Ex-NASA engineer leads online lecture on astronomy

Published on 05/30/2022 19:30 / Updated on 05/30/2022 20:28

(credit: personal archive)

At dawn on Tuesday (5/31), it will be possible to witness the largest meteor showers recorded since 1833. The phenomenon is called Tau-Herculides, and it is caused by the fragmentation of a decaying comet, which may split into 100,000 pieces in just one hour. In honor of the rare event, the Astronomical Conversation Program will be promoting a lecture, Monday evening (5/30), with Gabe Gabriel, former Director of Engineering for the US Air Force Special Operations Command and former NASA contractor/engineer at the Kennedy Space Center.

The event will be online and broadcast live on YouTube.It will also see the participation of Professor Paulo Lim, who will moderate and translate the event, as well as Nicolinha, the world’s youngest amateur astronomer and founder of the Nicolinha & Kids Science Club. The CEO of the project, Fabricio Colfero, explains that the event will be very exciting. “Gabriel will do in addition to the astronomical and astronautical content, he also deals with the motivational topic a lot. His lecture is actually a party, it is a coordinated lecture he gives in more than fifteen countries and in Brazil he has participated more than twenty times.”

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How to watch meteors

It doesn’t take much preparation to see the Tau-Herculídeas, says Fabricio Colfero, the show’s creator, but it’s important to find a spot free from the many clouds. “The best thing is for a person to stay away from large light centers and stay away from lights as much as possible. Turn off the lights outside, in the house, so the darker the room the better the contrast of the sky.”

Fabricio also explains that it’s important to keep in mind that this phenomenon may not be seen with the naked eye. “All meteor showers are unpredictable. We can have a lot of meteors and we can’t get any. So, you have to have the mindset that you will look from the sky, stare at the stars, but there is no guarantee that you will see (rain) in reality, and she can’t be frustrated by that.”

astrological chat

Fabricio explains that the idea of ​​the project is to disseminate science, which is to convey astronomy, astronautics and meteorology to a public that it does not have access to. “Our events are 100% free, there is no fee for any kind of ticket to participate, nothing. And in fact trying to show people that science can and should be something more tangible.”

The project from Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in 2019, designed by Fabricio Colfiero, Ariane Silva and Diogo Custudio. Through in-person and online events, the program seeks to use educational language and foster discussion between scholars and the curious. “

Ideas for the future of the program are to implement an educational weather station, and Fabricio comments that the idea is to use the platform for training courses. The program is maintained through a partnership with Santa Maria Tecnoparque, also a non-profit organization, Civil Defense.

* Trainee under the supervision of Pedro Gregory.