Students explore black holes with CATA

The event was led by astronomer and CATA outreach specialist Tracy Catalán at the María Griselda Valle School in El Bosque.

The Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies (CATA) held a talk entitled “Do black holes exist?” at the María Griselda Valle School in the municipality of El Bosque, where 40 students in their second to fourth years of secondary education participated in the activity presented by Tracy Catalán, an astronomer and science communicator from our institution.

The presentation sought to bring concepts of astronomy and these objects in the universe closer to students through accessible and educational language. “The talk sought to unravel the existence of black holes, how this idea was first proposed, and its evolution over time, until we found the scientific evidence to photograph them in 2019,” said Tracy Catalán.

The astronomer also appreciated the students’ reception of the activity. “It was an interesting event, they were very participatory and asked many questions. Many are in technical training, so there were students from different disciplines at the school, who sometimes find it difficult to approach science. They were incredibly motivated to have this opportunity and to be able to talk about these objects, which are so interesting and surrounded by so many myths,” said the CATA outreach specialist.

Since El Bosque was established, they have greatly appreciated visits from our Center. “It is important for centers such as CATA to visit schools to promote science, so that students can feel inspired and become much more interested in science, technology, and astronomy,” said Mariela Medina, the school’s Natural Sciences and Physics teacher.

The teacher also highlighted Tracy’s approachability and her presentation style. “We are grateful to Tracy for her willingness to teach us about the wonders of science, with an attitude that is approachable to students and fellow teachers. The students also responded positively to everything she shared. Many of them stayed after the talk to chat with her.”