Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA)
Planets In Your Hand : exhibition
The program ‘Planets In Your Hand’ consists of a portable exhibition of models of planetary surfaces in wooden rectangular frames. The idea of the exhibition arose in 2017, when in the framework of the competition Europlanet Funding Scheme 2017, a proposal was submitted by a group of students of the Department of Physics of NKUA to the European planetary network Europlanet. The report of the program presents the surfaces of the 8 planets of the Solar System, highlighting their basic characteristics: temperature, lighting, wind and solid landscape on terrestrial planets. The exhibition was designed and constructed with the aim of disseminating knowledge around the field of planetary exploration, giving the opportunity even to visually impaired people to visit the exhibition and touch the surfaces through a unique interactive experience. The exhibition is aimed at families with children, young people, adults and organized classes from schools and educational institutions. It is accessible to people with disabilities and visual impairments, who may not have had the opportunity to become acquainted with the planets of our Solar System and planetary science in the past.
Celestial Navigation – Planets In Your Hand
The activity includes observation of the night sky with a telescope (planets and other interesting celestial objects) and a simultaneous celestial navigation by the expert “Planets In Your Hand” team members.
What the participants of the activity will gain:
- Interaction with qualified scientists in the field of Astrophysics and Space Exploration in a pleasant and interactive way.
- Gain knowledge about the most interesting celestial objects in the night sky and the methods of observation.
- Possibility of direct interaction with actions related to Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics.
This activity will be carried out in collaboration with the National Observatory of Athens.
This action will take place for the public once during the night at the airport. The duration of the presentation can be 2-3 hours, depending on the number of visitors (schools, general public, etc.)
Solar Observations – Planets In Your Hand
The activity includes observation of the Sun with a specially equipped telescope and a simultaneous explanation of solar activity and related phenomena that occur on the Sun by the expert “Planets In Your Hand” team members.
What the participants of the activity will gain:
- Interaction with qualified scientists in the field of Astrophysics and Space Exploration in a pleasant and interactive way.
- Gain knowledge about the solar activity and related phenomena and the methods of solar observation.
- Possibility of direct interaction with actions related to Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics.
This activity will be carried out in collaboration with the National Observatory of Athens.
This activity will be held for the public once during daylight and at time to be determined after consultation with the organizing committee. The duration of the presentation can be 1-2 hours, depending on the number of visitors (schools, general public, etc.).
Dr. Kosmas Gazeas
studied Physics at the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and he got his MSc and PhD degree in Observational Astrophysics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UOA).His post-doctoral research in astrophysics was conducted at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), USA, where he worked with images taken from Hubble Space Telescope (NASA). He worked at the European Space Agency - ESA, Netherlands where he specialized in space technology and optics. Since 2012 he act as an ESA scientific consultant in projects related to space optics.
In parallel to his research activity, his passion about space exploration led him to participate at the Astronaut Selection Process at ESA in 2008. He managed to be shortlisted among the top 500 candidates in the world.
Today Dr. Gazeas is a Lecturer of Observational Astrophysics at Physics Department (UOA). His educational and research work is focused in astronomical study of eclipsing binary stars, supernovae, blazars, black holes and other exotic objects in our Universe, while he works in parallel with asteroseismology, on various space technology topics, applied optics and astronomical instrumentation.
His rich research work is reflected on a large number of research and academic assignments on various astronomical subjects, while his interest in public outreach led him to get involved with science communication. During the past years he gave numerous talks in schools, universities and other institutes, while he is an active organizing member in Athens Science Festival.
Maria Panagopoulou
has graduated from the Department of Physics of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) where she specialized in Astrophysics.She is currently (2022) completing her postgraduate studies entitled “Didactics and Public Understanding of Science and Digital Technology” at the Faculty of Primary Education of NKUA.
Her research interests focus on the teaching of Astronomy, the History and Nature of Science in Education as well as the non-formal education and its collaboration with school settings.
She has extensive experience in organizing and conducting educational events, while she remains an active member of the award-winning science communication team “Planets In Your Hand”. Since January 2022, she belongs to the workforce of the Department of Research and Develompent at Ellinogermaniki Agogi.
Konstantina Vrontaki
studied Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UOA) and got her MSc in “Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics” from the same institute.Her research interest include Observational Astrophysics and blazars.
Wanting to share her love of Astrophysics with the public, she got involved in science communication. She is a member of the award-winning science communication group "Planets In Your Hand", and she has participated in numerous educational activities.
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public University in Athens, Greece. It has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837 and is the oldest higher education institution of the modern Greek state and the first contemporary University in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean. Today it is one of the largest Universities by enrollment in Europe, with over 69,000 registered students. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens is an integral part of the modern Greek academic and intellectual tradition.
(source: wikipedia)