Astronomical! Cordova High students discover three new asteroids
Astronomical! Cordova High students discover three new asteroids
Posted: 3/5/2007
Updated: 3/9/2007
The Sacramento region does not need to look too far to find future astronomers. Cordova High School's astronomy class, taught by physical science teacher Glenn Reagan, is has already discovered three new asteroids through the International Asteroid Search Campaign (IASC).
When their findings were confirmed by the Harvard University Minor Planet Center on March 1, Reagan was a little more than just surprised. Being able to find one new asteroid was exciting for the students. Now that we have found two more, the motivation of the students has increased dramatically. They may be the next one to place their name in history.
Cordova High School is one of 12 schools worldwide participating in the IASC, which is a program for high school and college students who search real-time astronomical images for original discoveries. Through using a sophisticated software program, Astrometrica, students can search for asteroids, near-Earth objects (NEO), Kuiper Belt objects (KBO), supernovae (SNe), and active galactic nuclei (AGN). Students download the images on a daily basis, perform the analysis with provided software tools, and report their discoveries, which ultimately are recognized by Harvard University's Minor Planet Center and the International Astronomical Union. This program is brought to schools at no cost for either participation or the software as an educational service provided by the Astronomical Research Institute in Charleston, Illinois, Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and Hands-On Universe through UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science. To date, there have been 22 new asteroid discoveries through the IASC program.
This program provides our students with a technological component typical of what is required to complete in a global society using twenty-first century skills, said Janie DeArcos, FCUSD Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Instruction. Cordova High students are combining academics with hands-on creative projects, using advanced technology, and discovering new celestial bodies, she continued.
Reagan who is a FCUSD 2005 Teacher of the Year and was named as Sacramento Magazine's Ten Best Teachers in 2004-- also involves his students in additional hands-on astronomy through access to remotely controlled telescopes in New Mexico privately funded by the Tzec Maun Foundation. His class is one of 14 classes, nationwide, selected to participate in this program.
Christine Sherer, one of the asteroid co-discoverers, remarked, I was not that excited at first. But when I told my parents, it seemed like a big deal after all. Now, I think it's pretty neat.
For more information about the International Asteroid Search Campaign, please visit their website at: http://www.handsonuniverse.org/research/iasc.html.
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Cool.....congratulations to Cordova High.
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