Artist:
University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy
Night time long exposure landscape photography. A man standing in a high place looking up in wonder to the Milky Way galaxy, photo composite.
PROGRAM: ASTRONOMY UP CLOSE
The University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy offers a variety of programs that give close views of the world of astronomy. The following list includes some possible programs that are available depending on which astronomers are available.
1.Nighttime stargazing: Join astronomers from the UH Institute for Astronomy and check out some of the wonders of the night sky. We provide the telescopes, binoculars, and experts.
Works for all ages, requires post-sunset time. (nighttime only)
2. Scale model solar system activity: Explore the solar system in a fun and interactive activity. Learn how big (or small) our home planet is, and how the sizes and distances of the planets in our solar system compare.
Requires a small indoor space to start the activity. Then we need a long (100’+) corridor or outdoor space to set up the model. Can be done on a walkway, field, sidewalk – completely portable.
All ages.
3. Daytime sun viewing: Learn a little about how the Sun works, and then view the Sun through specially filtered binoculars and telescopes. See sunspots, filaments and flares (if there are any). Requires outdoor area from which to view Sun. We provide all the equipment.
All ages.
4. Learning with Light: Get to know how astronomers learn what things in space are made of, and what their temperatures are. See how astronomers use the light given off by planets, stars, and galaxies to understand their composition and temperature.
This activity requires an indoor space and power. We set up electric lamps with various gases and attendees will use hand-held spectrographs to see the different colors of light they emit, and use that to figure out what they are. We can also show how we measure temperature using the colors of light from certain types of objects. We provide all equipment.
All ages.
5. The Phases of the Moon: An interactive, hands on activity to demonstrate what causes the phases of the moon. A brief (15 minute) introductory talk is followed by an activity using attendees to model the Sun, Earth and Moon.
All activities can be done by many of our astronomers, and we can transport to all islands.
