Excursion to Aras de los Olmos. Astrocontest24

Last Friday, September 13, we embarked, one more year, on the excursion with which we reward the best works exhibited in the Astrocontest.

At 5:00 p.m., 38 students and 7 teachers left the Aula del Cel with Xusa and Bea towards Aras de los Olmos where Alicia, Óscar, Vicent, an extremely clean sky that revealed its treasures and… freezing winter temperatures, where all waiting for us.

But the cold did not prevent the students from queuing tirelessly again and again, now in this telescope, then in that one, to be amazed by the beauty of the skies and try to capture it with their cameras.

A few blankets, sandwiches, excellent company and the best of plans kept us lit until midnight on an ordinary school day.

And, after midnight, the descent on foot to the hermitage where the bus was waiting for us. A 30-minute jog through the darkness and stillness of the mountain, by the light of lanterns and mobile phones and animated by a non-stop comparison between “your Saturn photo and mine”. A collective amazement at the possibility of using quite a regular camera to obtain stunning photos.

The field trip ended where it started at 2 a.m. on Saturday, September 14. Satisfied with the process and the result: a memorable experience for all the students and, surely, an initiation night for more than one.

See you at the next edition: Astrocontest25!