To the Moon and beyond

The Fortress of Oradea, July 17-th 2009

Attended the public present in the first part of the program, the demonstration "Earth-Moon-Mars" supported by Mitchell Franklin, science teacher at Northside Middle School in Greenwood, South Carolina, USA. Followed by physics teacher Marin Bica from "Dacia" School, who presented his work "Determination of distances in our solar system"."The Constellation" presented by Valentina Matei introduced audience in the preparations taking place for the returning to the Moon and expanding the human presence to Mars. It is about designing, building and testing a new generation of rocket, Ares I and Ares V, the Altair lunar module and the Orion spacecraft. The new rover will provide  transport crew and equipment on the Moon to the next landing planned to take place by 2020. Some of the our astroclub activities  were presented by Nicoleta Pazmany, president of Meridian 0 astroclub.
Finally, those present watched a movie with NASA missions, which presented the most important moments of the Apollo 11, and accounts of the two astronauts: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. 

One giant leap for mankind- Apollo 11

The Fortress of Oradea, May 29-th 2009

Multi-purpose Hall of the Fortress, gathered Friday, May 29-th, students, parents, teachers from several schools Oradea, who participated in the anniversary activity "One giant leap for mankind-Apollo 11". This year, on July 20-th we celebrate 40 years of one of the most important events of the twentieth century: the first step of man on the Moon.
The activity began with the presentation of "Apollo Program" by Anna-Maria Georgieş, student from CN "M Eminescu", program which was carried 12 astronauts landing in the Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17. The activity continued with the presentation of Valentina Matei teacher "A giant leap for mankind-Apollo 11" which highlighted aspects of the mission of three astronauts, scientific instruments and experiments conducted during this mission. Those present were able to watch the original video, taken by NASA, the Saturn V rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center, the famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" Neil Armstrong said and the dialogue by telephone White House, when two astronauts are on the Moon spoke with the then U.S. President, Richard Nixon.
Ms. Viorica Galis, physics teacher at School "Dimitrie Cantemir" explained the physical forces of friction, very useful, since students were grouped into four crews and built lunar rovers constructed of... cakes, cookies and candies. 

 Dorina Szatmári teacher opened the series of new activities based on SF literature. The start was given by the novel "From Earth to the Moon" the French writer Jules Verne. Students divided into teams, were given passages containing scientific information of famous novel, accompanied by explanations. Students have done a test with basic questions of what was presented. All crews have achieved high scores, proving that followed closely and have mastered the concepts presented. Maximum points and prize - a volume "From the Earth to the Moon" was produced by the team of "Extra Astronomy".

Viorel Muscas teacher presented images of the Apollo lunar landing sites and extravehicular activities carried out by astronauts.

Apollo 11 mission, a historic event reminiscent not only of courage, intelligence and talent of a nation, but especially the fact that people, when they have lofty ideals, can achieve remarkable things. 

Yuri's Night

The Fortress of Oradea, April 10, 2009.

On 1961 April 12, Yuri Gagarin make first space flight.
The first space shuttle was launched into space on April 12, 1981.

On this occasion I organized in the Fortress of Oradea an activity to bring the memory of two events.
First, powerpoint presentations were given by teachers and students from Meridian 0 and "Oltea Doamna" School from Oradea. Practical activities of the students about the stages that follow a space shuttle when it launch in space.

Children have built solar cadran.

100 Hours of Astronomy

C.N. "E. Gojdu", L.T. "L. Blaga", "Dacia" School, The Fortress of Oradea, April 3, 2009.

A tour through several schools and colleges in Oradea, in order to attract students in the wonderful world of astronomy.
1. C.N. "E. Gojdu", 10 a.m.
2. L.T. "L. Blaga", 12 noon.
3. "Dacia" School, 2 p.m.
4. The Fortress of Oradea, 7 p.m.

The students and the teachers from Meridian 0, prepared in powerpoint presentations:
History of Astronomy -teacher Marin Bica
NASA projects -teacher Valentina Matei
Spitzer space telescope-student Cristian Lazar
Apollo Program-student Georgies Anna Maria
Send your name to Mars- Teacher Valentina Matei.








In the evening, the clear skies allowed us out with telescopes in Independence Square.

She is an Astronomer

Municipal Clinical Emergency Hospital "Dr. Gavril Curteanu" Oradea, March 7, 2009.

In the first part of the activity, children admired galaxies, stars, comets with teacher Marin Bica from Dacia School, Oradea.
In the second part, I invited the children to name the next module on the ISS. The "Help Name Node 3" poll asked people to vote for the module's name either by choosing one of four options listed by NASA or offering their own suggestion.

Earthrise? Legacy? Serenity? Venture?

The node 3 has now a name. Tranquility, because it ties is to exploration and the Moon, and symbolizes the spirit of international cooperation embodied by the space station.







The children received small objects spatial memories made by my students.

Kepler Mission

The Fortress of Oradea, February 27, 2009

The Kepler Mission uses a NASA space telescope designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. The mission is named in honour of German astronomer, Johannes Kepler.

The Kepler Spacecraft was launched on March 6, 2009.

"The Universe, yours to discover"

The Fortress of Oradea, January 23-th, 2009


The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global celebration of astronomy and marks the 400-th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei.
''Meridian 0'' astroclub will participate in several special projects under IYA2009 ''She is astronomer'', ''100 Hours of astronomy'', "Universe Awarness"...
Other activities planned "Yuri's Night", "Remember Apollo 11", "World Space Week", "The Great World Star Count"...

Blue Moon (I)

Oradea' s Fortress, December 12, 2008

In December 2008 we celebrate 40 years since Earth was photographed for the first time from space during Apollo 8 mission.
In this context, I held an interdisciplinary activity Blue Moon that brought together scince and arts.
I gave my first powerpoint presentation of Apollo program, India soon launched Chandrayaan 1 satelite, and NASA's satelites LCROSS and LRO will launch next year, Constelattion program. My second powerpoint presentation was about the American students' projects.
Romanian students designed and built lunar beses, and later they observed the sky with the naked eye and the telescope.
The activity included also an exhibition of projects of the students from Northside Middle Scool Greenwood, South Carolina, USA, led by teacher Franklin Mitchell and paintings of students from Oradea and Stei.

Visit to the Hospital "Dr. Gavril Curteanu" Oradea

Oradea Municipal Clinical Emergency Hospital "Dr. Gavril Curteanu", November 15-th 2008

I organized the second activity at Oradea Clinical Emergency Hospital "Dr. Gavril Curteanu". I told the children about Endeavour space shuttle, ISS, constellations an I offered them space shuttles and rotative star maps.