On July 13, in Puerto Rico, a summer workshop for undergraduate students was held at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in conjunction with the IYA2009. During the workshop the students learned basic principles of astronomy and prepared demonstrations for the general public. The workshop culminated with an open-house at the Arecibo Observatory Visitor Centre. Science was integrated with the arts in the form of posters exhibiting, poems from authors of the Caribbean which in some way have been inspired by the stars, the moon, the night, the sky or the sun.
Here's a release from the IYA2009 Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Puerto Rico with details on the workshop:
“'The Starry Messengers get prepared for the International Year of Astronomy 2009' (pdf)
by Carmen A. Pantoja and Mayra E. Lebrón Santos
The IYA-2009 preparations have started at Puerto Rico with a five day workshop
held at Arecibo Observatory in July 2008. During this workshop a group of enthusiastic
college students got ready to actively participate of the IYA-2009 events. This group of
volunteers constitute the Starry Messengers. The workshop sponsored by a NASA
IDEAS Grant focused on the astronomical discoveries of Galileo and the effort it took to
convince the world of the imperfections of the heavens. The NAIC/Arecibo Observatory
also supported this event. The students had the opportunity to chat with the US SPoC
Doug Isbell who encouraged them in their effort. As a preamble of what is to come in
2009, this workshop was packed with the excitement of being at the worldʼs largest
radio telescope while working on a variety of Astronomy activities which included
building the Project STAR refracting telescope and using it to observe the Moon and
Jupiter during the night, lectures by Arecibo Observatory staff astronomers about the
most important scientific discoveries made at Arecibo, familiarization with adapted
astronomy material for the blind (we had two blind participants). On Sunday July 13, the
students guided over 600 visitors to the Fundación Ángel Ramos Visitor Center through
the “Galileo Route”. This trail with eight exhibits introduced visitors to the IYA-2009. The
Starry Messengerʼs offered bilingual demonstrations and activities in Astronomy for the
family and distributed NASA lithographs of the Solar System to the visitors.
This workshop initiated several important collaborations for IYA-2009 at Puerto
Rico. As part of the “Galileo Route”, each exhibit also displayed a poem with an
astronomical theme. The selected poems were by poets from the Caribbean. This was
an opportunity for us to contact the Jamaica SPoC who kindly provided two poems by
members of their local astronomy club. A young poet from Aruba also kindly provided a
poem for our exhibit.
It was an opportunity to engage the two organizations of amateurs astronomers
of Puerto Rico in the IYA-2009 activities. Volunteers from these organizations set up
several optical telescopes with filters for solar viewing along the “Galileo Route” and
offered a lecture about Extra Solar Planets.
The students considered this workshop an unforgettable experience, they had
the opportunity to work with students from different disciplines, practice their public
speaking, learn about Astronomy and help create and arrange the “Galileo Route”. The
students are looking forward to a follow-up activity during this semester, a “Star Party”
workshop. This activity will be made in collaboration with the amateur societies of the
island. They are very motivated and excited about celebrating the IYA-2009.
The evaluation made by the visitors indicated this family event was excellent,
they enjoyed the activities and expressed interest in learning more about Galileo and
Astronomy. They considered the collaboration between the students and the
Observatory as very positive. According to the evaluation, the students distinguished
themselves for their knowledge and for being attentive and helpful with the public.
We are very proud of the achievements of the Starry Messengers, and we are
sure this group will help the IYA-2009 be a great success."
The Poems submitted by the IYA2009 Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for Jamaica, Stanley Smellie, representing the Astronomical Association of Jamaica (AAJ) are shown below, with links to pdfs of the posters.
"I The Sun" by Stephen England (pdf)
I have been here since the beginning of life
Though I descend into the horizon that never
ends.
I have seen the Lord himself
Taking the souls that has no wealth,
As I descend into the horizon that never ends.
One day I will die,
Leaving behind the light
That will forever descend into the horizon that
never ends.
-
Stephen England attended his first AAJ meeting at 12 yrs old and was inspired to pen his poem on the same night. His inspired piece received an award after he entered it in a competition based in the United States.
"Farewell Hale-Bopp!" by Gladstone C. Walling (pdf)
You cold and innate mass,
Travelling non-stop through the past eons,
Your gnarled ice-form growing from an ancient dust -----
A gas-form feasting on gravity’s strong scion
Hurled against the cosmic dash to that orbit’s cusp;
Growing dark mass, scooping matter out of that cloud
That mixed its ices from inertial frames of dust -----
A Snow-ball! Crusted with codes from a primeval past.
Knocked from the cold fingered
Clasp of airless dark space,
You were thrown with the vectored hand
That made the elliptic chase
Gravity grooved for your path
Of plus four thousand years.
Then inside our solar space
The gushing warmth of the sun’s embrace
Diffused your joyful tears
In streams against the twinkling stars.
“Stay with your tasks! But look to heaven and enjoy
In awe my mystic finery as I deploy
This transient beauty staged on the sun’s commands.
See my coma and my blue and sun-lit tails in strands ----
The shackles of death from which you wish to break free,
The pestilence and wars your frail minds charge to me.”
And now, farewell Hale-Bopp!
Do not let your clock stop
The period beat of your haste
Where time and mass shape your fate
In that eternal journey
To the cold embrace of stony
Cohorts in that primeval night,
Where changelings, once like you, will fight
The ancient keep to joust for orbits;
Wrestling the pull of Sun and Planets
Win journeys to the Sun where with unfurled sails
Of ices they preen their blue ion robes and dust-tails.
Gladstone C. Walling - ©June 3, 1997 - 27 West Road, UWI, Mona.
-
Mr Gladstone Walling has served as President of the Astronomical Association of Jamaica for over 13 years, also previously serving as Vice President for some time. In 2008 he was named President Emeritus and given life membership in the AAJ. He is still very active in the organization, giving exciting lectures at meetings and astronomy lessons at schools in Jamaica. Mr Walling is originally from the island of Antigua and is a specialist in Solar Eclipse and Sun Spot Photography Using His 10" reflector telescope.
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