Here is the continuation of the GAM report from the Philippines for the last two weeks of April. You can revisit the previous report
here.
With tropical storm Surigae (local name Bising) affecting most of the Philippines, the start of week 3 was mostly clouded out leaving little window for the global star party, and the Beauty Without Borders campaign. When the skies eventually cleared, and with the Moon back out in the early evening, members of the local astronomy community began sharing their lunar images on social media. The Bedan Society of Young Astronomers (BSYA) handled several FB live observations of the Moon.
The Rizal Technological University Astronomy Society (RTU AstroSoc) had their Astrochats lecture series last April 22. The speakers were Ma. Angela Lourdes Lequiron of DOST-PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration), and Stevanus Nugroho of the Astrobiology Center, Japan. On April 24 the Philippine Astronomical Society (PAS) held an FB live discussing A Day in the Life of an Astronomer, featuring Jerome Pitogo De Leon. Project Astro Phil conducted a webinar with Syra Mendoza (BS Astronomy student) & Andrea Troso (BS Aeronautical Engineering student), who talked about astrophotography and Ingenuity, respectively. The Manila Street Astronomers (MSA) conducted a virtual observation of the Sun on April 25 through h-alpha and white light. BSYA also conducted a solar livestream on the same day. BSYA also had their Space the Final Frontier lecture series. Aldrin Gabuya of Al Sadeem Observatory gave an Overview of Observational Astronomy on the 24th. Christopher Louie Lu of the MSA talked about Exoplanets on the 30th. DOST-PAGASA released a special podcast called Ask an Astronomer with Girlie Cortez and Lordnico Mendoza on the 30th (questions were gathered via Facebook prior to the podcast). On May 1 the Universe Awareness Philippines conducted an Inclusive Astronomy discussion on Sign Language and Astronomy with speakers Jing Cadiz and Bing Tansiatco, and interpreted with the assistance of Angela Jose.
There is also a growing interest for cultural astronomy among various groups in the Philippines as can be seen in the different activities organized. On April 17 the Likha-an Resource Center conducted a webinar with Dr. Floro Quibuyen on The Role of Ethnoastronomy in the Peopling of the Pacific. The National Museum Planetarium conducted a webinar on the 24th entitled Under One Sky: An Online Seminar on the Importance of the Night Sky on Astronomy and Ethnoastronomy in the Philippines. There were three speakers for the event. Miguel Artificio of the National Museum Planetarium discussed the Night Sky as seen by our ethnic groups. Julie Ann Delda of DOST-PAGASA discussed about Celestial Navigation. Astro Tourism was discussed by Jireh Sugaob of PAS. On the same day the Likha-an Resource Center also released episode 5 of their decocumentary series Tuloy Po! which focused on ethnoastronomy (Tuloy Po! Talampad at Balatik: Ang mga Tala sa Mata ng Ating mga Katutubo). The Pangasinan Youth for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PYDRRM) conducted a webinar called ambaGAM on the 25th which highlights the contributions of astronomy to the people. I was asked to discuss on Ethnoastronomy, while Khristian Dimacali of the Philippine Astronomical Society (PAS) discussed about the night sky and light pollution. Renancimiento Manila published an article on The Lost Technology of the Manila Observatory which was destroyed during the second world war.
Continuation of Month-long Activities
The Astronomy Filipinas campaign continued to be participated by the Indiana Aerospace University Astronomical Society (IAU AstroSoc), the Baguio Astronomy Enthusiasts (BAE), and the Astronomy in Mindanao, through Facebook posts highlighting astronomy activities, history, and culture of their respective areas. BSYA and PYDRRM continued to post astronomical trivia and memes in their respective social media pages.