April 2019
Manuel Paredes and Alyssa Grace
Gemini Outreach Programs
Sparkle in Both Hemispheres
Gemini’s two leading public outreach endeavors — AstroDay
Chile and Journey Through the Universe continue to uphold
one of Gemini’s primary missions: to share the wonders of the
Universe with the public.
Astroday Chile 2019: Preparing our host communities for the
July 2nd Total Solar Eclipse
With excitement mounting over the upcoming July 2nd total solar eclipse over La Serena,
Chile, AstroDay Chile on March 23rd was primed to educate its ~3,000 visitors about this
special event. Held at the Seminario Conciliar School of La Serena, the program provided
educational material and talks about the eclipse, and taught participants how to view the
partial phases safely (Figure 1). Numerous other activities and exhibitions were also fea-
tured. To help make AstroDay Chile 2019 a success, 23 organizations joined in on the excite-
ment of bringing astronomy to the people.
Coordinated by Gemini South’s Public Information Office, the event offered to students,
families, and the public, a wide variety of activities, such as science workshops, lectures,
3D cinema, water-rocket launches, solar viewing, and portable planetarium presentations.
Two key partners helped organize this year’s event: the Association of Universities for Re-
search in Astronomy (AURA), and the Municipality of La Serena. All of the major obser-
vatories in Chile — including the European Southern Observatory (ESO), ALMA, and Las
Campanas — and most of the astro-tourist facilities in the surrounding Coquimbo Region
also united to participate in this year’s program.
The images shown on page 70 illustrate some of the the activities of the day.
Manuel Paredes is the Communications Coordinator at Gemini South. He can be reached at:
[email protected]
January 2020 / 2019 Year in Review
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