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Star Walk 2 Free: Sky and planet atlas

Have you ever wondered what’s that shiny spot in the sky just after dusk, or the name of that star that calls your attention at night? With the Star Walk 2 Free App you will be able to discover it easily and begin in the astronomy science.

If you are a curious person, you ask these questions to yourself, and want to have basic knowledge of astronomy to identify what you see in the sky, Star Walk 2 can be you ally. It is as easy as to open the app, point to the sky in the direction of the object that interests you, and you will be able to discover what it is.

Star Walk 2 has a celestial atlas with which you will be able to identify stars, constellations, and planets in real-time and freely. With an additional payment, you can also see a detailed broad range of artificial satellites, comets or asteroids.

As I mentioned above, if you are curious about what’s in the sky and you don’t know where to begin, Star Walk 2 Free could be an option. According to several forums, this is one of the most complete astronomy apps that exist, since it uses astronomical data and cutting-edge technology to show 3D graphs, plus multiple visual and sound effects when navigating the app. You can hear relaxing music to match your night of discovery. Do you want to know at what time the Sun rises and hides, or the Moon phases? You can find that out too.

Something useful in the app is the news section, because you will be informed daily of what’s happening in the sky (i.e. eclipses, planet and moon conjunctions, meteor showers, comets, etc.). The app will send you notifications so you can see them live, if the weather allows it of course. This is important, because if from the beginning you don’t know what you can see in the sky, the app will guide you by sending you these notifications. The following images show some examples:

And this is not all, the app can also show you the name of the objects that you are seeing in real-time. When selected, you can learn a little about theory of its history, which will give you more advanced knowledge. The app also has options as “Night mode”, which will prevent the screen from dazzling you when observing the stars, or the “Time machine” option, which is useful if you want to see the position of objects in the past or future.

Versions

Star Walk 2 has multiple apps, where you can see different astronomical content. Star Walk 2 is useful for beginners, but if curiosity wins you over, and you can afford it, you can acquire additional packages of this app, as well as other complementary apps. Vito Technology, the developer, already has a broad range of useful apps for exploring the Universe.

If it interested you and want to try this app right now, it is available for download for both iOS and Android devices.

Disponible en Google Play
Disponible en App Store

* The screenshots are from the Android version.
** The free version for iOS is called Star Walk 2 Ads+

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#BlackLivesMatter

Original from @marchforscience

Dear Science Advocates,

Now is the time to speak up. We condemn police brutality. We denounce white supremacy. We will work tirelessly to dismantle systemic racism, and we will center and uplift  Black voices and efforts.

To our Black colleagues, friends, and family: We see you, we hear you, we support you, and we will fight for you and with you.

We join the nationwide outrage over the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many other Black lives. We support everyone in the streets and at home protesting these injustices.

We state unequivocally, Black Lives Matter.

As science advocates, we must be honest in reflecting on the ways racism has historically permeated science. In nearly every aspect, from what kind of research gets funded, to who gets to participate in scientific advancements and who benefits from its discoveries, racism has had some degree of influence. We must not and cannot be silent about these travesties.

Even now, we cannot ignore the glaring reality that racism is a public health emergency, currently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Racist systems make Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities disproportionately more vulnerable to infection and more susceptible to complications from COVID-19. Racism harms trust in the medical community and violent policing damages our ability to fight COVID-19. And the tactics used by the police at protests: tear gas, a lack of masks, and overzealous arrests all contribute to the spread of the virus. (Here’s a guide for reducing risks when protesting during a pandemic.)

We, as science advocates, must take action. We must speak up about racism in our labs, our schools, our institutions, and our communities, and challenge the biased and systemically racist power structures that perpetuate violence and injustice upon Black communities.

As an organization and a movement, the March For Science commits to uplifting black voices and struggles, and to center racial justice in all of our organizing.

There are so many ways to get involved to be a true ally for equality and justice. We have shared some resources below to help you.

With love, rage, and solidarity,
The March For Science Team

Resources:

Amplify:

Read:

Take action:

*These are just some easily accessible resources. We encourage you to find and share resources in your circles.

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Studying life

When we talk about Biology, most of people think about studying animals and plants, and although this science does include the study of them, reducing it to only two groups is a mistake.

Biology is defined as the science that studies living beings, and as complex as living things are, so is this science.

As biologists, we study from the chemical composition of a cell, to the most complex relations that occur between complete ecosystems. Inside and outside these ends, there are several ramifications that are necessary to comprehend life. Biology can explain how a species evolved, the reasons of its current distribution, its behavior, the traits of its embryological development, how Earth was thousands or millions of years ago, the function of microorganisms, the relation between organisms of the same or different species, the function of different molecules in a system, and a lot more. And this, without considering that we can specialize in one type of organism and study all of the above on it.

Studying life is not easy, and in many situations we depend on other sciences and disciplines to explain itself or other phenomena in nature. With frequence, biology is involved with anthropology, sociology, politics, geography, medicine, engineering, technology and even economy. When working altogether, these disciplines aid in understanding the relationship between humans and nature, how we have influenced it, and how it has influenced and been useful to us. Furthermore, it is only with them that we can search for more sustainable ways to exist as humanity.

As part of nature, humans rely directly and indirectly on ecosystems and their services. However, in the last decades, natural resources have been so damaged that we are causing the sixth mass extinction in the history of Earth. Only in Guatemala, natural forest covers about one third of the territory and is restricted, almost exclusively, to Protected Areas.

This is why Biology is so important, because is through it that we can find solutions to problems that threat our own existence in Earth. And this is not all; even industries, like the pharmaceutical and food ones, have used the foundations that biology has settled to create new products that improve the life quality of humans. Medicine, through parasitology, physiology, biotechnology, and others, is no exception.

In Guatemala, we still have a lot to research and discover. Research opportunities in biology are huge, but are hindered by the lack of interest of authorities in funding and promoting any kind of science, specially if it benefits the common good.

This is why we march.

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History, what for?

History’s purpose is often questioned because it is believed that it does not affect the daily life of normal people; even in the Academy, its role as a science is doubted.

Usually, citizens believe that the work of History is limited to remind us of important personalities and dates. However, this is a consequence of how we have rote-learned History in school.

There is a popular acclaim that says “whoever doesn’t know their history, is condemned to repeat it”, and this is completely true, but the central point is not what happened but how it happened. This is what encourages reflection and, in consequence, has a pedagogical role for citizens.

Thus, to understand how we function as a society, it is necessary to resort to history, because our future is chained to past events.

History is useful, for example, to understand the ideological polarization we are suffering today, where we’re trying to reduce everything to a fight between the righ-wing and the left-wing; this is not casual but causal. Also, it is used to detect when some politicians manipulate history in order to adjust it to their discourse.

Photo by Mauro Calanchina.

A historian’s labor can be compared to solving a ten-thousand piece puzzle, when only we’re given two-hundred. Therefore, history is often making use of other disciplines; sociology, demography, archaeology, architecture, anthropology, etc., help History to assemble this big puzzle.

In Guatemala, there is a lot of work that has to be done, not only because there are several gaps in our past, but also because sometimes it is necessary to rewrite history. It is imperative that we change the form in which we are teaching history in order to make it more attractive and welcoming to critical analysis and debate.

I invite everyone to forget shyness and come closer to this wonderful science.

Translation by Andrea Martínez.

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There is science being made in Guatemala

Bárbara I. Escobar-Anleu & Enrique Pazos

Guatemala is located in Central America bordering with Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. It is the largest economy in the region which is based mostly on agriculture. The main products are sugar, coffee and bananas. For historical and political reasons, the evolution and production of knowledge in Guatemala has been limited and slow. Research and technology development activities have neither been oriented to satisfy the demands of the society, nor to promote an integral development of the country. As the largest economy of Central America, Guatemala should also have the highest scientific output. However, with barely 11 scientific publications per million inhabitants, it does not occupy the expected place in the regional context.

According to the GO SPIN survey conducted by UNESCO in Guatemala, there are several worrying statistics which point to a severe problem concerning the general scientific activity in our country. For a start, the number of full-time scientific researchers is about 27 per million inhabitants. This number is 16 times lower than the average in Latin America and 262 times smaller than in developed countries. The mentioned survey also states that for an economy to become knowledge-based in a visible way, the number of researchers per million people should be around 1000 or 1200. Other important factor is the astonishingly small amount of money that the government spends in science and technology, which is 0.029% from the GDP. This is 25 times less that the average in Latin America, 85 times less than Western Europe and around 200 times less than South Korea or Israel. If we add to these numbers the fact that access to education in Guatemala is very limited (about 3% of the population has access to a university), we see that increasing the number of scientists and the expenditure in science and technology is not an easy problem to solve.

In the midst of this precarious situation there have been some actions that pave the way for further development in science, technology and innovation. For instance, there is a major yearly event that reunites Guatemalan scientists working abroad with their local peers, with the objective to create and foster scientific collaborations. This event is organized by the National Secretary for Science and Technology. Another sign of advancement is that this same institution has also started new financing programs to help develop scientific research in different areas, but it is still dependent on local authorities and the political environment.

In 2017, a group of around 50 people attended the call issued by the March for Science, and met spontaneously in the central park of Guatemala City. The general perception was that there is a lack of knowledge about science in the country and something should be done about it. In 2018 there was more organization and different institutions were involved. This time around 250 people participated, there was a space with an open microphone to share opinions and discuss the role of scientists in the country. A manifesto was also prepared to show the little investment in science and how this impacts the development of the country. The year 2019 will be the first in which Guatemala will carry out a mobilization for the March for Science with the following objectives: i) generate in the Guatemalan society the interest in science as a way for the development of the country, ii) strengthen the scientific community through activities during the march, iii) generate critical spaces for the development of science and iv) evidence the problems that hinder the development of science in Guatemala.

As scientists and educators we put our best step forward in the construction of a better country. We want to share our wonder for discovery and the complex harmony that characterizes the diverse processes of the world we live in. We want to learn more and use our knowledge to help alleviate suffering and to solve the big problems that we face as humans and as a society. We firmly believe in a better future for everyone.