SST Astronomy Club
A club that sees the bigger picture
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Sidewalk Astronomy (18 Nov 2023)
On the 18th of November 2024, the Grassroots organisations of Clementi and the Science Centre Singapore, came forward to organise the Sidewalk Astronomy at Casa Clementi for its residents.
SST Astronomy Club was invited to contribute to the event by setting up a games booth to engage the young residents of Casa Clementi.
FCC Radio License Programme
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the US government, formed by the Communications Act of 1934. They basically decide who is able to use which frequencies for which purposes, and issue licenses to stations for specific frequencies. Their mission, amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is to ensure fast and reliable wire and radio communication services across the nation and the world.
That includes broadband, wireless internet, and fixed wireless services. Why? The airwaves are considered to be a limited resource that is shared by everyone. Because of this, the FCC assigns specific frequencies to licensed operators to prevent too many services from using the same channels at the same time.
What is the FCC License?
An FCC license grants an organization legal permission to operate on a specific frequency, within a particular radio band, using a specific type of radio signal emission. Individuals, businesses, or organizations that want to operate on Industrial/Business Pool frequencies must have a license.
This includes using a network design and equipment that meets FCC guidelines for quality and clarity. In the case of fixed wireless, the FCC requires most wireless telecommunications service licensees to construct their system or meet coverage requirements within a specified time period and then notify the Commission when everything is completed.
Monday, December 4, 2023
Chiangmai Overseas Learning Experience Programme (7-12 Nov 2023)
During the 7 Nov (Tues) to 12 Nov (Sun) 2023, 14 SST students and 3 teachers embarked on a Learning Journey to Chiangmai, Thailand.
The objectives of the trip are for students to:
1. Develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to Astronomy through a visit to the National Astronomy Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) facilities in Thailand, including the Princess Sirindhorn AstroPark (AstroPark), the Thai National Observatory (TNO), and the Thai National Radio Observatory (TNRO).
2. Develop effective personal and interpersonal skills through the field trip.
3. Provide a valuable differentiated learning experience in participating in a field trip where students learn about Astronomy Education and Research in a new learning environment.
4. Develop awareness about Sustainable Development in Northern Thailand through the The King’s Royal Projects.
The programme for the trip is as follows:
Day 1: Arrive at Chiang Mai
Day 2: Head to AstroPark, Exhibition @ Astro Park, Visit Engineering Facility, Tour around Old Town
Day 3: Travel to Doi Inthanon National Park, Doi Inthanon National Park, Thai National Observatory (TNO), Stargazing @ Doi Inthanon National Park
Day 4: Travel to Astro Park, Planetarium show at 11 am local time, Thai National Radio Observatory (TNRO)
Day 5: Mae Taeng Elephant Camp, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Astro Park @ 6 pm for Stargazing
Day 6: Return to Singapore
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Partial Lunar Eclipse Camp (28-29 Oct 2023)
On 28 Oct 2023, 54 SST Astroclub members gathered for a Moon-gazing event that would happen on the 29 Oct 2023 at about 4 am.
In conjunction of the partial lunar eclipse, we have also invited members of the Singapore Amatuer Radio Transmission Society (SARTS) to give us an orientation of the radio waves that are found in our atmosphere that is instrumental to radio communications.
Mr. Hugh Mason fro SARTS shared with our students on the following:
(a) Solar System Model and the role of Radio (for Voyager I and II)
(b) How Antennas Work?
(c) Space weather phenomenon - ionosphere, northern lights, radio propagation and solar storms
(d) High Frequency radio transmissions and receptions
Mr Hugh Mason (9V1SA) from SARTS giving a lesson on Solar Flares and its effects on radio transmissions
At 4 a.m. on the 29th Oct 2023, we witness the moon being “cropped off” by the earth’s shadow during the partial eclipse.
The moon gazing session ended off in the morning with breakfast, reflection, and a short presentation of their learning experiences.
Saturday, October 21, 2023
4th Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC), Final Round 軌道上決勝大会
The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge is an educational program in which students solve various problems by programming free-flying robots (Astrobee and Int-Ball) in the International Space Station (ISS). The Kibo-RPC will inspire students to develop their educational and professional goals to a higher level. Participants will have the opportunity to learn cutting-edge methodologies and hone their skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through this program.
In this competition, 1685 students from 13 countries and regions participated. Singapore is represented by SST 1, in a 10-nation grand finals, comprising of teams from Australia, US, UAE, Malaysia, and Thailand.
NAGARAJAN VIMAL BALAJI, SHAUN CHUA ENQI, and TEH TIAN CHENG from S2-08 represented Team Singapore.
The game play was to hit as many targets in the International Space Station in the shortest time available, before returning into the hands of the astronaut.
The process in which our robots (Astrobee) performed can be found in the Youtube recording on the International Space Station: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBKVAojl0GQ
The leaderboard is as follows:
Team SST 1 came in second overall to secure the award.
For more information about the competition, you may refer to the website.
Ad Astra.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Space Science School Talks (1 to 3 Aug 2023)
Scientists travel to Singapore for various conferences and meetings. It is through these meetings that we had the opportunity to invite them for talks. The following are the 3 talks organised during the Space Week.
On the 1st of August 2023, SST students from Astronomy Club and Science Talent Development Programme were given a talk by Professor Loren Chang from the National Central University.
His talk was "How to survive space flight?"
Dr. Loren Chang is a Professor at the Department of Space Science andEngineering at National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan. Dr. Chang conducts research on the Earth’s upper atmosphere and its role in spaceweather, analysis of satellite data from the COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 andTIMED missions, and serves as the Taiwan lead for the International SatelliteProgram in Research and Education (INSPIRE) consortium. Dr. Chang hasserved as the Principal Investigator of the IDEASSat (Ionosphere DynamicsExplorer and Attitude Subsystem Satellite)/INSPIRESat-2 spacecraft and iscurrently leading the development of SCION-X (SCintillation and IONosphereNetwork eXtended) and ILITE missions, as well as the Deep Space RadiationProbe (DSRP) payload, which is Taiwan’s first lunar science payload. Dr.Chang is working to further enhance spacecraft design and operationscapacity, as well as an academic program focused on astronautics at NCU,while also serving as a consultant for space technology developments byTaiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and private industry.
The planets and moons of the Solar System are incredibly diverse worlds with histories both ancient and dramatic. Etched into their surfaces is a fascinating story – of fire and ice, of order and upheaval, of great cataclysms and slow change. Volcanoes are common throughout the Solar System and volcanic eruptions are among nature's most awesome spectacles. As we explore volcanoes on Earth and other worlds, we find a wide variety of landscapes—even ice volcanoes. Dr. Rosaly Lopes will discuss what space missions such as Galileo and Cassini have revealed about the wide variety of volcanoes in the solar system.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Rosaly M. C. Lopes is Deputy Director for Planetary Science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, and former Editor-in-Chief of the planetary journal Icarus. She obtained a B.Sc. in astronomy and Ph.D. in planetary science from University College London, UK. Her research expertise is on planetary geology and volcanology and she has studied Mars, Io, and Titan. She was a member of Galileo’s Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team from 1991-2003 and of the Cassini Titan Radar Mapper (2003-2019). She is the PI of the NASA Astrobiology Institute project “Habitability of Hydrocarbon Worlds: Titan and Beyond”. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geological Society of America, and the American Geophysical Union. She has received several awards including the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society, the Ambassador Award from the American Geophysical Union, and two NASA Exceptional Public Service Medals. |
1.Structure of Earth atmosphere and ionosphere
(Important things to know when you plan a Cube Sat)
2.Venus orbitor mission - from dream to reality
How I could walk long way to make my dream come true.
(Why I wanted to explore Venus, what the atmosphere pressure , temperature of Venus, Do Lightning and active volcanoes exist on Venus?)
Biography of Professor Oyama:
Current position
Senior fellow International Center forPlanetary Environment Research, Kyushu Univeristy
CEO, Ltd Asia Space Environment ResearchConsortium
Professor Koichiro Oyama has held various appointments in Universities in Japan, visiting professorships in Taiwan, and held various international appointments related to Space Exploration.
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During the 7 Nov (Tues) to 12 Nov (Sun) 2023, 14 SST students and 3 teachers embarked on a Learning Journey to Chiangmai, Thailand. The obje...
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AstroChallenge is an annual astronomy competition jointly organised by the Astronomical Societies of National University of Singapore and Na...