Space Education Archives - Astronomers Without Borders Nigeria

Great South America Total Solar Eclipse on Dec 14th

In this year 2020, Earth has witnessed eclipses a number of times, including both lunar and solar, about six (6) of them. The forthcoming would be the sixth and the last for this year, a total solar eclipse.

We witness solar eclipses or eclipse of the Sun not only because the New Moon gets positioned and aligned in-between Earth and the Sun. But because of the simple reason that the Sun’s diameter is approximately 400 times larger than the Moon. And Sun-Earth distance is also approximately 400 times the Earth-Moon distance. So from simple geometry, relative to the Earth, the Moon and the Sun appear to be the same size.

Now, whether it will be a total solar eclipse or annular solar eclipse will depend on the elliptical orbit of the Moon round the Earth. Apogee is the point of the orbit at which the moon is furthest away from Earth which is the one we see during annular solar eclipses. While Perigee is the case at which the moon is closest to Earth and at which point we observe a total solar eclipse, like the one which we are about to observe on December 14.

During total solar eclipses, as the Moon continues to transit, its shadow creates a path called the Path of Totality on the surface of the Earth. Regions around this path will observe Partial solar eclipse. And for any given point on the Earth which has witnessed a total solar eclipse, will see another round of it in the next 400 years.

This upcoming total solar eclipse dubbed the Great South America Total eclipse will make first appearance as a partial solar eclipse at the Southern Pacific Ocean by 1:34 p.m UTC and about one hour later, that is, at 2:32 pm UTC, the Moon’s umbra will fully emerge. Both will then proceed due East, touching some parts of South American Continent like: Chile and Argentina. And will come to a halt over the Southern Atlantic Ocean, of the coast of Southwest Africa at 6:53 p.m UTC.

Image Credit: https://c.tadst.com/gfx/eclipses2/20201214/anim2d-960.mp4

The event can be viewed on several astronomy channels worldwide.

You can follow NASA guidelines on observing solar eclipses.

Wishing you all a favorable weather conditions.

Recap of 2018 Activities

2018 was an amazing year for AWBNigeria. We organized a flurry of activities that keeping tabs on them would prove tasking, we learnt, we grew in number, and most importantly we kept true to our mandate of spreading astronomy throughout Nigeria.

Throughout last year, our outreaches have impacted on the lives of over 3000 school children and over 2000 members of the General public. Key events held last year were the Girls’ Astronomer’s Camp, Yuri’s Night, Mars opposition, Star parties, and many school outreaches.

2019 holds a lot of promise. We remain committed to spreading astronomy throughout Nigeria by virtue of the passion of our team. You can follow our activities on our Facebook page and Twitter (@AWBNigeria). If you’re in Nigeria, you can join us by filling the registration form here

Astronomy AWBNgeria Space Education

2018 Girls Astronomers Camp

This event held on 28 April 2018 at Obasanjo Space Center Abuja. This event was planned and organized by Astronomers Without Borders. 2018 Girls Astronomers Camp served as a maiden camp for young girls to learn about Astronomy in Nigeria. The camp program was packed with Fun and Educative activities.

The Girls camp is an OAD/IAU (Office of Astronomy for Development)/(International Astronomical Union) initiative, funded and supported by Astronomers Without Borders International (AWB), Universe Awareness (UNAWE), VIXEN Co. Ltd, National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Milan, Italy, National Space Research & Development Agency (NASRDA). The camp aims to address the challenge of gender lopsidedness in the school enrollment focusing on the female gender in other to bridge the gap that exists between male and female children enrollment particularly across the northern part of Nigeria. Also, to encourage and motivate the girl-child in STEM education. We aim to reach thousands of school girls as we carry out these Astronomy camps in the different states across Nigeria.

The camp started by 12pm on 28 April 2018 with Registration and Red Carpet/interview sessions with the girls and accompanying guests. The National Coordinator of AWB Nigeria, Mrs. Olayinka Fagbemiro delivered a Welcome/Introductory address afterwards. Dr. Francis Chizea who represented the Director General of NASRDA gave a remark highlighting the importance of the event. The event moved on in earnest with Career Talk, Engr. Yewande Adeyeye spoke on the ‘History of Women in Space Science & Technology.’ Tea Break & Solar Glasses session followed afterwards. The Girls were excited that they could look at the Sun without getting hurt. The Editorial Chairman of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, gave the girls a moral charge with his speech centered on the subject of ‘Cheating- Exam Malpractices.’ The next agenda of the camp was a STEM Quiz which comprised of 20 objective questions spread across Astronomy, Mathematics, Science and Physics. The top 3 candidates were:

Kabir Ummulkhair Hassan (Airforce Girls Comprehensive School Abuja)- 1st Position
Aki Jessica (Community Secondary School Asokoro)- 2nd Position
Firdaus Audu (Voyage International School), Johnson Damilola (GSS Gwagwalada), Mbu Rosaparks (Blooms Academy)- 3rd Position

After the Quiz, the girls had lunch and Pep talk while eating. The Chairperson of e-Worldwide Limited, Dr. Salma Abbasi delivered the talk. She is a Technologist, Philanthropist and Social activist with over 30 years experience working in the field of technology and business, holding a variety of senior Executive positions in Fortune 500 companies. The subject of her talk was the importance of STEM. She encouraged the girls to develop interest in STEM courses and emphasized on the importance of their involvement in Science & Technology.

Hands on Activities followed the Pep Talk. There was a variety of activities in this session. The girls were put into different group to build a prototype of a Communication Satellite, Tinkering (using DC motors and Markers), Universe in a Box, Coupling a Galileoscope, Solar system modelling and the youngest girls made Paper Satellites. The session was very engaging as the Girls learnt something interesting.

Afterwards, the girls watched a movie called ‘Hidden Figures’ which depicted Girls involvement in STEM and Astronomy. Star gazing session & Barbecue ended the activities for the day. They had the opportunity to look at Venus and the Moon as they were the brightest on our horizon.

We at AWBNigeria would like to use this opportunity to thank all our Sponsors and Contributors for making this dream a reality. We remain committed to spreading Astronomy throughout Nigeria. One People, One Sky.

2018 Girls Astronomy Camp AITEO Astronomy AWB AWBNigeria IAD/OAU NASRDA Nigerian School girls Satellites Space Education STEM Telescope VIXEN

Cloudy Yuri

Against the odds that the weather posed in the evening of April 14, we celebrated our Yuri’s night at Julius Nyerere Crescent, Asokoro. The team worked hard on their preparations and publicity prior to the event but Mother Nature had her own plans.

Regardless, we had an eventful Yuri’s night. On arrival at the venue for the event, we set up our Telescope and like a magnet it attracted many curious bystanders. They wanted to know what the Telescope could do and the purpose for the event. This created an opportunity which we used to educate them about Astronomy, Yuri Gagarin and the capability of our Telescope & Binoculars.

We had giveaway flyers that had top facts about Astronomy, Space travel and Yuri Gagarin. We also had light refreshments for our audience. The clouds made it impossible to view any stars and the moon nevertheless, curious people used it to view objects in the distance. We had a star chart in order to show people the location and names of stars. We had several people that were seeing a Telescope for the first time, Kids that were excited about Astronomy and lots of questions to answer.

It was a lovely day and another step in the right direction for AWB Nigeria. One People, One Sky.

Astronomy AWB AWBNigeria GAM GAM2018 Space Education Star gazing Telescopes Yuri Gagarin

Unveiling the Telescope donated by Vixen Co., Ltd Japan

The team was delighted to unveil and test the Telescope donated to AWB Nigeria by Vixen Co., Ltd Japan on Wednesday April 4, 2018. Vixen Co., Ltd has manufactured the most respected line of Telescopes and mounts in Japan since 1949, where it is the number one selling brand. Vixen’s philosophy is to bring happiness to the users of Vixen’s products and they definitely brought happiness to the AWB team and all the students that will have the opportunity to use the Telescope in the near future.

The team was fixated on the user manual and fixed the Telescope in no time. The Telescope will be a great asset for the team and also a driver for the goals of the team. The Team is committed to helping others develop a passion for Astronomy and Space Science and this Telescope will be an invaluable tool for our outreaches and programs.

We want to use this post to thank Vixen Co., Ltd for this gift. We thank them for their commitment to helping others develop a passion for the wonders of the night Sky and the joys of Terrestrial observation. This gift has the potential to have a domino effect of their drive, goals and commitment for Astronomy in Nigeria. Thank you Vixen Co., Ltd.

Astronomy AWB Nigeria Donation Japan NASRDA Space Education Telescope Vixen Co.

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