06.03. First evening

On the first evening of Astro School, the children were introduced to the latest discoveries related to the planet Mars, as well as the current rover missions that send daily data from locations that once could have supported life – the dried-up river and lake beds.

Later that exceptionally clear evening, under the expert guidance of Professor Gloryan Grabner, the children especially enjoyed the still relevant so-called “Planetary Alignment” through the main telescope of the Makarska Observatory – the 356 mm Celestron 14″ – as they observed the planets Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon, along with the most beautiful nebula visible only at this time of year: the star nursery M42 in the constellation Orion.

We had been waiting for just such an evening, as a week earlier, when we had announced our winter holiday school, the rain completely prevented it.

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07.03. Second evening

With our young lecturers Doriana Grubišić and Luciana Grabner, the children learned about the different types of nebulae and their importance for all life in the Universe, discovering a richness of colors and shapes that cannot be perceived merely by looking through a telescope, but only thanks to light-gathering techniques using CCD cameras in modern telescopes – especially those operating in space: Hubble and JWST.

The practical workshops were conducted by our academic sculptor, Mr. Vice Glibota, with whom the children embarked on an imaginative journey to our next space destination – the planet Mars – and learned sculpting techniques by modeling their own house on the Red Planet.

Our astronauts this year are:

who earned their space Diploma at the end of Astro School 🙂

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I would like to extend my gratitude to the City of Makarska – to Mayor Mr. Zoran Paunović and the Community of Technical Culture of the Split-Dalmatia County – who once again made it possible to hold a free Astro School for all our children this year.

Head of the Makarska Observatory

Professor Gloryan Grabner