Return

CATA workshop brings students closer to the stars

With a lecture and hands-on activities given by astronomers from the Center, students from Liceo Cervantes learned about the origin and evolution of galaxies.

How can the distance to the stars be measured? This was one of several questions to which, in a practical and playful way, the students of the Astronomy Workshop of Liceo Cervantes, who participated in an activity organized by the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies, CATA, were able to find an answer.

This is a group of students who have shown special interest in the study of science, particularly astronomy, and who are led by teacher Antonella Rojas. “I was asking the kids about options for extracurricular activities and astronomy was one of the most appealing. Besides, I’m a fan of the subject myself. So we talked and researched these topics. We are in the process of getting a telescope and generating some field trips. This type of activities, such as the one offered by CATA, is fundamental to provide us with knowledge and keep alive the interest in this subject. Besides, it is good that there are disseminators. Children now have a lot of access to information through social networks and astronomy has occupied an important place, which helps to increase awareness”, says the teacher of this traditional educational center in the Santiago district.

Expanding

The activity began with the talk “Expansion of the Universe”, by CATA Associate Astronomer Manuel Aravena. In it, students appreciated the evolution of knowledge about the cosmos, from how it was thought, not many years ago, that the Milky Way encompassed the entire universe, to more modern approaches such as the Big Bang.

Thus, with interesting theories and discoveries of great researchers such as Edwin Hubble and Georges Lemaître, they understood why the universe expands, cools and forms nuclei of atoms.

“Bringing astronomy closer to schoolchildren is essential to foster their scientific curiosity and develop key cognitive skills. By exploring the sky and astronomical phenomena, children not only learn about their place in the universe, but also stimulate their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Although the expansion of the universe is a very broad topic, we were able to see how, just a century ago, we came to the conception that the universe is larger than previously thought, that there were other galaxies, ours being just one among millions, and that it was expanding”, says Manuel Aravena, Associate Researcher at CATA and Professor at the Institute of Astrophysical Studies of the Universidad Diego Portales.

The interest in astronomy was demonstrated by the students who appreciated this type of activity. “I have always been interested in how the universe was formed, the theories, such as the Big Bang and the birth of the stars. It all started when I was in seventh grade and they made us read some books on astronomy and it said that by traveling looking for the light of the stars, in a way, one traveled to the past, because that light was generated many years ago and I find that fascinating. I like it a lot, it entertains me to learn these things. Afterwards, I tell my parents about it and we have topics to talk about”, says Isidora Bremes, a student in third grade B of this school.

Measuring distances with strings

After the talk, the students participated in the workshop “The size of galaxies”, with José Utreras, in charge of CATA’s Outreach Content. In this, they approached techniques where they used elements as basic as a protractor that measures angles and a piece of straw to measure the distance of the stars. This method was used before modern research technology existed.

Set up in the schoolyard, they measured the angles of movement of the stars with respect to the translation of the earth and, applying a mathematical formula, discovered the distance to their symbolic star.

“It is important for CATA to provide tools and activities that make astronomy more interesting for young people. It is already striking that they want to meet in groups and workshops in their schools and we have to take advantage of this interest to promote this type of knowledge even more. In these activities we noticed a great attraction of the students and we enhance it by approaching concepts with experiments that are very playful and participatory”, says José Utreras, in charge of CATA’s Outreach Content.

Utreras, who is also an astronomer at the Center, taught them to use more modern but easily accessible methods, such as a cell phone app, to calculate the luminosity of a star which, in this case, was a desk lamp.

“Since I was little I have liked space and everything that means exact sciences, the stars, the planets and, especially, I am impressed that things like black holes exist, because it is something so rare, that has been studied so little and that there was no evidence that they actually existed. This for me is a hobby for now, but I have thought a lot about studying something with the exact sciences. And with this type of activities one is more motivated, because one learns in an entertaining and easy way something that seems very complex”, he explains Pablo Yarse, 4th Grade A, Liceo Cervantes, another member of this workshop who hopes to continue to increase his passion for astronomy.

These types of activities are carried out regularly by CATA and the educational institutions that wish to participate in them should contact the Communications area of the Center.