GAM 2017 Blog
- Published: Saturday, April 29 2017 00:00
By Victoriano Canales Cerdá
Observation of the Moon
Spain is dressed as a gala at this year's Global Astronomy Month (GAM). Not many activities have been done, but they have been overwhelming. Ciudad Real, Alicante, Huesca, Malaga, Seville and Palencia were the provinces that presented the most activities.
The inaugural Star Party was used to make the Marathon Messier between partners and a special activity for the general public. Different lectures and workshops on astronomy were held during the week.
In the second weekend, the Moon was the protagonist in various associations, performing activities for their observation and photography. During this second week there were no activities during the week.
The third weekend was festive throughout the country and the main protagonists were the beaches. During this third week there was movement during the week, continued to take courses in astronomy, astrophotography workshops and conferences.
The fourth weekend was reserved for the observation of the Líridas and a second Marathon Messier. At the end of observational practical activities, Sunday was the last day of the Sun's observations. During the fourth week, 'End of the Month' activities were continued with round tables, end of courses, astrophotography workshops and charitable activities.
Astronomy in classrooms
It has been my first GAM as CN for Spain. I have a positive and a negative note: the good thing is that there were no obstacles to publicize the activities that have been generated during this month and the negative thing has been to know how to take the GAM better, making the entities use the GAM logo and some more things. For my part it has been a good experience.
Victoriano Canales Cerdá is an amateur astronomer who began his career in the world of astronomy in 1990 at the age of 14, although he took my first steps in school thanks to his natural teacher Jose Luis. He studied electronics and computer science, nothing to do with astronomy in the beginning, but this was a pathway for him to discover the world of radio astronomy. He built a small radio telescope of 1.2 meters and was able to measure Earth-Moon distance several times, and hear the impacts of Comet Shoemaker-Levy-9 on Jupiter (in July 1994).
He withdrew from radio astronomy because of the complexity it entailed, and he threw himself into direct telescope observations, which was when he discovered the true Universe. From then on he began to study all the books of astronomy that fell into his hands, took courses in astronomy, and attended all relevant lectures, workshops, etc.
He now shares his knowledge and passion of astronomy, by visiting schools and institutes, participating in radio programs, and carrying out outreach activities in the Study and Dissemination Astronomical Observatory Group of Elche "AstroGEDA"; he has also been a chair of this committee since it was founded in June 2012.
He holds positions at the national level as Coordinator of Astronomers Without Borders in Spain and a member of the Federation of Astronomical Associations of Spain "FAAE". He’s also a member of The Meteorical Society and IMO (International Meteor Organization) and has been involved in the recovery of fallen or found meteorites, mainly in the province of Alicante, for the ICE-CSIC, in addition to participating in online programs for the search for potentially dangerous asteroids and NEOs.
