Wednesday, September 2, 2009

IYA2009 Philippine Olympiad

The National Organizing Commitee of the IYA2009, in cooperation with UP NISMED, will be holding the first IYA2009 Philippine Olympiad. The Olympiad is open to both secondary and collegiate level, both competing in their respective levels. The Olympiad will be conducted in two stages: a regional and a national.

The regional eliminations will be held simultaneously in 17 regions of the country. The eliminations has been postponed to November 7. The finals will be held at UP-NISMED, Quezon City on 11 December 2009


You can download the registration form here:
http://www.astronomy2009.ph/cgi-bin/download.pl/files/pdf/astroolympiad-registrationform.pdf

For more details visit the IYA2009 Philippines Official Website.

For queries please contact Dr. Merle C. Tan, Director of UP-NISMED and Chairperson of the IYA2009 Olympiad at telephone numbers 981-8500 loc. 3901 to 3910, 927-4276 and 928-1563 or through olympiad@astronomy2009.ph.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Online Astronomy for Philippines

One of the problems for those who engage in astronomy in the Philippines is the archipelago itself. It is hard to involve yourself in an astronomy community when you are seperated by islands.

The best thing for those who can't afford to travel much is to be updated via the net. And with the rise of social networks such as friendster, facebook, etc., I thought of coming up with an astronomy oriented social network.

The network would allow us to be more interactive in comparisson to a mailing list. Astronomical groups can post their activities and photos that can be shared with everyone else. In a way, we would be promoting astronomy in the Philippines.

The network is made in ning, a free social network:
www.astrophils.ning.com

Monday, July 13, 2009

Solar Eclipse

On July 22, there will be a total solar eclipse. However, for the Philippines, the eclipse is only observable as a partial solar eclipse.

The duration of the eclipse will be from 8:48 - 11:08 in the morning. Depending where you are in the Philippines, the maximum of the eclipse would be at around 49.3%. The Astronomical League of the Philippines will have an expedition to Wuhan, China to document the total solar eclipse. You can read about it in ALP's website (click the link on the sidebar).

Now, if you would browse the net, there are a lot of misconceptions on how to safely view a solar eclipse. It is UNSAFE to use the following, i repeat, UNSAFE:
color film, black and white film with no silver (chromogenic film), film negatives with images, smoked glass, sunglasses, photographic neutral density filters, and polarizing filters.

There are solar filters that can be used but you have to be sure those are the appropriate filters. Probably the safest way to view the solar eclipse is by projecting the image to a screen, however I advice you to do so with someone who has experience in solar projection/solar astronomy.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Meteor Shower

July's meteor shower will be the Delta Aquarids meteor shower.
Peak: July 28 10:09
Activity: --
Rate: --
Remarks: --
Constellation: Aquarius

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Silliman IYA2009 Group


Silliman University has organized a group that will handle IYA related activities. The group would allow students of Silliman (and hopefully including other schools) to participate and acheive awareness with regards to the International Year of Astronomy.

The group is to be under Junior Philippine Physics Society (JPPS) and is to be advised by Anatoly Karpov Buss. Although under the JPPS, the group is open to all students and orgs regardless of scholastic discipline.

If the activities turn out well, we would establish an Astronomical Society in Silliman. I have raised the suggestion to Raymund Ang of the Astronomical League of the Philippines (ALP) and he said that they are willing to be partners with the group.

I hope this will work out and be a success!
Clear skies!

Monday, March 23, 2009

First Phlippine Produced Astronomer

Congratulations to Dr. Armando Lee, the very first Filipino with an MS in Astronomy to finish in the Philippines. Dr. Lee is a graduate of RTU's MS Astronomy program.

Currently, there are 11 students in RTU's MS Astronomy program and less than 20 students in their BS Astronomy Technology degree.

I hope that many more astronomers will be produced in the Philippines!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Comet Lulin

For those who weren't able to view Comet Lulin, here are some images:




Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls

This image of comet Lulin (center-right) is seen through the trees from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, Monday, Feb. 23, 2009. Lulin, also known as the green comet, made its closest approach to the Earth overnight.




Image: SkyandTelescope.com




Image: Joseph Brimacombe