My thoughts about Education Humanities, Technology and Digital Culture. Interested on social media tools in educational contexts and
gamification in education.
Seeing some shooting stars with the Perseid meteor shower, the most stunning night sky event of the summer.
Caused by Earth passing through trails of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the shower has become famous over the centuries because of its consistent display of celestial fireworks.
This year, the Perseid maximum will occur on the night of Aug. 11 and pre-dawn hours of Aug. 12. You’ll start seeing meteors from the shower around 11 p.m. local time and the rates will increase until dawn.
If you miss the night of the 11th, you will also be able to see quite a few on the night of the 12th between those times.
credit: NASA
So, get ready for the 2024 Perseid Meteor Shower, the most stunning night sky event of the summer! This episode dives into when and where to watch, offers tips for capturing breathtaking photos, and explains why this year’s shower will be unforgettable.
August sees the return to the northern hemisphere of properly dark night skies. With it getting darker earlier, stargazing gets easier. It’s great cosmic timing because along with convenience comes a conjunction of Mars and Jupiter, the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower and much more.
Around the peak mornings, if you trace all the Perseid meteors backward, they seem to come from the constellation Perseus near the famous Double Cluster. Hence, the meteor shower is named in honor of the constellation Perseus the Hero.
Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing, moon-watching and the night sky in August 2024:
Don’t forget to watch, and share your meteor moments. Join with friends for a night of cosmic wonder and make a wish upon a shooting star!
The looming eclipse on April 8, 2024, allowed tens of millions of Americans, Canadians and Mexicans the opportunity to see the moon completely block the sun and reveal our star's eerie atmosphere.
A solar eclipse happenswhen the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that blocks out the light from the sun. The sun appeared to vanish behind the moon for minutes at a time as the eclipse traveled along its "path of totality," starting on Mexico's Pacific coast and moving northeast through more than a dozen states, from Texas to Maine, and into eastern Canada.
credit: The Canadian Press/ Dave Chidley
More than 31 million people live along the path of totality, and many moreflew or drove to witness the April 8 spectacle in person.
After the April 8 total solar eclipse, the next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous United States will be on Aug. 23, 2044.
Before that, there will be an annular solar eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024, according to NASA. It will be visible in parts of South America, with some parts only able to experience a partial eclipse. A partial eclipse will also be visible in parts of Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and North America.
On Aug. 12, 2026, there will be a total solar eclipse visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small area of Portugal, according to NASA.
A partial eclipse will be visible in parts of Europe, Africa, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
"The Moon is having its day in the Sun — happy solar eclipse 2024!"
The 8 April 2024, the Moon crossed between the Sun and the Earth, effectively blocking the Sun’s light. In the path of totality, the sky was darken and the air was cool, and the Sun’s glowing corona (it’s rarely seen outermost part) became visible for up to four and a half minutes!
People in North America (Mexico, the United States, and Canada) got to witness this special and rare event! A partial eclipse or total eclipse if they were in the path of totality.
Did you saw the #GoogleDoodle? Don't be like the E and slept on this rare celestial event.
credit: Getty Images
via Forbes
Eye Safety:
No matter where you were, if you planned to look at or even toward the sun, I hope you protected your eyes.
According to experts, only those in the path of totality were safe to look at the eclipse without protection, and only during totality.
The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun was through special-purpose solar filters, such as eclipse glasses (example shown down) or hand-held solar viewers.
To learn all about the 2024 Total Eclipse 2024 visit the website NASA Total EclipseApril, 2024 if you couldn't follow NASA’s live, streaming videoof the event.
The Eclipse is over but you can still watch NASA broadcast of the total solar eclipse as it moved across North America on April 8, 2024, traveling through Mexico, across the United States from Texas to Maine, and out across Canada’s Atlantic coast.
Well! You have
some special digital resources to enjoy and learning about Total Solar Eclipse.
Students and teachers have heres some resources to teach and learn about
Total Solar Eclipse 2024.
Activities:
Teachers can
prepare a great science lesson, for sure!
Don't forget to
get your students involved in some research from themselves.
The case of
balloons project by NASA is very interesting. Let your students be curious about
this balloons project sent by NASA. Why and for what.
Invite students to
watch the video above about a team of a half dozen students in the Department
of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences UAlbany selected to launch weather
balloons as part of a nationwide project, co-sponsored by NASAand the National Science Foundation, to collect and analyze data around the Oct. 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse.
Hoping you will
enjoy if you were not on the path of th eclipse.
And 2024 belongs to the Year of the Dragon which is believed to embody power, strength, luck, and wisdom. Many traditions are tied to the festival as some South-East Asian and East Asian countries and their diaspora communities observe this auspicious time — in ways that are unique to each culture.
The Year of the Rabbit ended February 9, 2024. And then the Year of the Dragon started February 10, 2024. Next comes the year of the Green Wood Snake, starting on January 29, 2025.
As you already know, In China, and other Asian countries, the familiar Gregorian calendar is used for day-to-day life. But Chinese calendar dates continue to be used to mark traditional holidays such as the new year and the fall moon festival. And then Chinese astrology uses the lunar calendar to determine favorable dates for weddings and other special events.
In other words, the Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, a combination of solar and lunar calendars. Plus, it has a long history spanning several Chinese dynastic periods from as far back as the Shang Dynasty around the 14th century BCE. Also, there are several different symbolic cycles within the calendar, used in Chinese astrology.
So the Chinese calendar is an intricate and complex measure of time.
One of 12 animal symbols of the Chinese zodiac (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep/Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar/Pig) represent each year of the Chinese lunar calendar. For 2024, it’s the Year of the Dragon. TravelChinaGuide.com says:
Year of the Dragon
Chinese Dragon is de facto an imaginary animal, also the only fictitious creature in the 12 zodiac animals, which is composed of 9 animals, including the body of a snake, the horns of a deer, the head of an ox, the mouth of a crocodile, the claws of an eagle, and the scales of a fish. The Dragon enjoys a very high reputation in Chinese culture and it represents auspiciousness and imperial power since ancient times.
Chinese people regard themselves as descendants of the Chinese dragon and emperors entitled themselves exclusively as the ‘dragon’. It is the token of authority, dignity, honor, success, luck, and capacity
How is it celebrated?
From the first day of the Lunar New Year (the day of the new moon) to the 15th day (next full moon), Lunar New Year celebrations abound. What’s more, each day holds a special significance that varies according to local traditions. But first, before the arrival of the new year, homes are thoroughly cleaned to sweep away ill fortune and to welcome good luck. Then on New Year’s Eve, families traditionally gather to celebrate and enjoy sumptuous traditional feasts. Finally, at midnight, they greet the new year with fireworks.
In the days that follow, celebrations include a variety of festivities. For example, there are dance parades featuring colorful dragons or lions. Or there are ceremonies to pay homage to deities and ancestors. Plus, children receive money in red envelopes and gifts are exchanged. Extended family members travel long distances to visit each other.
The Lunar New Year celebration traditionally culminates on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival. On this night of the full moon, families mingle in the streets carrying lighted lanterns, often creating a beautiful light display.
Mythology & Lunar Year :
There are several variations on the mythology behind Lunar New Year celebrations. Most concern the story of an ugly, bloodthirsty monster named Nian. The monster would emerge on the last night of each year to destroy villages and eat people. A wise elder advised villagers to scare the monster away with loud noises. That night, they set fire to bamboo, lit fireworks, and banged their drums. So the monster, afraid of the loud noises and lights, ran away to hide in its cave.
In another version of the myth, an old man persuaded Nian to turn its wrath on other monsters, not the villagers. Before he was seen riding away on Nian, the old man, actually a god, advised the people to hang red paper decorations in their homes and set off firecrackers on the last night of the year to keep Nian away.
Then on the first day of the new year, the villagers celebrated, greeting each other with the words Guo Nian, which mean “survive the Nian.” That tradition has continued to this day, with Guo Nian now meaning “celebrate the new year.”
credit: Matthew Chin
via EarthSky
Education :
“The 2 Chinese characters are the same. It means blessing, a hope that other people will get good luck. Blessings like these are commonly used during Lunar New Year. The red background is also a kind of good as Chinese people use red to represent good luck."
graphic meaning
As you see interculturality is so important. Three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension.
Bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development.
A good moment to talk about Lunar New Year - Year of the Dragon with students. Invite them to a concrete action to support diversity aims:
To raiseawarenessworldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclusion.
To build aworld community of individualscommitted to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures.
Perhaps you have Asian students in your classroom. Invite them to share their own family traditions to celebrate the New Lunar Year.
Cultural and linguistic diversity, local traditions are interesting subjects to include and discuss into school curricula by using science to explain why Asian people call their new year, Lunar Year, inviting students to deepen their knowledge using social media in the classroom.
Learners are curious about other cultures and traditions. Let students participate in different activities by doing ONE thing for diversity.
Values: family, friends, honoring old people. And of course, sensitivity, prosperity and peace.
Last 16th October the World Food Day has been celebrated as every year since 1981. An opportunity to (re)think how we manage a finite resource, the water, in degradation and over-exploited by sectors such as agriculture and industry.
Water is essential to life on Earth. It covers the majority of the Earth's surface, makes up over 50% of our bodies, produces our food, and supports livelihoods.
But this precious resource is not infinite and we need to stop taking it for granted. What we eat, and how that food is produced all affect water. That's way we celebrate every year The Word Water Day
Together, we can take water action for food and be the change.
With the slogan ‘’Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind’’ the campaign, is communicating in over 50 languages across more than 150 countries.
FAO/ UN are calling for action from governments, the private sector, civil society, and individuals, including youth, to safeguard water.
This Activity Book is aimed at a broad age range of young people interested in learning more about the importance of water on our planet, inspiring them with solutions for a wiser management of water resources.
Embark on this inspiring adventure to a coastal fishing community in the book Climate action. Maria's story, where children can discover practical ways to make a difference in our changing climate.
This captivating story is designed to engage even young readers, aged 5 and above, with adult support recommended for enhanced reading comprehension.
*The book also provide ideas for those wishing to enter the World Food Day (WFD) 2023 Poster Contest.
*Young kids must be supported by teachers.
Other resource: a video for kids
As you could read, there's a good number of resources and activities to motivate your students of different ages, to understand since little kids how important is Water! They will understand that #WaterIsFood and they must manage this finite resource.
And remember them they are lucky kids and adolescents in a world have no water no food. 780 millions of people are in crisis.
I'm sure your will do a good job by helping students in different lessons to partcipate on WaterAction.
As you always know activities will depend from the level and ages you are teaching!
