Pre-events of 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics

As I've mentioned in my previous post I managed to arrive in Campos 16th of April and I was lucky enough to have a glance at the series of events arranged prior to the 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics, raising more awareness among the locals and getting more people interested. Through this post I will try to put into words some of the experiences I've been through until the start of 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics on 19th of April.



During the most of these 2 days I was with Professor Marcelo from morning to the evening, and therefore it was possible for me to easily connect with the students of the Louis Cruls Astronomy Club and other individuals who were a part of this endeavor, for I almost spoke no Portuguese back then. Professor Marcelo always helped me with everything, and introduced me to his colleagues and friends, making my stay more welcoming and easier. 

The series of pre-event activities organized in connection with the 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics were already in progress from 16th through 18th of April and were held in the Shopping Boulevard of the host city of Campos dos Goytacazes located in a nice neighborhood with interesting architecture.  

Professor Marcelo and Carlos, busy at work with inflatable mobile planetarium

Brazilian students with their lovely smiles !

An inflatable Mobile Planetarium had been set-up inside the Shopping Boulevard and there were repetitive sessions at regular intervals about night-sky observation and stars. The sessions were free for anyone and were conducted by Marcelo himself or the members of Louis Cruls Astronomy Club and were held from morning to the late evening.

Inside the mobile planetarium

Further there were different telescopes on display for attendees to check out and for me it was really interesting to see a lot of young school students attending this pre-event. I tried to talk to them, which was really hard with my handful of Portuguese words and however ended up sharing a smile and a picture with them sometimes. I was told that it was this occasion that some of these students were making their first visit to the Shopping Boulevard thanks to the social project, run by the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes.




Additionally there were video guides about astronomy in general and a daily cinema aired in Portuguese about the life of astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS). I was enjoying the visual appearance and the aesthetic Brazilian Portuguese accent, trying to improve my linguistics at the same time.

Extending queues of students for the pre-events of 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics at the Shopping Boulevard : Picture courtesy : http://calc.zip.net/

One of the snaps I took inside the cinema

Inside the Shopping Boulevard in Campos with Marcelo and his colleagues.

Making new friends at the same time !

I also could visit the University where the observatory of Louis Cruls Astronomy Club is located and Professor Marcelo was kind enough to show me around. The dome reminded me of the Molesworth Telescope that our astronomical society, Mathematical & Astronomical Society (MAS) possesses.

Me, at the observatory of Louis Cruls Astronomy Club

The next day on the 18th, I met meteorite hunter Dirk Ross, who was one of the fellow invited speakers. He is an American born scientist living in Japan and I had the pleasure of having his interesting company throughout the rest of my stay in Campos. With Professor Marcelo, we went for a TV station and there was a talk on air. The TV program discussed about the oncoming 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics and meteorites.

Professor Marcelo Souza, me, Dirk Ross along with the presenters at the local TV station in Campos
Picture courtesy : Professor Marcelo Souza

Me and Dirk Ross with students, trying to speak some Portuguese to communicate

 Thus the set of pre-events of 5th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics was a great success and I was really happy to have been a part of the activities, with a bunch of new experiences in a new country. Muito Obrigado por todos !!

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