100 Hours of Astronomy in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico participates of Around the World in 80 Telescopes event by Carmen Pantoja and Mayra Lebrón

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1 100 Hours of Astronomy in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico participates of Around the World in 80 Telescopes event by Carmen Pantoja and Mayra Lebrón The preparation for the 100 Hours of Astronomy in Puerto Rico started with the preparation of the video for the event: Around the World in 80 Telescopes. Arecibo Observatory, the largest single dish radio telescope in the world was selected as one of the participating observatories for this 24-hour webcast of the most advanced observatories on and off the planet. This represented an opportunity to involve young people in this International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) cornerstone project. In Puerto Rico we have denominated all our college level volunteers for the IYA2009 as Starry Messengers. Students from the School of Communication at the University of Puerto Rico prepared the 5 minute introductory video for this event under the supervision of Prof. Carlos Malavé (UPR). The group of 11 students made a preliminary visit to the Arecibo Observatory facilities in which they were given a presentation about the IYA2009, the cornerstone project of the 100 Hours of Astronomy and the special event of Around the World in 80 Telescopes. They also were given a presentation about Arecibo Observatory which discussed the characteristics of the telescope, the research and principal contributions from the Observatory. The day culminated with a guided tour of the facilities by the site Director Dr. Michael Nolan, including a close view of the instruments in the Gregorian dome. During this initial visit the students took pictures and film of the facilities, they were able to ask questions about the telescope and interact with the Arecibo Observatory staff. Based on this experience the group prepared a working plan for the preparation of the video. The students returned to the Observatory, a visit that included an overnight stay at the visitor facilities of the Observatory, they filmed the site under different lighting and sound conditions. The final elaboration of the video was done at the University of Puerto Rico. The webcast was viewed during the Puerto Rico 100 Hours of Astronomy event at the Museum of San Juan. This activity established new networks between the faculties of Natural Sciences, General Studies, the School

2 of Communication and the Arecibo Observatory, and strengthened existing networks between the University of Puerto Rico and the Arecibo Observatory fulfilling one of the goals of the IYA2009.

3 100 Hours of Astronomy in Puerto Rico Astronomy Exhibit at the XI Biennial Conference 2009: Access to Assistive Technology a Right for All. Convention Center, San Juan April 1-2, by Carmen Pantoja and Mayra Lebrón The 100 Hours of Astronomy Celebration started with an Astronomy exhibit at the XI Biennial Conference of Assistive Technology in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This conference gathers a diverse audience including educators, counselors, social workers, therapists, psychologists, lawyers, persons with physical disabilities, visually impaired or blind among others. This year some 600 persons assisted to the conference, 250 of these had some disability and 100 were blind. The theme of the conference is the access of assistive technology as a means to improve the quality of life of people with physical disabilities. Ms. Gloria Isidro, a graduate student in Education at the University of Puerto Rico and Ms. Marlena Castro, UPR graduate in Education who is blind presented an exhibit on Astronomy for people with visual impediments in the Interactive Zone of this Conference. The exhibit was aligned with the topics covered during the 100 Hours of Astronomy event in Puerto Rico and presented a tactile model that can be assembled of the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope. With this model it is possible to discuss the parts of the telescope in a tactile form. The images from the FETTU cornerstone project of the Crab and Vela Nebulae were adapted in color to improve the embossing using the Emprint embosser with the Tiger software. These tactile images were available together with the sounds of the Crab and Vela pulsars from the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics education webpage. This alternative exhibit presented the type of research that is being made at Arecibo Observatory. The exhibit also made use of the Earth+ software developed by Dr. Robert Shelton (NASA). This software can sample the colors from a jpeg image and assign to each color a sound. The user can explore the image with the cursor and

4 detect different features of the image using sound. The software was used to explore an image of Mars. The exhibit included three books in large print and Braille: 1)The International Year of Astronomy, 2)Galileo, 400 Years of History, 3) The Moon s of Jupiter. The visitors could also explore a tactile Moon map from AAC Core Concepts. A tactile image of the Mars Exploration Rover with a description was printed. Postcards of the 100 Hours of Astronomy event in Puerto Rico and Braille alphabets were distributed to the visitors. Some participants of the conference took the opportunity to use a solar filter to observe the Sun. The blind participant Mr. José (Manolo) Álvarez was motivated to experiment with new tecnologies for the blind, to test how they respond when pointed in different directions of the sky. He used his mobile phone camera and its screen reader application together with its mobile color recognizer and the voice software. This presentation contributed in fulfilling several of the IYA2009 goals. It made astronomy visible to a larger audience by targeting a specific conference and making the materials available to the public at a convenient location and it contributed in the development of new educational material for persons with visual impairments or blind.

5 100 Hours of Astronomy in Puerto Rico Mars Exploration Rover exhibit at the Museo de San Juan. April 2-5, Mayra Lebrón and Carmen Pantoja Thousands of persons came to visit the Museo de San Juan between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on April 2-5, A full-scale model of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) was displayed at the Museo de San Juan in Puerto Rico during the 100 Hours of Astronomy. The public had the opportunity to have a close view of this fascinating robotic explorer and learn about the discoveries made by the rovers which at present are on the surface of Mars (Spirit and Opportunity). This unique exhibit came to the island through a coordination between Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium (NASA), the University of Puerto Rico and the Municipality of San Juan. Many persons collaborated in making this event a success. One of the highlights was the direct contact between the public and the team of experts present on site each day ready to inform and answer questions. This team of volunteers included two JPL engineers (Carolina Barltrop and Alfonso Herrera), Astronomers, Physics Professors, Physical Sciences Professors, College Students ( Starry Messengers ) and Amateur Astronomers. This team included faculty and students from the two largest Universities of the island: University of Puerto Rico and Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. The rover was displayed in the interior patio of the Museum of San Juan and the event was packed with exciting astronomy activities including several hands-on activities for children. The activities included the following: 1) Centerpiece of the event: Display of MER. 2) Oral Presentation of the MER by JPL engineers Carolina Barltrop and Alfonso Herrera followed by question and answer session. 3) Construction of paper models of NASA explorers for children.

6 4) Construction of Solar Clock for use in Puerto Rico. 5) Exhibit of Adapted Astronomy Materials for persons with visual impairments or blind. 6) Exhibit of Galileo s astronomical discoveries. 7) Display of Telescopes - refractor, reflector and Sunspotter. 8) Activity with children: the Rover Race - children were introduced to the concepts of design and execution of commands for the Rover. 9) Telescope workshop - experts answered questions and gave advise to the public regarding telescopes. 10) Mars Videos - Viewing of MER mission videos followed by question and answer session. 11) Presentation of the IYA2009-Puerto Rico Galileo song ( Seis de Galileo ). 12) Distribution of specially prepared lithograph for this event: MER lithograph with information in Spanish and with IYA2009 logo. 13) Distribution of IYA2009 bumper sticker. 14) Distribution of small stickers: I saw the Rover, I saw the Sun 15) Distribution of NASA lithographs of: Sun, Jupiter, Jupiter s Moons, Mars. 16) Distribution of NASA astronomy calendar, NASA teachers guides ( Suited for Spacewalking ). 17) Display of astronaut spacesuit. 18) Activity with children: Assembling a Solar System Puzzle. 19) Activity of Solar Observations - observation with optical telescopes and with solar filters. This exhibit drew the attention of a diverse audience. Some visitors came because of the advertisement of the Rover on TV, newspaper or radio. Others came to visit because the display took place at a convenient location of Old San Juan. Families, San Juan residents, teachers with their students, children, young persons, senior citizens, tourists and people from all over the island came together and made this a memorable 100 Hours of Astronomy event.

7 100 Hours of Astronomy in Puerto Rico Observations with Optical Telescopes from Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Puerto Rico. by Mayra Lebrón and Carmen Pantoja During April 2-5, 2009 the two groups of amateur astronomers of Puerto Rico: Sociedad de Astronomía de Puerto Rico (SAPR) and Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe (SAC) set up their telescopes at the grounds of Castillo San Felipe del Morro fort. This area, overlooking the San Juan bay, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The fort dates back to The general public gathered early each day and enjoyed this beautiful setting. The public was mostly integrated by families: children, parents, and grandparents and other relatives. Many students participated and many clubs such as boy and girl scouts. The public enjoyed three consecutive evenings of telescope night observations culminating with the worldwide observations of SUN-day. The volunteers that provided the telescopes included the amateur societies: SAPR, SAC, the University of Puerto Rico, and the Universidad Interamericana. Astronomers, university professors of Physics and Physical Sciences, Engineers and very knowledgeable amateurs interacted with a very inquisitive audience. The evening of the 4th of April drew the largest crowd with over one thousand persons and over 40 telescopes of different sizes available for peering into the skies. This day we also counted with the valuable help of a group of 26 Elementary and Middle school teachers from 13 different schools (education project MST21 directed by Dr. Dorcas Torres - Universidad Interamericana). These teachers are participating of a series of workshops to improve their skills in science and math. The 100 Hours of astronomy was incorporated into their training. The teachers did a wonderful job of working with their telescopes and communicating astronomy concepts to the public. Each day the public received NASA lithographs of the

8 Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Jupiters Moon s. Those who saw Saturn or the Moon received an I saw Saturn or I saw the Moon stickers. The public learned to identify constellations and stars which were identified by the amateurs by means of a laser pointer. The highlight on the evening of April 4th was the view of the International Space Station which described a trajectory over the Castillo de San Felipe del Morro fort and a large audience could share the experience. This moment was even more significant since during the month of March Puerto Rico followed closely NASA s STS-119 mission in which an astronaut of Puerto Rican heritage (Joseph Acabá) traveled for the first time. On Sunday April 5th the day was dedicated to solar observations. The public was advised with respect to safe solar observing. The Sun was observed by projection and through telescopes with solar filters although part of the day was cloudy. The NASA lithograph of the Sun and the sticker I saw the Sun with a design of the Sun made by the Taíno indians (found in petroglyphs in Puerto Rico) were distributed. This 4 day event helped to promote observing experiences in our community. It was an opportunity to communicate the astronomical discoveries of Galileo to a general audience. New networks were established between the community, teachers, astronomers, professors and amateur astronomers.