S'pore Sidewalk Astronomy

swimaniac · Post by **swimaniac** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:04 pm

rlow wrote: Perhaps it may not be necessary to spend money to rent a space or to publicise the sessions to the public. Lets just meet up and ob together. If we have regular monthly gatherings at one place, over some time, people will know about our regular gathering and they will know where to find us.

I am trying to see if we can get free publicity either in the newspaper or even on radio (public service message for IYA ?????) We can always write in to them and if they buy our idea..........

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Sun May 10, 2009 11:27 am

swimaniac wrote: ‹ Select ›
If I am not wrong, the is the "Shell Astro Challenge" falling on 29 May and Wee Kiong is one of the organisers (????)

.

Hi Vincent,

Thanks for the help!
Shell Astro Challenge is opens for all schools; I'm just one of the volunteer for my daughter school as the school wants to join in the fun.
BTW, more details up.

We are talking about doing a regular monthly sidewalk astronomy for the public, not the Astro-Challenge at a particular school on 29 May 09. Perhaps those who would like to help Lee can reply separately in his 'Shell Astro-Challenge' post. Wee Kiong, I am already helping out for another school on a different date for the Astro-Challenge, so I will skip this one.

Back to the sidewalk astronomy topic, I think Friday or Saturday is fine, so perhaps we can start on 30 May 2009 so as not to clash with the schools' Astro-Challenge event on 29 May 09. If someone wants to do some publicity, that is fine, but perhaps only if we have a more elaborate plan to put up many scopes and form a queue line etc. Another way is just to start small (like what Weixing did at Tampines), with a few people who share the same passion on the sidewalk astronomy idea. Others will join in, but it is good to start with a small core group to sustain it as a regular monthly activity.

Any suggestion on a good accessible public location for sidewalk astronomy? Here are some important criteria:
a. accessible to load/unload with available carpark lots nearby
b. accessible near MRT/bus stop for those who don't drive
c. relatively open clear view of sky
d. convenient facilities such as refreshment & toilet nearby

swimaniac · Post by **swimaniac** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:53 pm

Hi Richard
Thanks for your call this morning to clarify a few issues.

I am in agreement that we should start something first and get people to know about the sidewalk astronomy session before getting some "publicity".

Maybe we can have the first one in a park around the central area with carpark nearby and access to a MRT. Tiong Bahru(???) as discussed this morning would be good.

Anyone with other sites to suggest?

Post by **acc** » Sun May 10, 2009 6:55 pm

How about 29 May Fri at Tiong bahru park. It has a carpark, easy access to MRT, and toilet facilities. The last event we had there attracted quite a number of people.

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Sun May 10, 2009 7:56 pm

Yeah, I attended acc's starparty at Tiong Bahru Park before, so I thought it is quite a good choice... carpark and Tiong Bahru MRT nearby, open sky.... Also the monster scope is conveniently nearby if its owner wants to unleash it... hee! I am still ok for 29 May 09 from about 7.30pm to 10pm.

Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Sun May 10, 2009 8:48 pm

Why do we need toilet facilities if we are doing it in the dark?

Post by **acc** » Sun May 10, 2009 9:57 pm

Rich, you mean the -real- monster scope down the road from my house?

29 May 7.30pm onwards sounds fine by me. Is tiong bahru ok for most? Labrador park is a fine alternative for darker southern skies but public transport is lacking.

Tachyon wrote:Why do we need toilet facilities if we are doing it in the dark?

naughty boy!

Post by **Airconvent** » Sun May 10, 2009 11:23 pm

If the intention is to introduce astronomy to the man on the street, then its better to do it where human traffic is higher and area brighter too. Usually for this class of newbies we would be looking at Saturn and the brighter objects.
Tiong Bahru park is good for our usual obs session but traffic would be low..I mean who goes to the park at night apart from astronomers but people who would be distracted by other pursuits!

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Mon May 11, 2009 12:48 pm

Labrador park is a fine alternative for darker southern skies but public transport is lacking.

I have not tried Labrador Park but without MRT nearby at the moment, it will not be popular with those of us who don't drive.

If the intention is to introduce astronomy to the man on the street, then its better to do it where human traffic is higher and area brighter too. Usually for this class of newbies we would be looking at Saturn and the brighter objects.

It is possible, but we will have to plan how to handle the crowd. Can you suggest some locatons for consideration?

Post by **acc** » Mon May 11, 2009 3:09 pm

I prefer TB Park as it is a hassle-free location, really; just grab and go without any headache. A possible alternative is Marina Barrage?