
Index
- IAU100-Puerto Rico (Intro)
- Boletín IAU100-Puerto Rico
- News
- IAU100 NameExoWorlds global campaign
- Exhibits
- Conferences
- Astronomical Observations
- Moon Landing 50th Anniversary
- Einstein Schools
- Collaborating Organizations
- Volunteers
IAU100 - Puerto Rico

Introduction
Welcome to the Celebration of the IAU100 in Puerto Rico! In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is celebrating its 100th anniversary https://iau-100.org. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU is organising a year-long celebration to increase awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development and diplomacy under the central theme "Under One Sky".
In Puerto Rico the celebration events are coordinated by the Puerto Rico IAU100 National Organizing Committee. This committee will implement the IAU100 Global Projects and coordinate activities and events in Puerto Rico. The National Organizing Committe Person of Contact is Dr. Mayra Lebrón from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.
Boletín IAU100 - Puerto Rico
News bulletin of the activities in Puerto Rico (In Spanish)
News
NameExoWorlds global campaign

IAU100 NameExoWorlds global campaign allows any country in the world to give a popular name to a selected exoplanet and its host star. The aim of this initiative is to create awareness of our place in the Universe and to reflect on how the Earth would potentially be perceived by a civilisation on another planet. More information of the global project can be found at http://www.nameexoworlds.iau.org.
For more information about this project in Puerto Rico visit http://generales.uprrp.edu/avaluodeaprendizaje/name-exoworlds-puerto-rico/.
Exhibits
- Exhibit:"News from the Universe"
“News from the Universe” is a traveling image exhibit about astronomical observatories in which the visitor will learn about science as they stroll through the electromagnetic spectrum. The name of the exhibit is inspired in a quote by Sir William Bragg (Nobel Prize in Physics 1915) “Light brings us the News of the Universe”. The exhibit will be displayed at several locations of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. This exhibit is being prepared by Dr. Mayra Lebrón and Dr. Carmen Pantoja from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.
- "Many Inspired Steps" - an exhibit that celebrates the 5oth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
"Sala Eugene Francis", Physics Building, Room #229, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus. From October 9,2018 till July 20,2019. Coordinators: Prof. Dolores Balzac and Dr. Juan González Lagoa.
- Exhibit about Lunar Eclipse 2019: Biblioteca Virgilio Dávila, Caribbean University, Bayamón
Students from the course MATH102-15 of Dr. Gloria Isidro Villamizar prepared an exhibit about the Lunar eclipse of January 20, 2019
- Exhibit about the Periodic Table - March 6, 2019, Biblioteca Virgilio Dávila, Caribbean University Bayamón, 9:00am - 12m
- Exhibit: "Astronauts and their Professions"- A collection of posters to be displayed at the different Departments of the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez campus (Departments of Physics, Geology, Mathematics, Biology, Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Education).Coordinator: Dr. Juan González Lagoa and Prof. Dolores Balzac.
- Keynote Address - Inauguration of the centennial celebration of the International Astronomical Union
at the "Ateneo Puertorriqueño": Speaker- Dr. Daniel R. Altschuler (Saturday January 26, 2019, 2:00p.m. )
Invitation Flyer
- Talk on Relativity - Public talk: "Einstein, Eddington and Me, 100 Years Passing the Tests" by Dr. Dale Ferguson (at Natural Sciences Faculty, University of Puerto Rico, A-211 , Monday February 4, 2019 at 10:00am) Poster
- Facebook Livestream of Talk by Dr. Alessandra Abe Pacini in the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Arecibo Observatory, February 11, 2019 10:45am (Arecibo Observatory Facebook page).
- Astronomy Talk: "Concurso de Hula-Hoop en el Sistema Solar: Asteroides Más Allá de Neptuno" by Dr. Estela Fernández Valenzuela from University of Central Florida (Salón de Usos Múltiples (SUM-A), Interamerican University-Bayamón, Thursday February 21, 2019 at 6:00pm) Poster
- Talk:"El Sistema Solar y los Elementos Químicos" Dra. Gloria Isidro, Biblioteca Virgilio Dávila, Caribbean University, Bayamón, 9:00 - 12m 6 de marzo del 2019
- Symposium: "Women in Science and Technology" Activity for women in High School and College. March 11, 2019 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico, Sala Jesús María Sanromá, Activity Organized by the Colegio de Física Fundamental e Interdisciplinaria de las Américas (COFI) RSVP https://sites.northwestern.edu/cofi/registro-charla-de-mujeres-cientificas/.
- March 12, 2019, Public Talk: "Revealing The Hidden Universe With Black Hole Mergers" Prof. Manuela Campanelli- Rochester Institute of Technology, Distinguished Lecture on Astronomy, Open to the public, free admission, 2019 March 12, 3:30 pm Arecibo Observatory - Visitor Center.
- Astronomy Symposium and Poster Exhibit of the 16 Schools Participants of the Project "Grown Beyond Earth" (GBE) of the
Fairchild Botanical Garden in Miami in Partnership with NASA Kennedy Space Center - University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez campus,
April 5, 2019, Coordinators Dr. Juan González Lagoa and Prof. Dolores Balzac.
Program
8:30am - 9:30am Registration and Welcome - Dr. Rafael Ramos, Chairman Dept Physics UPR-May and Dr. Fernando Gilbes, Dean College of Arts and Sciences, UPR-May
9:30am - 10:00am - "Star Formation of Massive Stars", Dr. Mayra Lebrón Santos, UPR-RP
10:10am - 10:40am - "IR and Radio Studies of Galaxies at Low Galactic Latitudes", Dr. Carmen A. Pantoja, UPR-RP
10:50am - 11:20am - "Possible Location of Regions Emitting Radio Waves in Pulsar Magnetospheres", Dr. Leszek Nowakowski, UPR-May
11:30am - 12:30pm - Poster Presentations: "Growing Beyond Earth Project"
1:00pm - 1:30pm - "Astronomy for the Blind", Dr. Gloria M. Isidro Villamizar, Caribbean University
1:40pm - 2:10pm - "Habitable Planets in the Universe", Prof. Abel Méndez, UPR-Arecibo
2:20pm - 2:50pm - "Absolute Ages of Craters with IR Emission", Dr. Abraham Ruiz García, UPR-Humacao
- NASA at your School PR STEM Initiative with Kennedy Space Center Ground Exploration Engineers - An activity for students grades 9-12, April 8-9, 2019, Coordinators Dr. Juan González Lagoa and Prof. Dolores Balzac.
- Conference: "The Things Einstein Imagined" presented by Dr. Carmen Pantoja at the Luis Negrón López High School at Sabana Grande as part of the Einstein Schools Project, IAU100, April 24, 2019
- Conference: Dr. Mayra Lebrón presented a conference at the Luis Negrón López High School as part of the IAU100 celebration and the Einstein Schools international project, May 1, 2019
- Observing the lunar eclipse January 20, 2019 at University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras campus
- Observing the Lunar Eclipse 2019 at Colegio San Antonio de Padua, Río Piedras:
"Noche de Observación, Eclipse Lunar y súper Luna":A night of astronomical observations and the study of documentation processes through astrophotography of the total eclipse of the moon.Coordinator: Prof. Juan Carlos Velázquez, Programa y Observatorio Astronómico del Colegio San Antonio de Padua, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.http://csa.edu.pr/observatorio
- Observing the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, January 22, 2019 University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras campus
- Sociedad de Astronomía de Puerto Rico: "Ceiba Bajo Las Estrellas" February 9, 2019 from 5:00pm - 11:00pm
- Sociedad de Astronomía de Puerto Rico:"Vieques bajo las Estrellas" March 2, 2019 from 6pm to 11pm at the Malecón del Barrio Esperanza located south of Vieques. Activity open to the general public and free of charge.
- Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe: March 9, 2019 Observation Night: "Noche de Observación Bajo Cielos Obscuros" Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe - 9 de Marzo, 2019 desde 6:45 pm en Carr. 303 km. 11.3 interior, entrando por el camino “La Gran Vía”, en La Pitahaya, Cabo Rojo.
- Sociedad de Astronomía de Puerto Rico -"Mi Municipio Bajo las Estrellas" March 9, 2019, 6:30pm Place:Pista Atlética Marie Lande Mathieu, Levittown.
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The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez is pleased to present
"Many Inspired Steps" an exhibition that celebrates the 50th Anniversary
of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
"Many people were not even alive the last time a person walked on the Moon in 1972. For those who were, time has faded the memories feat. We need to remember, we need to celebrate that great achievement. More than that, we need to inspire children to strive to accomplish what may seem impossible" said Dr. Thomas A Lesser, the exhibition's creator.
"Many Inspired Steps" was organized by Dr. Thomas A. Lesser, who has donated the exhibition and is distributed by Audio Visual Imagineering Inc., which has donated the distribution of the exhibition to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. The exhibit opened on October 9, 2018 and will close on Saturday July 20, 2019. It is coordinated by Prof. Dolores Balzac and Dr. Juan González Lagoa. The exhibit is located at "Sala Eugene Francis" Physics Building, Room #229 University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez campus. It is open for school visits and the general public once a week and at "Open House" activities from January to May 2019.
- Another project that is part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in Puerto Rico is the
Forum: "50 Years of Apollo 11" ("Reflexiones sobre Apollo 11:Se Realizó un sueño...¿Algo más?"
- April 4, 2019. Event organized by Dr. Juan González Lagoa and Prof. Dolores Balzac.
Program
6:30 pm-7:30pm Registration
7:00 pm-7:05pm Welcome - Dr. Juan González Lagoa (NASA PRSG)
7:00 pm-7:25pm Introduction to the Apollo Program - Dr. Gerardo Morell (NASA PRSG)
7:25 pm-7:45pm Presentation - Moderator Dr. Moisés Orengo, Physics Dept, UPR-May
7:45 pm-8:15pm Panelist 1 - Dr. Jorge Iván Vélez Arocho, President "Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ponce"
8:15 pm-8:45pm Panelist 2 - Dr. José Alonso, Chairman del Departament of Physics and Mathematics, UPR-Cayey
8:45 pm-9:15pm Panelist 3 - Dra. Rebeca Orama, Interim Director Teacher Preparation Program, UPR-May
9:45 pm-10:00pm Questions
10:00 pm-10:30pm Closing Remarks
- The Astrophysics Circle UPR-RP has available for download the book published by Ateneo Puertorriqueño on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission http://astronomylab.org/files_pdf/LlegamosenPaz.pdf (In Spanish)
-
Exhibition “Making Space for Everyone” at UPR-Mayagüez by Student Organization SEDS. -
The Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is a student organization that aims to unify students from diverse academic backgrounds at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez Campus, under the common interest of developing Puerto Rico's young space industry.
The members created a set of posters and have them displayed at UPR-Mayagüez. “Making Space for Everyone” Exhibition is a project that has been done in collaboration with NASA PR Space Grant Consortium (PRSGC). This exhibition has the objective of promoting the organization's mission, which is to make the world understand that the field of space exploration is open to everyone regardless of their field of study. There’s room for all majors and all interests.
The exhibition was officially launched on Tuesday, April 9th 2019 during the Yuri’s Night Outreach Activity at 6:30 pm. It is located in the halls adjacent to the Eugene A. Francis room (F-229) and is part of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 celebration.
SEDS welcome's the use of their posters: AstronautPostersSEDS-UPRM.pdf but request that you please send an email to inform of your event (seds.uprm@uprm.edu). SEDS can be found in Facebook https://www.facebook.com/seds.uprm/.
- Research one or various biographies of scientists
- Albert Einstein - Explore website exhibit from the American Institute
of Physics (AIP) Center for History of Physics (English/Spanish):
https://history.aip.org/exhibits/einstein/
Explore a website from Library where they keep Einstein's documents: "The Albert Einstein Archives" at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem: http://albert-einstein.org
Have the students review some geography. Where was Einstein born? Locate: Ulm, Munich, Zurich on the map. https://physicsworld.com/a/a-glimpse-of-einstein-in-zurich/
Einstein liked music. Suggest to your students to listen to one of Mozart's violin sonatas, or the music from Bach or Beethoven (among Einstein’s favorites). Einstein did not like the music of Wagner and Debussy. Suggest to your students to listen to this music as well. Discuss with them which one they like best. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/02/einstein-genius-violin-music-physics-science/
Einstein liked to read. At 16 he had read "Critique of Pure Reason" and "Critique of Practical Reason" by Immanuel Kant. Suggest that your students visit your library to see if they have copies of these books. Einstein also read "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoeyevsky, "El Quijote" and "Exemplary Novels" of Cervantes, and other authors such as Dickens and Balzac. https://www.bookadvice.co/albert-einstein.html
- Mileva Marić - We recommend the book "Einstein's wife:The real Story of Mileva Maric-Einstein" by Allen Esterson and David Cassidy, with a contribution by Ruth Lewin Sime. This book presents the research by historians of physics about Albert Einstein's first wife, Mileva Einstein-Maric. The book presents the life of an intelligent young woman who studied physics at the University but who faced many obstacles during her life that prevented her from achieving her professional goals.
- Emmy Noether
- Isaac Newton
- Jocelyn Bell
- Sir Arthur Eddington
- Marie Curie
- Albert Abraham Michelson
- Marie Goeppert-Mayer
- Edward W. Morley
- Donna Strickland
- Facundo Bueso (Atomic Physicist and First Communicator of Science in Puerto Rico)
- Vera Rubin
- Victor Blanco (First Puerto Rican Astronomer)
- Joseph Taylor
- Maryam Mirzakhani
- Complete one or several of the activities to prepare for the eclipse of July 2, 2019
- Learn about the scale of the solar system
- Learn about the Earth. - Participate of the Erathosthenes Experiment on March 21, 2019. In this experiment you will measure the size of the Earth. For details on how to participate and to register your school visit http://eratosthenes.ea.gr/ .
- Learn about the Moon
- Learn about the Sun
- Learn about an eclipse
- Find out what is a total solar eclipse
- Learn about May 29, 1919 eclipse that was used to test Relativity
- What is a constellation?
- Find information about the Hyades cluster.
- Find the trajectory of the May 29, 1919 eclipse on the surface of the Earth. Where is the Island of Principe and where is the city of Sobral?
- Eddington announced his findings about the 1919 eclipse on Nov. 6, 1919. Find how the newspapers reported these findings.
- Read about how the 1919 eclipse was used to test relativity: https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201605/physicshistory.cfm
- Watch on HBO the BBC movie "Einstein and Eddington" a film from 2008. This link is a review of the film: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16101-film-review-einstein-and-eddington/
- On July 2, 2019 watch NASA's live transmission of the total solar eclipse
- Learn about Waves
- Experiment with lenses
- Build a Galileoscope
- Complete lesson Wave Model Applications from the Perimeter Institute (https://resources.perimeterinstitute.ca).
- Learn about Gravity
- Meet an astronaut - (Guest astronaut name, date and location of presentation to be announced)
- Read about Gravity using the following links: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/, http://www.esa.int/kids/en/learn/Earth/Natural_disasters/What_Is_Gravity
- Learn about telescopes
- Learn the parts of a refractor telescope
- Learn the parts of a reflector telescope
- What is an interferometer
- Learn about ALMA Observatory - https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/publications/radio-astronomy-manual-alma-at-school/
- Build a paper model of an ALMA radio telescope antenna - https://www.almaobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/antenna.pdf
- Learn about Reference Frames - This is one of the most difficult concepts for students. This
video is from 1960 but it shows different concepts clearly.
- Introduction to Vectors video - https://sistematv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/b55a26eb-2a86-41c8-97b9-f3e44e389105/physics-201-introduction-to-vectors/
- Learn about Time
- Read essay about time (In Spanish) - "El tiempo..." por Martín Bonfil Olivera http://www.comoves.unam.mx/numeros/ojodemosca/177
- Read essay about time (In Spanish) - "Volver al Futuro" por Sergio Régules http://www.comoves.unam.mx/numeros/articulo/20/volver-al-futuro
- Read essay about time - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/walk-through-time
- Read essay about - National Physical Laboratory (NPL) "Time Flies" http://www.npl.co.uk/news/time-flies
- Activity about Time (In Spanish) - "Retos a la mera hora" por Antonio Ortiz http://www.comoves.unam.mx/assets/revista/15/retos_15.pdf
- Activity about Time ("Barriles sin fondo", In Spanish) - Try:"Barriles sin fondo" by Antonio Ortiz http://www.comoves.unam.mx/numeros/retos/24
- Group Activity about time - Kinesthetic astronomy: The sky time lesson (Instructions for Teachers)- KinestheticAstronomy.pdf
- Learn about Relativity
- Video about Motion and Relativity - https://sistematv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.fund.motionrel/motion-and-relativity/
- Video about Relative Velocity - http://www.gpb.org/physics-in-motion/unit-2/relative-velocity
- Read about Relativity (In Spanish)- "Cien Años de la teoría general de la relatividad" por Sergio de Régules http://www.comoves.unam.mx/numeros/articulo/204/cien-anos-de-la-teoria-general-de-la-relatividad
- Watch a video about relativity on YouTube (duration: 1h 57m)- This movie is from 1979. Remind your students at minute 27
they talk about the ongoing Observations at Arecibo Observatory of the Binary Pulsar. The students can see Joe Taylor
who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993 for the observations they are explaining in this movie. Also remind students
they will see (at 1:57) a description of M87 which was recently in the news as the first image of a Black hole.
- This is a talk by Dr. Jeffrey Bennett from the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series.
- Learn about Pulsars
- Learn about Black Holes
- Learn about Gravitational Waves
- "Working together to find Science Everywhere" - Collaborate with schools in different part of the world . The objective is to find something interesting related to science where you live, prepare a short presentation to share with another group of students via Skype and post of photo on our School Gallery section.
- Physics Department, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus
- Department of Physical Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus
- Planetarium of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus
- Programa y Observatorio Astronómico del Colegio San Antonio de Padua
- Ateneo Puertorriqueño
- NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium
- Colegio de Física Fundamental e Interdisciplinaria de las Américas
- Caribbean University
- Interamerican University-Bayamón
- Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe
- Kennedy Space Center
- Centro de Recursos Educativos y Tecnológicos (CRET), Facultad de Estudios Generales, UPR-Río Piedras
- Sociedad de Astronomía de Puerto Rico
- Arecibo Observatory
- Prof. Dolores Balzac
- Dr. Juan González Lagoa
- Prof. Juan Carlos Velázquez
- Ms. Kamille Morales Lebrón
- Dr. Carmen Pantoja
- Dr. Mayra Lebrón
- Dr. Daniel Altschuler
- Dr. Gloria Isidro Villamizar
- Mr. Carlos Malca Reyes (Graduate Student, Physics Department, UPR-Río Piedras)
- Mr. Sulpicio Flores Chalco (Graduate Student, Biology Department, UPR-Río Piedras)
- Eng. Giacomo Comes
- Dr. Dorcas Torres
- Dr. Francisco C. Parra-Rojas
- Prof. Elizabeth Torres
- Dr. Manuel Reyes Guzmán
- Prof. Juan González Alicea
- Eng. Eddie Irizarry
- Dr. Lester Morales (Kennedy Space Center)
- Ms. Soraya Flores Chalco (Graduate Student, Physics Department, UPR-Río Piedras)
- Mr. Juan Villafañe
- Ms. Elluz Pacheco (Graduate Student, Physics Department, UPR-Río Piedras)
- Mr. Luis Carrubio (Graduate Student, Physics Department, UPR-Río Piedras)
- Dr. Alessandra Abe Pacini
- Dr. Mayda Velasco
- Ms. Sujeily Santiago
Conferences
Astronomical Observations
Moon Landing 50th Anniversary

"Moon Landing 50th Anniversary" is a global project project aims to encourage people worldwide to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in 20 July 2019 by organising Moon observations during that day that could as well serve to inspire people on how the Moon missions changed the world forever.
Einstein Schools

The IAU Einstein Schools project encourages an understanding of the role of gravity in modern astronomy through the exciting topics of gravity, gravity waves, space-time, and the detection of gravity waves emitted from compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars. The project also considers how gravity can bend star light and how this bending can be detected during a solar eclipse. On the largest scales, the bending of starlight from galaxies or clusters of galaxies can also lead to an understanding of dark matter.
In the Einstein Schools project, schools around the world do activities about gravity in astronomy that relate to the topics listed above. They also learn how the 1919 total solar eclipse confirmed Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and how the predictions from the theory of General Relativity can be verified during the upcoming eclipses in Chile. The Einstein schools worldwide will also be working together to make robotic telescope observations of gravitational lenses and other exciting objects affected by extreme gravity. The Einstein schools will also have the the opportunity to connect to Chilean and Argentinian Einstein schools and programs during the July 2, 2019 total solar eclipse.
In Puerto Rico we encourage schools to create Science Clubs and participate of the activities of the Einstein Project. To register send an email with the name and address of your school, the name of the teacher mentor to divulgacionastronomia@gmail.com with Subject: Einstein Schools. The groups should complete a summary of the experience at the end of each activity in order that the teacher or mentor will validate. Those clubs that complete 10 of the Einstein Schools proposed projects will be invited to the IAU100 Puerto Rico closing event during which they will receive IAU100-Einstein Schools certificates of participation.
The logo for the Einstein schools project was created by the Puerto Rican artist Ms. Kamille Morales Lebrón
Einstein School Projects
This is the opportunity to learn about scientists and their lives. We suggest a list of scientists who were important in the development of physics. Read about them, discuss with the members of your club and create a unique way to tell others about what you have learned. Write a short story, a play, a poster, a video, a podcast or any other interesting fun way you can think of to tell a a story. Report your results to us.
Physics People: