Outstanding participation across Chile for the second Asteroid Day

This article was written by the Millenium Institute of Astrophysics which was an Asteroid Day 2016 Premier Event partners.

For the second year in a row, 15 national institutions in Chile joined to celebrate Asteroid Day led by astrophysicist and Queen guitarist, Brian May (view the Our Team page). Just like in 2015, MAS played an essential role in the organisation of these events where many of its researchers participated.

Almost twenty activities across Chile hosted by fifteen different institutions joined one cause and the audience was eager to participate and mark the second International Asteroid Day in Chile.

Without a doubt, one of the most outstanding events this 2016 was the first Asteroid Day Short Stories Contest which was organised by the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics MAS along with UC s Institute of Astrophysics and in collaboration with Universidad de Santiago s Planetarium and the Museo Interactivo Mirador. This contest invited primary and secondary students from different parts of Chile to write a short story of no more than 108 words, making reference to the 108 years since the Tunguska event that is commemorated every June 30th. After receiving 200 story submissions, we met the two winners of the first prize: Catalina Pi a, primary student of 8th grade at Colegio San Adri n de Quilicura (winner of the Primary Student Category), and Damaris Ruiz, secondary student of 2nd grade at Liceo Bicentenario de Coronel (winner of the Secondary Student Category). The Award Ceremony was held at the Planetarium, where there was also a public screening of the film: 51 Degrees North, and where later the audience could discuss about asteroids with MAS Associate Researcher and leader of this celebration in Chile, Alejandro Clocchiatti, and Universidad del Desarrollo s Geologist, Cristhi n Salazar.

For its part, MAS Deputy Director, Dante Minniti, gave a master lecture at Universidad Andr s Bello s Casona Las Condes Campus. The Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences, Pierre Paul Romagnoli, was among the audience since this lecture also kicked off a series of talks organized by his University.

Additionally, also supported by MAS, researcher Millarca Valenzuela was in Peine II Region of Chile to talk about the importance of preserving the Monturaqui Crater, the biggest meteorite crater in Chile and one of the few confirmed collisions in South America, located 200km southwest from Antofagasta which is constantly damaged by cars entering this site.

The institutions involved in the celebration of the second International Asteroid Day this year were the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics MAS, UC s Institute of Astrophysics, Universidad Austral s Institute of Earth Sciences, Universidad Andr s Bello, the Center For Excellence in Astrophysics and Associated Technologies, Universidad Santo Tom s, Museo Interactivo Mirador, Universidad de Santiago de Chile s Planetarium, UdeC s Department of Astronomy, the Group of Meteorites and Planetary Sciences, the Chilean Geological Society, Universidad Pedro de Valdivia, FCFM U. de Chile s Department of Astronomy, Universidad Cat lica del Norte and Universidad Mayor, which all together carried out almost twenty activities in different parts of Chile.

You can view some of the event pictures on Flickr here and visit their website: http://www.astrofisica.cl