Am proud to finally announce that this event is FINALLY HAPPENING here in Singapore! We last had such a national event back in 2008 (ASTRONOMY2008) at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), and it was certainly a memorable one-day event. Fast forward 8-9 years, and bam! Yes, it is happening! And it is happening at Marina Bay Sands Art Science Museum over TWO DAYS, period. It took almost a year and more to finally get the green go-signal from MBS to finalize on the plan and dates. Hopefully it is going to be unforgettable opportunity for all of us, both young and old, new and experienced, to mingle with the astronomy community all in one location, with a whole lot of interesting activities!
Venue: Marina Bay Sands Art Science Museum
Date/Time: 18 and 19 Feb 2017 (Opening hours: Saturday 1PM - 7PM and then Stargazing from 8PM, Sunday 10AM - 7PM)
Admission: Free for everyone!
Event Overview
The idea of having ASTRONOMY2017, and with the help of dedicated volunteering individuals, would be to connect these experienced individuals (on astronomy), educators, researchers, and amateur astronomers with the public/visitors. Astronomy is one of the media’s most prominent sciences. It is popular, exciting, ever-expanding, and will be made accessible and of continuous engaging interest to the general public. Henceforth, ASTRONOMY2017 would be an opportunity for fellow contributors to enrich the awareness of astronomy and share the results of astronomical research, latest astronomy technology and workflows, celestial events, and historical instruments. Additionally, the public/visitors can expect to look through telescopes and do both stargazing and sun gazing, attend planetarium shows, and take part in astronomical workshops.
ASTRONOMY2017 will be held under the Sunday Showcase programme over two days of 18-19 February 2017 (Saturday and Sunday) on the fourth floor of the Marina Bay Sands Art Science Museum (ArtScience Galleries). The event is open FREE to the public.
ASTRONOMY EXPERT STATIONS
These stations will manned by astronomy subject-specific experts that will enlighten visitors with their interactive works. There will be nine stations specializing in the following areas:
Galaxies Sorting - Learn how to classify galaxies using Edwin Hubble’s methodology and recognize and gain appreciation for distinct unique features per galaxy type. [children]
Testing General Relativity - A reproduction of Sir Eddington's classic experiment in the eclipse of 1919 to prove Einstein's theory of General relativity. A measurement during the recent total solar eclipse in March 2016 on an expedition to Indonesia. [adults]
Listening to the Universe - Learn the various models of radio telescopes, and listen to emissions from Jupiter, meteors and solar flares. Visitors will essentially get their hands on (and ears open) to the radio spectrum and listen to the universe. [children/adults]
Virtual Reality Astronomy - Engage in cutting edge technology and immerse yourself into the celestial environment, soaking in 360-degree Milky Way imagery and more. [children/adults]
The Astrophotographer - Identify and understand the various components of the setup that an astrophotographer will use to capture data. [adults]
Photonic Data to Images - Gain insight into image processing workflows and techniques that turn raw astrophotography data into beautiful deep sky imagery. [adults]
Space Balloons - The High Altitude Experiment. Discover how high altitude balloons are launched. [children/adults]
How-to-make-a-Newtonian - Learn how to make a Newtonian telescope through the latest technologies in 3D-printing. [children/adults]
Remote Telescope Operations - Gain insight into how observatory telescopes in Chile are operated remotely. [adults]
WORKSHOPS / TALKS
There will be a workshop segment comprising of short talks based on a diverse range of astronomy topics. The workshop will be held at specific time periods during the second day (Sunday). The following lists the workshops / talks:
Chasing Cosmic Explosions - Prof. Bryan Penprase
Astrophysics - Dr. Abel Yang
The Evolution of the Universe - Dr. Wang Wei Yang
Our Star, The Sun - Mr. Alfred Tan (2:00PM)
Basics of Astrophotography - Prof. Goh Yihan
Ripples of Spacetime - Dr. Leek Meng Lee
Digital Astrophotography - Lessons from the Outback - Mr. Remus Chua
DIGITAL PLANETARIUM
Attendees will be treated to a 7-meter full-featured dome planetarium. Be enthralled with 180-degrees full sky views of the simulated night sky, with over 11 million stars!! There will be a couple of SINGASTRO experts that will educate the viewing visitors with what they can potentially see in the night sky with assorted programmes (from beginning through advanced astronomy concepts) at pre-allocated show time intervals.
COLLECTION OF VINTAGE INSTRUMENTS
A prized collection of keynote astronomical instruments will be on exhibit. These instruments are pioneering enablements that leads us to modern-day astronomy. Visitors will gain insight into how modern developments have their roots in the efforts of their predecessors.
DIGITAL SHOWCASE
There will be concurrent screening of a slideshow of over 200 astro imageries from all over the world, as well as done by local amateur astronomers and worldwide.
SOLAR GAZING
Attendees can be treated to live views of the sun through specialized telescopes (with fitted solar filters), outside the Museum. Be amazed as you see magnified sunspots, flares and prominences, and many more solar features! Visitors in the museum can also witness the sun live, through a digital broadcast from a telescope outside (of the museum).
STARGAZING
After the Showcase on Saturday (18th February), visitors can have their dinner and then be back at the area outside the museum’s entrance for some stargazing (commencing from 8PM, weather permitting). They will be treated to seeing (through over 30 telescopes on site!) the moon, some planets (we will be able to see Venus, Mars, and Uranus), and bright deep sky objects (such as the Great Orion Nebula, Pleiades, etc), just outside the museum. Some of these telescopes are larger than the one at the Singapore Science Center! It will be an unforgettable experience for everyone!
EVENT REGISTRATION
For those who are keen to attend ASTRONOMY2017, please kindly pre-register online. We will give priority of attendance to those who pre-register as we are expecting a big-turnout. Once you have pre-registered online, please give your name(s) (used for registering) to the Reception crew at level 4.
A2017 URL: http://www.celestialportraits.com/a2017
Thank You! And looking forward to seeing everyone at A2017!!
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