Summer AstroCamp 2019 Participants

From 4 to 18 August this year, AstroCamp 2019 took place at the Centre for Environmental Education and Interpretation in the Corno de Bico Protected Landscape in northern Portugal. AstroCamp is an astronomy-focused academic programme for secondary school students which aims to bring together students with different backgrounds and life experiences, but with one common passion: astronomy.

18 students aged between 15 and 18 took part in the camp — 11 girls and 7 boys, from Brazil, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Over the course of two weeks, the astronomy enthusiasts took courses on relativity and on the physics of stars, galaxies and the Universe as a whole, observed the dark night skies using both the naked eye and telescopes, and connected online with astronomers and physicists from different countries. 

They also completed a computational project, working with data from some of the world’s best telescopes. Social activities such as hiking, sports, community service activities and film and documentary sessions also contributed to making the camp a fun and enriching experience.

While this camp has been running since 2012, it was only opened to international students in 2016. ESO began supporting the camp in 2017, awarding a full bursary to a student from one of ESO’s Member States. The preparations for the 2020 camp are already starting, and more information will appear on the website soon.