Astronomy Observations
Astronomy is a popular subject to study at GCSE at St Augustine’s Priory and here we believe in inspiring pupils to aim for the stars at an early age. Here, Miss Hayden, Head of Physics, reports on the Christmas holiday activities of our Upper II astronomers:
‘Over the Christmas Holidays, the girls in Upper II were given a task for Astronomy – to pick an object in the night sky, observe it and draw what they observed. They could challenge themselves by writing a report on how they planned and prepared themselves for their evening to be able to carry out the best possible observation.
The girls produced some incredible pieces, and observed a whole slew of night sky objects, from Jupiter and the other planets, to the Moon and to constellations such as Orion and Cassiopeia. The girls also demonstrated excellent subject knowledge and observational skills when explaining how they planned and prepared themselves for their observations. They used a variety of information sources: digital (Night Sky App, astronomy websites) and also star charts and astronomy books.
One girl went all-out and created an information booklet on how to find Jupiter in the sky, while another demonstrated her skills when she drew a detailed image of the Moon which she observed using a telescope at home.
The projects are on display in the science building, and I highly recommend that if you’re interested in the night sky you take a look. There are clearly some future astronomers in this year group; I’m excited to see how they carry this on in the future!’
Categories: Junior Whole School
