Science Laboratory Intensive Course B

By teaching intensively, students will be able to attempt experiments and observations that would not be possible during regular class time.

The plan for 2022 is to observe the moon and planets at the Ekoda Campus for about three consecutive days at an appropriate time. Some people may not know this, but the five planets that have been known since ancient times and can be seen with the naked eye can also be seen from Tokyo. In particular, Venus, the morning star and evening star, and Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, appear quite bright. And if conditions are good, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn can also be seen with the naked eye in the Tokyo night sky.

There are probably many students who are interested in Galileo, Newton, the universe, and the stars, but feel that they are too difficult to understand. In this intensive course, for example, we plan to observe Jupiter and the Galilean moons with digital cameras and telescopes for about three days. Then, as shown in the photo below, it is easy to see that the Galilean moons are moving around Jupiter. Of course, the existence of moons orbiting Jupiter is proof that the Earth is not necessarily the center of the universe (refuting the geocentric theory), and students can easily and realistically rediscover the facts discovered by Galileo 400 years ago.

Photos taken with a compact digital camera in Tokyo
The brightest and largest object in the center is Jupiter, and the three or four small dots visible are the Galilean moons.
 

By the way, September 21st was a full moon, and Jupiter was visible in the western sky in the photo above, and the moon rose between the buildings in the eastern sky as shown in the photo below. Even in a big city, Jupiter is clearly visible, and you can see that the Galilean moons can also be observed with a camera or telescope.

During the evening hours, planes fly constantly over Tokyo, and if you time it right, you can see not geese but cranes on the moon.

Let's go outside and look at the sky together! You'll be amazed by all the things you see!