The moon was out and the stars were shining on Thursday night as students from small schools across the Burdekin gathered at Osborne State School for an evening of stargazing. Under the supervision of Rob Black from North Queensland Astronomy Education Outreach program parents, students and staff from Osborne, Maidavale, Kalamia, Brandon and East Ayr State Schools and members of the Lower Burdekin Cub Scouts gazed up into the heavens to observe constellations, planets, stars and the moon.
Using the 20 inch Dobsonian telescope, the group was able to closely observe lunar features such as craters and mountains and Jupiter and its moons. The group also saw satellites and a number of ‘shooting stars’ or meteors tracing their path across the sky. As an added bonus, the students were also able to see and touch a meteorite. The evening was organised as part of the S4 (Supporting Small School Science) program which links small schools across the North Queensland district through online science teaching. Schools from the Burdekin, Ingham and Far West connect weekly through the online web conferencing tool ‘Collaborate’ allowing students and teachers to shares ideas, work collaboratively on investigations and extend their thinking through science.