The conditions were perfect, with not a cloud in sight when 1,100 participants all brought their binoculars and telescopes to the Maida Vale Nature Reserve on Saturday to learn more about the night sky.
The previous world record was 834 participants, held by Eagle Cultural and Educational Enterprises and Youth Cultural Creative and Philanthropy Consortium in Chinese Taipei in June 2014.
Rick guided the participants through a journey of the skies, focusing on the life cycle of a star. Starting with the stellar nursery in the Great Orion Nebula, Rick then had particpants look towards the Southern Cross to find the Wishing Well open cluster of stars. Then it was on to a Sun-like star (Beta Hydri) and finally talking about the formation of planets whilst viewing Jupiter and the Moon.
A resounding cheer rose from the crowd as the siren sounded to mark the end of the record attempt, and the breaking of the world record. The attempt in Perth will now be verified by the Guinness World Records organisation after the submission of volunteer reports and documentation. ICRAR was a proud partner of the Shire’s event, together with the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group.
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- Rick Tonello from Astronomy Education Services, teacher of the World’s Largest Astronomy Lesson, just before it all began.
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- Participants at the ‘World’s Largest Astronomy Lesson’ look towards the Southern Cross to observe the Wishing Well open cluster of stars at about the halfway point of the lesson. Credit: John Goldsmith / celestialvisions.com.au.
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- Looking towards Jupiter near the end of the record breaking lesson. Jupiter put on a good show on Saturday, with some of its brightest moons on display. Credit: John Goldsmith / celestialvisions.com.au
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- ABC720’s Russell Woolf MC’d the event on Saturday. Credit: John Goldsmith / celestialvisions.com.au
Did you miss out on the World’s Largest Astronomy Lesson, or just want to join in on more astronomy action in Perth? Come along toAstrofest on March 28th, 2015, for more!
