“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
It was 1969 and Apollo 11 just landed on the moon. Spaceflight commander Neil Armstrong put his left foot down first as he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
It was a moment that will forever be remembered in history, but outer space appreciation and research don’t have to stay there pausing. While space travel may not be for everyone, that doesn’t mean that one can’t get closer to those seemingly mysterious planets, stars, and galaxies. Unbeknownst to many, the country — even the Ateneo — is a hotbed of astronomy experts and enthusiasts.
Yes, the earth’s exosphere may be 690 kilometers way above ground, but the outer space might not be as far as you think.
Asteroid Badillo
It is not everyday that a heavenly body gets named after you. But in June 2005, it happened to Fr. Victor Badillo, SJ, former director of the Manila Observatory and president of the Philippine Astronomical Union.
Asteroid 4866 Badillo is a minor planet some 596 kilometers from the earth. It revolves around the sun, between Mars and Jupiter, and takes about five years to complete its orbit.
“It is beyond my wildest dreams. I think that others deserve the honor much better because I am only an amateur astronomer,” Badillo tells Maria Isabel Garcia in an article for The Philippine Star. When asked if astronomy for commoners will continue even when he is now retired and ill, Badillo says, “There are others who are still looking up.”
Jupiter’s junior
On February 27, 2006, Christopher Go, an astronomer from Cebu, discovered a second red spot from Jupiter. It’s about half the size of the famous Great Red Spot. The official name of the storm is “Oval BA,” but “Red Jr. might be better,” reports the NASA.
Go observed that the spot was white in November 2005, slowly turning brown on December. A year later, Go writes on his website, “2007 had been a hectic year in Jupiter. Jupiter underwent a global upheaval!”
Ateneo physics to Princeton astronomy
Reinabelle Reyes (BS Py ‘05) received the Chambliss Astronomy achievement student award from the American Astronomical Society, reports The Philippine Star, for her major role in the discovery of the large number of obscured quasars.
Reinabelle relays good news to The GUIDON, saying that she recently obtained her MA and Ph.D. candidacy by passing her qualifying exams at the Princeton University in New Jersey, USA.
WILL WE SEE ‘BS ASTRONOMY’ IN THE SOSE COURSE LINE-UP SOON?
“Astronomy is more like pure science, which is nice, but we’re going more towards innovation. [That] means redeveloping new technologies and things which you could actually bring out to the market. Astronomy is going towards the direction of esoteric. (…) The stars are not aligned for that.”
— Dr. Fabian Dayrit, SOSE Dean
WHY SHOULD FILIPINOS CARE ABOUT ASTRONOMY?
“When something [is beautiful], we should preserve it. (…) Instead of teenagers wasting their time on the internet or drugs, they should look at the stars!”
— Dr. Cynthia Celebre, PAGASA Astronomy Research and Development Section Chief
HOW DOES THE MANILA OBSERVATORY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH PAGASA WORK?
“We work with PAGASA because we were originally PAGASA almost a hundred years ago. PAGASA began under World War II, around 1945. So, we have a close relationship with them historically, but we also work with them to get data and so forth. At the moment, we’re training PAGASA people.”
— Fr. Daniel McNamara, SJ, Manila Observatory Executive Director
WHY DO ASTRONOMY IN THE PHILIPPINES?
“We believe that Filipinos should have a scientific mind. We want the country to be self-reliant, industrialized. Astronomy serves as the catalyst to pursure interest in the sciences.”
— Engr. Milo Dacanay, Philippine Astronomical Society President
ASIDE FROM THE 2009 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY, WHAT IS YOUR ORGANIZATION WORKING ON?
“I [am] going to lead an eclipse expedition team to Wuhan, China for the July 22, 2009 total solar eclipse. [It] will be one of the longest totality duration for the decades to come.”
— James Kevin Ty, Astronomical League of the Philippines President
