Gee-Whiz Astronomy Modelling – A Worldwide Online Club Opening Doors To Astronomy Research
TalkSpecial topic: Astronomy Education Beyond the Classroom
5th Shaw-IAU Workshop
Wednesday Nov. 29, 2023
UTC: 6:05 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Friday Dec. 1, 2023
UTC: 10:35 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Fraser Lewis (Faulkes Telescope Project, Global Hands-On Universe, GWAM)
Coauthors: Elizabeth Villanueva (GWAM), Javier Larré (GWAM), Francisca Castro (GWAM), Isabel Martinez (GWAM), William Lee (GWAM), Reza AmirArjomand (GWAM), Mani Afshar (GWAM), Bonnie Thurber (GWAM; Global Hands-On Universe), Carl Pennypacker (Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California; Lawrence Berkeley Lab, University of California; Global Hands-On Universe)
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Gee-Whiz Astronomy Modelling (GWAM) works with students, teachers and scientists to develop open-ended (research-style) astronomy projects.
Participants live and study in Chile, India, the United States and Wales and collaborate online synchronously for one hour every week at a time manageable to all (typically Fridays ~ 18 – 20 UT).
Teachers and students alike learn how to collect and analyse astronomical images and datasets, to use and develop skills in free astronomical software and Python and to explore astronomical catalogs such as Gaia’s DR3 and the interactive data viewer and editor, TOPCAT.
Students work both independently and collaboratively – transiting exoplanets, eclipsing binaries and open clusters are all currently areas of active study with papers in preparation.
About Fraser Lewis
Fraser Lewis was PI on the recent Erasmus + Project, LaSciL and is based in South Wales as an educator and researcher with the Faulkes Telescope Project. He writes resources for teachers and students in astronomy and is an active researcher in the field of X-ray Binaries, especially in their behaviour at optical wavelengths.
