutense de Madrid

www.euhou.net [email protected]

Hands-on Universe/Europe

Ana Inés Gómez de Castro

Universidad Complutense de Madrid


¿What is EU-HOU?

European Union- Hands-on the Universe is an educational project to bring frontline astronomy (concepts) and instrumentation in the classroom (14-17 years old students)

Objectives: Renovate scientific education methods Bringing the excitement of scientific discovery

into the classroom to motivate scientific/technical studies among teenagers

At European-wide scale


BASICS:Project based on Astronomical Research because relevant discoveries

can be made with rather unexpensive instrumentation and basic scientific knowledge.

Project Milestones:

• Provide instrumentation to the School System Students carry out and process their own astronomical observations obtained either at the classrooms thanks to either a global system of robotic telescopes controlled through the internet or small telescopes and tools developed for the project (webcam systems, small radiotelescopes)

• Exercises and ProjectsPupils are introduced into open research problems associated to the European Research Space.


INSTRUMENTS FAULKES Telescopes:Two 2m optical telescopes located at profesional observatories and dedicated to educational projects in United Kindom. Pilot Schools participating in the project enjoy observing time at this facility during the duration of the project.

SALSA-ONSALA

The Onsala Space Observatory (Chalmers Technological University, Sweden) has develop a prototype of small radiotelescope that has been made available to the Pilot Schools to carry out real time observations through the internet.


WEBCAMs for small telescopes

The Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences has designed a cheap and easy to use system to record electronically astronomical observations obtained with small telescopes or efficient photographic elements. This allows students to process the data and understand some very basic technological problems.

Projects are related with variable stars, planets and simple geometric calculations.

The EU-HOU team has bought 160 (optics+electronic) equipments for the European Pilot Schools.


EXERCISES:

1. To observe the highly collimated jets from young Solar Systems and determine the characteristic ejection time. How planets can be formed in such an active environment? Is the Sun a “normal” star?

2. To observe and determine how the Sun orbits around the Galactic Center.

3. Are the planetary systems detected by now alike our Solar System?, if you could travel among them… which one would you pick up? How could you minimize the travelling time among many systems?

4. To sail into Space. Why are there launching windows for space missions? What is the effect of Solar radiation in Solar sails? Are rigging relevant?(Solar Systems “America’s” cup)


EXERCISE 1:

Observing jets from young Solar Systems.

Determining time scales: a 10 years long monitoring!

INSTRUMENT: FAULKES TELESCOPEDATA PROCESSED WITH SALSAJ


EXERCISE 2:

To detect/study the rotation of the Sun around

the Galactic Center.

Velocity=220km/s (792.000km/h)


EXERCISE 3: How do planetary systems look like?If you could travel among them? Which ones would you pick-up? Why?


EXERCISE 4

Sailing into Space. Why it is better to delay the launching

of a Space mission to certain launching windows?

How solar radiation may assist the navigation of Space Ships?

V

Vr

V

The rotational stream!!!

It takes much energy to sail against the stream!


…modifies the radial component ofthe velocity

Incident Radiation

S

S cos()

ru F

SOLAR RADIATION PRESSURE…


THE LARGEST THE SURFACETHE LARGESTMANOUEVERINGPOSIBILITIES!!!

How many hexagons are you able to fit in?


ORGANIZATION:

Both tools and exercises are free and available in the project web: www.euhou.net..

There is a coordinator per country who, in addition to develop resources coordinates the implementation in the local educational system.

There are European-wide training sessions for the Teachers in the Pilot Schools. We are testing levels and methods in Secondary/High School across Europe.

English is the basic language though tools manuals and exercises are being translated to all languages.

http://www.euhou.net/


THE FUTURE:

COMENIUS Network of Pilot Schools: funding training & meetings

MINERVA – IMAGING processing and testing (extending to biology)

MINERVA – Global Positioning (extending to Geographic coordinates)

SEEKING for Virtual Environments where students can meet to work together on scientific problems

PROBLEMS: •Language•Not enough funding to keep teams at work on several years scales.


THE EUROPEAN TEAM

Es-HOU : Pr Ana I. GÓMEZ DE CASTROUniversidad Complutense de Madrid, España

F-HOU : COORDINADORA Dr Roger FERLET - Dr Anne-Laure MELCHIOR Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Francia

Gr-HOU : Dr Margarita METAXAArsakeio High School, Grecia

It-HOU : Alessandra ZANAZZIFondazione IDIS-Città della Scienza, Italia

Pl-HOU : Pr Lech MANKIEWICZCenter for Theoretical Physics, Polonia

Pt-HOU : Dr. Rosa DORAN NUCLIO, Núcleo Interactivo de Astronomia,Portugal

Se-HOU : Dr. Cathy HORELLOUOnsala Space Observatory, Suecia

UK-HOU : Robert HILL

Armagh Planetarium, Reino Unido


INSTITUTOS/COLEGIOS PARTICIPANTES

Colegio BASEColegio BrainsColegio Joyfe

Colegio Los PeñascalesColegio Retamar

Colegio San José del ParqueColegio Santa María del Pilar

Colegio ValdeluzIES Fortuny

IES José ChurriguraIES Isabel la Católica

IES Marqués de SuancesIES MirasierraIES Pío Baroja

IES Rafael AlbertiIES Ramiro de Maeztu

IES San Juan de la Cruz

COORDINACIÓN HOU-ESPAÑAAna Inés Gómez de CastroFacultad de Ciencias Matemáticas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza de Ciencias 3; E-28040 Madrid, ESPAÑAemail: [email protected]/FAX: 913944615

mailto:[email protected]


Earth-Saturn: 2007

Earth-Saturn

Documents

Www.euhou.net [email protected] Hands-on Universe/Europe Ana Inés Gómez de Castro Universidad Complutense de Madrid