National Projects
Apart from the implementation of the Global Cornerstone projects, There will also be a number of local projects in Trinidad and Tobago hosted by the IYA2009 Organisations. The following projects currently being planned are listed below:
Star Parties
Every year since 2003, CARINA has hosted a Star Party in Chaguaramas, giving people the opportunity to learn something of astronomy, look through telescopes and indulge their own interest in a unique, secure setting. Attendance has now grown to over 400 people.
This year's event is being planned for March 28th and a followup event in another part of Trinidad is planned for the third quarter. Registration for both will be available on this site soon.
Community Evenings
These are similar to Star Parties, but smaller, localised and free. The format will consist of a presentation on an astronomical topic followed by an introduction to the night sky and culminating in observing stars, planets and nebulae through small telescopes.
If you are a school or community organisation that is interested in hosting one of these events, please send an email with ontact information to this address.
Telescope Clinics
These clinics will enable telescope owners to get the best out of their instruments and to learn the surprisingly difficult art of finding and following elusive objects. We hope to accomplish at least three of these in 2009 and to also provide advisory services to anyone wishing to purchase their first telescope or upgrade their existing one.
Join our mailing list or watch this space for information on upcoming Clinics.
Astronomy Olympiad
This competition for secondary school students will be modeled on the International Astronomy Olympiad, an internationally recognized annual astronomy event. Competition consists of three rounds: theoretical, observational, and practical. The theoretical round involves classical problems in astronomy, astrophysics, space and planetary physics. The observational round involves recognizing stars, constellations, estimating star magnitude and angular distance and working with telescopes or other observational techniques. The practical round consists of problems whose solutions require analysis of practical data results of observations. Winners will be sponsored to compete in the International Astronomy Olympiad in 2010.
Lectures from Visiting Astronomers
CARINA, in conjunction with the Physics Department at UWI, has been actively involved over the last four years in coordinating public lectures by visiting Astronomers. It is our hope to have two similar events in 2009 and perhaps to include talks in Tobago and South Trinidad.