A State of Philippine Astronomy

It is a sad fact that astronomy in the Philippines is subject to a power play between institutions, societies, and individuals - a thing we can do without in order for progress to happen.

I've been interested in astronomy since childhood and upon entering college took the nearest thing - physics. I maintained my passion for astronomy while enrolled in physics, and have enjoyed sharing it with my classmates and other students. I got in contact with astronomy enthusiasts and amateur astronomers via the internet who were also enthusiastic to share their insights and experiences. I eventually learned about the first astronomy program in the country in the Philippines for undergraduate and graduate studies. Because of my passion for astronomy I decided to take it. Later I got oriented with the astronomy societies in the Philippines, and later the rivalries between them. I affiliated with one group but still hold a stand to remain neutral since I was more into it for the science and involvement. Several individuals also hold a neutral stand, but sadly some individuals refuse to affiliate themselves with the other parties.

Eventually I worked for RTU as an instructor for the Department of Earth and Space Sciences. However, there came a time when other institutions looked down on our department also due to its new nature. Other individuals eventually came into the picture who appear to be too competitive that they assume positions of leadership and coordination for astronomy but fail to include or reach out to others. Even government institutions themselves appear to have a conflict of interest when it comes to astronomy. There came instances when PAGASA, the government's arm for astronomy, was side tracked by other branches of the DOST.

All these power plays result to misrepresentation in the international scientific community, lack of opportunities for students and astronomy enthusiasts (neutral or not), and lack of direction for progress and development in the country.

Now, complaining like this would surely get some eyebrows raised or hit some individuals; even put my career at risk by getting on some individuals' radar. However, if anyone contests, then PLEASE DO PROVE ME WRONG by showing that cooperation can happen. That ASTRONOMY IS FOR ALL and does not belong to a single individual, society, or institution. That competition is alright as long as it is FAIR and HEALTHY. If you are more qualified than others, help rather than pull down. Leave the politics to politicians, and focus on the science. After all, most of the programs we implement are geared to reach out.

Lastly, I wish to end my idealistic ranting with a quote from the Keck Observatory, "The process of science is not complete until it is shared with others."

Unboxing the Meade LX850

We just unboxed RTU's newest telescope (and now also RTU's largest), the 14" Meade LX850. This telescope is designed as a sophisticated automated astro-imaging system. I've been given instruction to have it field tested soon and I can't wait to try it out.

Congratulations: 2nd batch BS Astronomy Technology

Congratulations to the second batch of BS Astronomy Technology students of RTU. The faculty of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences are proud of you!

21 April 2013 - Solar Observation

It has been currently very hot here in Manila, Philippines with temperatures exceeding that of the previous years. Makes me want to wonder more about its relation to the current solar maxima. Anyways, I decided to take my telescope out to observe the Sun.

Here you can see two of the rapidly emerging sunspot groups - active regions 1726 and 1727 - in the Sun's Northern Hemisphere.

International Dark Sky Week

April 5-11 is the International Dark Sky Week. It is part of the Global Astronomy Month celebration, and a program of the International Dark-Sky Association, that seeks to share the beauty of the night sky and at the same time raise awareness on the issue of light pollution.

Light pollution is not just a problem for astronomers, but it is also a problem that affects the environment, the energy sector, as well as our health.

Part of the efforts to make others aware of dark-sky preservation is the measurement of light pollution levels as well as sharing wonderful images of the night sky in a vantage point of a dark site. I decided to upload some of my astrophotos of various starfields in the Philippines to aid in dark-sky awareness.

Dark-skies from Tuding, Baguio City

Late night sky from RTU, Mandaluyong. Sky is still sufficiently bright due to urban lighting.

Ursa Major region taken from Taytay, Rizal

Dark skies from Laguna

PAGASA observatory, Quezon City

Night sky from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

Moonrise

I took some time with my mom to visit the Silliman Beach in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, to await the Moonrise. The sky finally became favorable allowing me to do some imaging. The site was also very good; the sea to the East and the Silliman farm to the West. I did some long-exposure images of the sky (w/o a tripod) while waiting for the Moon to rise.

Eventually, the Moon's red glow started to illuminate the East. The edge of the horizon was slightly obstructed by the island of Siquijor from a distance. The Moon's red color happens as a result of the refraction of light rays from the Sun by the atmosphere of the Earth in what we call atmospheric lensing. The light is bent into its component colors with red being the dominantly bent among the colors of the spectrum. This same phenomena of refracting light happens during a total lunar eclipse. As the Moon slowly rises into the sky its light will turn orange, yellow, and then white.

Re-processed M45

I got one of my old images and applied what I have learned so far in image processing. This is a single frame, unguided, image of the Pleiades Open Cluster taken from Taytay, Rizal. I hope to do a long-exposure image of this region sometime to bring out more of the surrounding reflection nebula.