By Álvaro Folhas

Students in a high school science club from Escola Secundária Marques Castilho have been busy gathering and processing astronomical images via the Faulkes Telescope Project. The students used the real-time interface to access the telescopes in Australia and Hawaii in real-time, directly from their classroom!

After learning about various concepts of physics, geography, astronomy and optics, the students had the fantastic experience of taking their own astronomical images and processing them into colour images.

Image 1 shows the students inputting their observation requests and watching the telescope execute their observation and capture their images.

The students presented their images in an exhibition within their school but they were later transferred to the Municipal Library Manuel Alegre in Águeda, Portugal so their work could be shared with the local community.The students named their exhibition “From my School I see the Universe” and their images were displayed along three staircases throughout the library building!

The aim of the exhibition was to promote scientific literacy of Águeda’s community, demystifying challenging concepts and showcasing the incredible scientific work that students are carrying out in their local schools.

This work took place as part of the Open Schools for Open Societies project (OSOS). Álvaro Folhas, a teacher and the coordinator of the project seen in Image 4 explained that OSOS “seeks to open a school to the community in an effective way, providing a lever for knowledge and intervention”.

He continued, “today, the teaching paradigms go far beyond the transmission of knowledge, seeking to provide enrichment experiences that mobilise learning and develop students’ skills in close collaboration with local entities and living agreements in the municipality”.

Showcasing the remarkable images captured by these students was a fantastic way to engage the local community in the school’s scientific activities and for students to talk about the work they have been doing at school.

Some of the students final images are provided in Images 5 – 7 and more can be found on the Faulkes Telescope Instagram page (@faulkestelescopeproject).