People from Brazil and The United States together to observe the Sky
People from Brazil and The United States together to observe the Sky
For the first time, participants from the Astronomy sector of the PRÓ-VIDA Laboratory in the United States organized a live broadcast to observe the sky. The meeting took place on July 17, with friends from Brazil, all attracted by the pleasure of appreciating the stars, of talking about the universe. More than that, pleasure in being together.
Three telescopes were used in the observation: one of them in the city of Boituva, in São Paulo (Brazil), and the other two in the city of Cedar Hill, in Texas (USA). The images obtained were transmitted live to more than 70 participants in various cities from both countries, with explanations about each of the bodies observed. The activity was designed and transmitted in English by the US Laboratory team.
The weather conditions were favorable for the observations. At times when the sky became cloudy in Texas, the telescope in Boituva did not face the same obstacle. Thus, it was possible to see the moon in its crescent phase, that is, when only half of its illuminated face is facing the earth. This is the ideal time to observe craters, due to the great contrast between shadow and light. The difference in perspective was highlighted when viewed from the Northern Hemisphere in relation to the Southern Hemisphere. One of the telescopes in Texas, set for greater magnification, showed some craters. The planets Jupiter and Saturn were visualized and also celestial bodies from “deep space,” that is, they are beyond the limits of the Solar system. Among them are nurseries of stars and stellar clusters, so-called globular clusters, within our Milky Way.
In addition to the Milky Way, the Whirlpool Galaxy was observed, 23 million light years away from us. Light from this galaxy has been traveling towards us for 23 million years, and that night it reached our eyes. It left its source of origin, its galaxy, in the Neogene period, when the current terrestrial continents didn’t even exist. The sky observation activity went beyond an exchange of knowledge between the participants. It became a moment of conversation among friends, with everyone looking at the same point and having the opportunity to reflect on aspects that inspire us, daily more and more, to feel the grandeur of the universe.
