Merry Christmas from Loulé

Students from Loulé visit the CosmoCaixa Planetarium (Barcelona, Spain)

Images of the features projected on the Planetarium

As part of a schooltrip to Cordoba, Barcelona, Valencia and Granada, all cities in Spain, the portuguese students from Escola Secundária de Loulé went on the 16 December 2008 to the Planetarium at CosmoCaixa Barcelona.

Our school - Escola Secundária de Loulé

Our Geographic Coordinates (24Set2008)

Today at Escola Secundária de Loulé students made a GPS activity. They have measured our geographic coordinates and obtained our coordinates: Latitude-37°8'33.01" N; Longitude - 8°1'3.56" W.

Studenst also learned the proinciples of the GPS system functioning and how to navigate using a GPS receptor.

The sunset on September 23rd

We took pictures of the Sunset on September 23rd (equinox day) in order to allow us to see the way sunsets change along the year.

Using the ancient way to find latitude (23Set2008)

Students have used the shadow of a pole to measure their local latitude.

Today the Sun is precisely over the Equator and therefore we can use the sahadow produced by a pole a noon to measure the latitude. The angle that the shadow produces at the top of the pole will be exactly the same as the latitude of the place.

Our students have obtained a latitude of 37º N. The fact that it is in the northern hemisphere was deduced by the fact that the shadow was produced in that direction (confirmed by a compass) which means that the Sun is South of the place.

Astronomical observation at Escola Secundária de Loulé (30-05-2008)

Last night students from Escola Secundária de Loulé's Astronomy Club joined to make an astronomical observation. M13, M57, Saturn and it's moon Titan, Jupiter and it's four galilean moons were some of the objects that could be seen in the sky.

This astronomical observation is also part of the project PVI-310 "Por trás do céu azul" of Program Ciência Viva.

Escola Secundária de Loulé's students that made the wind tunnel create website

The Escola Secundária de Loulé's students that made the wind tunnel have created a website to expose part of their work and results at http://aerodinamica.no.sapo.pt. As a task in progress the website already contains the essencial information (website-in Portuguese)

Developing contents from Project's work

Today students from Escola Secundária de Loulé have been working in class making project activities using ICT. Here is a picture of some of them working.

Astronomical Observation in Escola Secundária de Loulé-23/04/2008

Last night there was an astronomical observation at Escola Secundária de Loulé.

The sky was very clear and it was possible to see Saturn, Mars, M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster), M42 (Orion Nebula), M44 (Open Cluster-Praesepe-Latin name for "manger") and several other stars. The Moon was rising when the observation ended.

E.S.Loulé Students build a wind tunnel

A group of students from Escola Secundária de Loulé is finishing to build a wind tunnel to make aerodynamic studies on cars, airplaines and spacecraft models.

This group formed by Miguel Rocheta, Pedro Santos, Soraia Guerreiro, Tiago Santos and Pedro Costa is now testing the wind flux in order to guarantee proper conditions for measurements.

Working on the webpages and blog 18-04-2008

The Friday meeting of the Astronomy Club is a time for working on project activities.

The image is an example of informal work on the webdesign of the solar system webpages.

Astronomical Observation in Loulé -11/04/2008

Last night there was an astronomical observation at Escola Secundária de Loulé.

The sky was usually clear but with some occasional clouds. A crescent Moon was the first object to be observed. It was possible to see Saturn, Mars, M42 (Orion Nebula), Mizar and Alcor, The double star Polaris and several other stars. The adult students from the school's night classes had a chance to see the Moon and Saturn.

Help Move An Asteroid and Other Space-Related Opportunities

Source: Space Generation Advisory Council

If you’ve got some ideas about how to deflect an asteroid or comet heading towards Earth, there’s an opportunity out there to have your concept reviewed by some of the world’s top astronomers and physicists. The only restriction is that you must be a student or a young professional under the age of 33. (read more)

Galileo Returns to the Vatican

Source: Universe Today
Image: Galileo, oil painting by Justus Sustermans, 1637; in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Four centuries after Galileo Galilei was ordered by the Catholic Church to come to Rome and stand trial on suspicion of heresy, a statue of the Italian astronomer will be erected at the Vatican. 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, which celebrates 400 years since Galileo first used a telescope to study the heavens, and the Vatican plans to join in commemorating the anniversary. Galileo was condemned to house arrest by the Catholic Church in 1633 because his belief that the sun was at the center of the solar system, and not the Earth, contradicted the bible.
(more…)

Working on the webpages and blog-29-03-2008

Students of Escola Secundária de Loulé were working in the classroom creating contents for the blog and webpages. Though most of the work on these sections is extracurricular this was a classroom activity. The topic gravitation was a pretext for studying the tides and planetary motion.

First Star

This blog is a joint venture between Escola Secundária de Loulé (Portugal) and ITI e Liceo Tecnologico "G. Cardano (Italy).
It intends to be a place where people involved in the eTwinning project "Sharing Stars" post topics related to the project.