High school classes in Australia have a chance to win an hour of observing time on one of the world’s largest optical telescopes, the 8-metre Gemini South telescope in the Andes Mountains of Chile.
Entries close Friday 1 May.
The Gemini South telescope
All you have to do is pick an object in the southern sky and write an explanation of why it would be a great thing for the telescope to take a picture of.
For details of the contest, including how to apply, see http://ausgo.aao.gov.au/IYAcontest/
The class with the best-ranked entry will have their object imaged by Gemini. The professionally processed picture will then be presented to the school by astronomers who will explain what the image reveals about the target. In addition, the winning image will appear on the cover of Australian Sky & Telescope magazine.
The top three classes will be eligible to participate in a Live from Gemini program, an introduction to the Gemini telescopes provided via a video link to experts in one of the Gemini control rooms.
Last Updated ( Sunday, 22 February 2009 )