The next StAnD asteroid campaign (and the last for this school year) starts 23 April and runs until 19 May, in collaboration with IASC. If you haven’t tried this challenge, it’s not too late to sign up.
You don’t need any specific material, just a basic Windows configuration to download the software programme Astrometrica. Once you’ve grasped the basics and have tested yourself on sample image sets acquired by the Pan-STARRS telescopes in Hawaii, the chances are that you and your students will be hooked and will want to do more. This is because it’s a citizen science project, a unique chance for students to contribute to real scientific research by identifying and tracking asteroids — and possibly discovering new ones!
Antoine, a teacher in the French Aix-Marseille region, has encouraged two of his classes through two asteroid campaigns so far. He says “It was a bit of a pain at the start with the software and its parameters, but otherwise it’s great! Each session (of 1h15, or more if we can!), the students hope to find an asteroid. It’s a very rewarding participative activity.”
So yes, it can be tricky, and it might take a moment to ensure that the latest updates for the software are working, but Ana at NUCLIO is our dedicated expert, standing by ready to help you by email.
Find out more at StAnD Asteroid Search Campaigns. And if you’re a teacher interested in enabling your students to distinguish between true and false signatures of moving objects (not all moving objects are asteroids!) then join this campaign and contact us at iasc@nuclio.org.
