Date: May 1, 2010
Title: Noche de las Estrellas, Mexico’s Nationwide Star Party
Podcaster: Edgardo Molina
Organization: Pleiades Research and Astronomical Studies A.C. – www.pleiades.org.mx (web site soon to be presented also in English)
Description: How big a Star Party have you attended? How many visitors have you shared your telescope with? Can you imagine how to embrace the task of allowing 10,000 visitors in one night with just 30 amateur telescopes? In only one of a vast group of sites hosting the same event throughout the country? La Noche de las Estrellas (The Night of the Stars) is Mexico`s nationwide star party. Every state along the mexican territory hosts their own star party on the same day under the same flag: Delivering goodwill, hope, education and inspiration for the people who needs it the most these days. La Noche de las Estrellas has again proved that if you want to reach high altitudes, there is a way by joining hearts and forces in a common goal.
Bio: Edgardo Molina. B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Anahuac University in Mexico City. Post graduate studies in IT Engineering and a Masters Degree in IT Engineering. Working for IPTEL, an IT firm delivering solutions to enterprises since 1998. Space exploration enthusiast who participated in several Mexican space related activities. Licensed amateur radio operator with call sign XE1XUS. Amateur astronomer since childhood and actual founder and president of the Pleiades. Research and Astronomical Studies A.C. in Mexico City, Mexico. Avid visual observer and astrophotography fan. Public reach through education in exact sciences, engineering and astronomy. Lectures and teaching in several universities since 1993.
Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by Cory Albrecht, for all those who want to learn.
Transcript:
Hi, This is Edgardo Molina, from Pleiades. Research and Astronomical Studies A.C. in Mexico City, México. I am glad being your host again in this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast.
This time we are talking Star Party. Big Star Parties. Did you know that Mexico is hosting a nationwide star party called “La Noche de las Estrellas” (The Night of the Stars”)? This idea came to life last year, during the International Year of Astronomy, and this year it happened again with the same good results and interest from the people in love with star gazing.
Let’s review a little background. Mexico has been influenced by the ancient cultures and their astronomy activities. Examples abound in our history. This legacy is still present nowadays in our dialy life. And for those who are curious about it, just take a look at the $10 pesos coin with the Aztec calendar on it. Funny isn’t it? Such a shame this calendar didn’t make it to our time to be useful, but our cultures were highly trained observers of the heavens. I personally believe that this is somehow coded in our DNA. Even tough professional astronomy is still struggling to find adepts in Mexico (as in may parts of the world unfortunately), we all have a sense of looking up whenever the weather conditions allow.
The National University of Mexico (UNAM for short) hosts the Astronomy Institute and the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics. Both entities are responsible for the professional development of astronomical studies, education and research in Mexico, among others. A well known group of researchers and professionals work there and from time to time they also have an excellent attitude to formerly take the physical and astronomical sciences to the general public.
With the IYA 2009 approaching, there was the need to have a nationwide event that could help people to get a closer lood at our universe. The UNAM institutes, local governments, universities, educational institutions of all levels, the French embassy in Mexico (who had previous experience of a nationwide star party) and amateur astronomy groups all over Mexico, took the challenge to materialize such an event.
This event would take place at different states forming the country. Special care should be taken to provide access, security, a decent sky with the required darkness and a place that would mean something to the general public. With the help of the National Fine Arts Institute (INAH for short) who carefully manages our prehispanic resources, the main archeological sites all over the country would be the right choice for the events. After making that decision and with the necessary permits, a slogan should was chosen to fulfill the requirement. The slogan read “El Cielo de Nuestros Antepasados” (The Sky of Our Acestors). This created an attracting atmosphere along with the sites and a lot of diffusion by newspaper, magazines, TV, radio and of course over the Internet. This was the first open invitation for a big star party being held at exotic places promising a glimpse at our universe with the aid of all kind of amateur astronomical equipment provided by enthusiasts.
Our group Pleiades was invited to participate with our equipment to the State of Mexico, near the city of Toluca, where the archeological zone called Calixtlahuaca (from Nahuatl local language meaning “Houses on the plain” ) is located. From this point forward I will focus to this site and event due to the fact that it was our operations base for the group.
Calixtlahuaca hosts a pyramid and remnants of a civilization which went through different stages and influences throughout their history. The early history of this religious site is largely unclear. Remains of buildings which have been discovered can be traced back to the Teotihuacan civilization and in the post-Classic period to Xochicalco and the Toltecs. They were followed by the Matlatzinca, who ruled here until they were subdued by invaders from the valley of Anahuac (Mexico City nowadays). The Aztecs occupied the town for the first time in 1474 and exerted a significant influence on the later building activity which took place there. A number of unsuccessful uprisings by the Matlatzinca against the Aztecs ended in the destruction of the Matlatzinca temple.
With this little background on our site, we were granted permission along with many other amateur astronomy groups from the State of Mexico and Mexico City, to setup a group of around 30 telescopes to show the night sky to an unknown group of people visiting for the night. There were side events on site as pre-hispanic dances and ceremonies, astronomy workshops and lectures. Everybody was excited and also chilled to have this opportunity for the first time. Weather was cooperating due to the fact that it was lightly raining during the late afternoon. The sky cleared by 8pm and a clean steady atmosphere was the show for the night.
Everything was perfectly timed and coordinated for the event. What nobody considered at that time was the fact that a lot of people would attend to the event. Up to the point that from wild guesses, around ten thousand participants were served and looked at least for half a minute through the available instruments. Long lines of children, adults, babies, impaired people, both locals and foreigners patiently waited for their turn. We asked the attendants for how long they were on line and we got average answers of around 3 to 4 hours! The night was chilly with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Farenheit. Despite of the cold weather, you could see newborns being fed while in line and people well into their 80’s who, with exhausted eyes were happy to tears to have witnessed such an event and the objects that offered the show.
As the event took place during the last week of January 2009, a short list of the observed objects were: M41, M42, M44, M45, Sirius, Venus, Canis Mayor, a cresent thin Moon, Hyades, and with some big light buckets with lesser known objects from the NGC catalogue.
After the event, we were close to the last to leave, it was amazing to see that not a single piece of trash was left after the event on the premises grass, all the visitors were kind enough to treat the amateur astronomy community with respect and no incidents were registered. Initially the event was scheduled to start at 7pm and end by 11pm. Due to the high demand and visitors comming through as it was an open event, we worked extra time and left Calixtlahuaca at 3am! There was even a time when the local police had o close the road leading to Calixtlahuaca, there were thousands of vehicles full of visitors willing to participate.
We were lucky to help the event on a small acheological site. We were informed that the main sites such as Teotihuacan, Mexico City’s main square (El Zocalo), Xochicalco near Cuernavaca and Monte Alban in the state of Oaxaca were visited by far more people than us with the same enthusiasm that we experimented. Everything was a complete success and most of the states within the country held their own events that night.
This year everything was set for a new date with Noche de las Estrellas, We were invited to participate in Teotihuacan, the event promised to be larger and richer in terms of education and entertainment. There was a setup for lectures with professional astronomers, theater representations, story telling for the children, a mobile planetarium and workshops from “paint your version of a favorite astro object” to “build your own telescope”. Unfortutanely this time the date was set for April 17th, with a warmer weather for everybody to enjoy, but also with the spring on us and mother nature not cooperating. This change in schedule would benefit all the visitors to see different objects from those of the winter sky observed last year. Mother nature played hard on several sites on the center part of the country and showed a sky with clouds and light spring showers that took by surprise many new amateur astronomers who were unaware of the need to take into account a telescope cover and a rain coat. We were more than a hundred telescopes installed just in Teotihuacan, from large light buckets to grab and go refractors. None of them were able to show anything that night. It was such a shame to see our opportunity vanish when no one was showing for the event. Visitors realized that no astronomy activities were compatible with a cloudy sky and they were correct! So only a big group of enthusiasts with a heavy heart due to the weather conditions, gathered waiting until mid night for the sky to clear. Bad luck they say. I simply would like to keep this year and our observing site as a remembrance to ask the rain god Tlaloc for his favor not to send us his rain for next year.
Luckily there were many sites that experienced nice weather conditions and despide the change in month for the event, people responded like in 2009. I just hope that this coming year will allow us to reach the level of adrenaline that we got at Calixtlahuaca during our first nationwide star party.
For more information in this event please visit www.nochedeestrellas.org.mx, where you will find all the particulars for every site who participated this year and of course the invitation to join us next year while visiting our enchanting country.
For the 365 days of astronomy, this is Edgardo Molina from Pleiades. Research and Astronomical Studies A.C. in Mexico City, Mexico. Wishing you clear skies and thank you for listening.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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