Students from Pedro Aguirre Cerda learned how the Moon was born

Students at the Dávila Consolidated School expanded their knowledge of Earth's natural satellite.

The Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies (CATA) (ANID Basal Center) gave a talk entitled “How was the Moon born?” at the Escuela Consolidada Dávila school in the municipality of Pedro Aguirre Cerda. More than 50 tenth-grade students attended the presentation given by Tracy Catalán, astronomer and outreach specialist at our Center.

The activity sought to answer questions about the origin of Earth’s natural satellite for the school’s students, as well as to spark a conversation about the different theories surrounding this milestone, creating an educational and participatory space. “We finally came to the conclusion that the most likely explanation is that there may have been a planet similar to Mars that collided with Earth, which ended up giving rise to the Moon,” explained Tracy Catalán.

The astronomer highlighted the students’ participation as “a very enjoyable and entertaining experience. In between, we looked at other theories that were considered in the past, as well as more recent ones that have been ruled out.”

The Escuela Consolidada Dávila school appreciated our institution’s visit to their establishment. “The activity was very interesting, and Tracy was very helpful. The students understood the topic and remembered the process of the Moon’s creation, as well as other information that was provided during the talk,” said María Paz Huaiquil, a physics teacher at the school.

Finally, the teacher highlighted the role of our Center in scientific outreach activities. “I think it is extremely significant that CATA gave the talk, as the school is a technical-professional school and many students enter it to start working as soon as they finish high school, so often there are no further prospects. Therefore, opening up spaces of this kind, allowing them to meet astronomers and professionals from other fields, are excellent activities for opening up new worlds,” she concluded.