Students and teachers of the Josep Lladonosa High School (Lleida) spent this past September 22 observing the sunset (19:55h) at the Seu Vella to show that, during the autumn equinox, it takes place exactly in the west (it is not usually the case, as they will show in a few months). In addition, they had a small astronomical debate where they talked about general astronomical topics such as the spectacular opposition of Jupiter, the Dart mission, which would take place on Monday, September 26, the Artemis mission, general astronomical observation...
Crèdit: INS Josep Lladonosa
This day led to the introduction of the "Faulkes Telescope Project in Catalan schools" to 2nd year ESO students. With the telescopes offered by this project, professor Andreu Arbó was able to photograph Jupiter and some of its satellites. These observations of the planet together with images of Dr. Toni Santana Ros (pedagogical project director) and other observatories of the impressive Dart mission were a starting point that promoted a debate of the implications of astronomy in the classroom.
The thing is that beyond the scientific and engineering perspective that these missions entail, which will surely bring many technological improvements, there is a humanistic point of view as well: Humanity can protect all life, with its diversity , and "natural tranquility" on Earth. We have the potential to avoid the same fate as dinosaurs and other mass extinctions caused by asteroid impacts. We just need to put our intelligence and effort to use in the pursuit of good things with ethics and morals, moving away from the hedonism and pride that has often led to destructive actions in the world...
The "Faulkes" Project brings high-level technology, in this case astronomy, to the classroom. It is necessary to take advantage of these tools with an efficient pedagogical vision (without moving away from the curriculum and also without building castles in the air). Only by aiming high can we see the stars shine, in our case: the students!