In December the season of astronomical activities begins and to encourage sky observation, the Costa Rican Science and Tecnology Academy (CIENTEC)Foundation in conjunction with Fundazoo organize a “View the Stars Party”, an educational entertainment event for families and groups of friends.
The vigil will be on Friday, December 10th, at the Santa Ana Conservation Center. Those who participate will have access to optical instruments to observe the stars and educational materials, in addition to the specialist guide.
“We began the observation with the first stars at sunset. Venus in Sagittarius will be very bright in the West, closely following the Sun; it is followed in a row by two planets plus Saturn and Jupiter”, reported CIENTEC.
During the night, as explained by the foundation, it will be possible to search for the artificial satellites that move between the stars, the Andromeda galaxy and the constellation of Orion, as a starting point to recognize other neighboring constellations.
Ursa Major, Boyero, Cancer, Virgo and Raven are other constellations that can be seen, as well as the Messier Objects, among them: clusters, double stars, galaxies and more.
Aspects to take into account before participating
The entrance to the activity will be from 5:00 p.m. at 7:00 p.m. and departure before 12:00 mn., or 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. To participate, you must take into account that it is necessary to register at the foundation link and pay the entrance fee: adults ¢ 12,000 and children under 13 ¢ 6,000.
Participants will get a medium lunar guide, attend a conference, compete in a raffle, and will have access to camping and ranch spaces, as well as having access to night “space care” and guided observation.
Among the CIENTEC recommendations to those who will attend, are:
- Bring binoculars, camera and spotlights if you have them. Do not forget to charge them before the activity.
- There will be telescopes and guides, but if you have your own instruments, you can take them.
- Do not forget to bring food to spend the night, a mask to cover your mouth and a coat to be out in the open.
