Exploring the Celestial Sphere with the Telescope and Computational Analysis of the Images

Abstract

One of the modern methods of teaching astronomy is the Investigation, one of Inquiry Based Learning methods, used as an educational method in the elaboration of extracurricular projects, as an example for the students of the Faculty of Sciences, from University of Craiova, Romania. The paper presents a join approach to research in Astronomy and Computer Science, using Scientific Inquiry methods and Computer programming skills to study the asteroid dynamics in the Solar System. Starting with the image analysis with the software Astrometrica, necessary for the determination of moving objects astrometry in astronomical images, the students developed, under supervision of the author, some software tools oriented to fast identification and classification of the founded asteroids. Theirs tools where tested on real astronomy data, namely raw images, obtained with the INT telescope in La Palma, the Canary Islands. Following this methodological experiment the students arrive to develop within a short time advanced practical skills for research in Computational Astronomy, increasing in the same time theirs knowledge as Web programmers.