Tuesday, December 9, 2008

"Nyota" for kids " The Universe is bigger than all of us", Venus, Moon and Jupiter



Young professionals and children in Kenya had a celestial treat this month. From 1st December 2008, we have had star gazing sessions with young children and professionals. The month begun with a chance to engage young children and members of the public in astronomy. 

The children were amazed that the two "stars" were actually planets, Venus and Jupiter. Some said the site reminded them of a smiling face with two eyes while others insisted that the site looked like a smile with two dimples. "Wow". Since then we have had to invite them for more sessions. 

Asking them which of the three celestial bodies is biggest, some of the really young children shouted "the moon", while the older ones said Jupiter. Explaining to them why the big planet appears smaller and dimmer while our moon appears much bigger made them ask more questions.



The children then had a chance to look at the moon with the aid of the telescope and were impressed by the craters and mountains they saw. They were shocked to see the full moon and not the crescent shaped moon. we explained to them why we only saw the crescent shaped moon. It was fun explaining to the children how the telescope works. They really enjoyed looking through the telescope and wondering whether there was life out there. Some actually asked if there was life in the moon and the planets. 

The children have to run back home and as they are heading home, some start discussing how they would love to travel to the moon some day. These children are aged between ten and two and live next to the Hands-on Universe Africa/Universe Awareness Kenya donated office. I have made new friends and hopefully through this science they may be inspired to become scientists in my country. the fact that they have asked the question why gives me enough satisfaction for that day.



We are able to see five planets with our unaided eye, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest of the five partly because, Venus is the closest planet to our own while Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. Jupiter and Venus are actually far apart although they may appear close. They are approximately 800 million kilometers apart. 



For the children, it was a short treat but it was worth it. The sponsors were eager to see how the bodies look through the 4.5 inch reflector telescope that they donated. It was exciting for them when they saw the detail on some of the bodies we looked at. A discussion on astronomy issues followed, some tried to remember the few astronomy classes they took many years back.

This experience was made possible by Pulse Health Care who donated the telescope