the status of astronomy education, … status of astronomy education, research and public outreach...
TRANSCRIPT
THE STATUS OF ASTRONOMY EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND PUBLIC OUTREACH IN THE PHILIPPINES
1. THE PHILIPPINES AND ASTRONOMY
2. ASTRONOMY EDUCATION 4. PUBLIC OUTREACH
5. FUTURE OF PHILIPPINE ASTRONOMY
We present the state of Philippines astronomy in terms of education, research and public outreach. We discuss the modern history of astronomy, educational institutions that are involve in astronomy, previous scientific researches conducted and current activities done by amateur astronomy groups to increase public awareness. It is the aim of this work to identify current challenges and potential areas for astronomy development in the country.
Rogel Mari Sese1
1 Astrophysics Laboratory, Physics Division, Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics, University of the Philippines Los Banos, College, Laguna 4031 PHILIPPINES
*E-mail: [email protected]
3. ASTRONOMY RESEARCH
The 45-cm telescope of PAG-ASA
Disk-plane orientation
Extended IR source
The Phil ippines is an archipelago composed of 7,107 islands located in Southeast Asia. Due to its location, it is frequently battered by typhoons and other calamities.
Modern astronomy in the Philippines in 1897 at the Observatorio de Meteorologico de Manila. Today, the Phi l ipp ine Atmospher ic , Geophysica l and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) is the government-mandated institution to handle and promote astronomy-related activities in the country. It maintains the largest telescope in the Philippines, a 45-cm GOTO telescope, and conducts astronomy lectures.
Institution Program Specialization University of the
Philippines Los Baños
BS Applied Physics
Computational Astrophysics,
Optical and Radio Astronomy
University of the Philippines Diliman
BS Physics MS Physics
Ph.D. Physics
Theoretical Astrophysics
Rizal Technological University
BS Astronomy Technology
MS Astronomy
General Astronomy, Astronomy Education
University of San Carlos BS Physics Planetary Astronomy Mindanao State
University – Iligan Institute of Technology
BS Physics MS Physics
Ph.D. Physics
Astroparticle Physics
Basic astronomy is taught in elementary and high school as part of the science curriculum. There are only several universities directly involved in astronomy education on the tertiary level. Most of these are done under different physics programs of the university.
Lack of research f a c i l i t i e s a n d astronomers with graduate degrees h a m p e r e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f astronomy research in the past.
Most public outreach activities are conducted by amateur astronomy groups such as the Philippine Astronomical Society (PAS) and the Astronomical League of the Philippines (ALP). Despite the boom of social networking sites, it still hasn’t been utilized to promote astronomy. Mobile phones have greater penetration rate and might be a more viable tool for increasing astronomy awareness.
The Philippines develop a long-term strategic plan on astronomy development in various sectors and identify areas for research and modes of communication.
Previous researches includes, discovery of Red Spot Jr., muon detection from cosmic rays, massive star formation, cosmology and ethnoastronomy. Due to weather conditions, the Philippines’ main area for research development are computational astrophysics, archival data analysis and radio astronomy.
REFERENCES: http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph, The State of Philippine Astronomy: Challenges and Opportunities (in preparation) SPP2011