Project leader: Pedro Valdés, pedro.valdes@udem.edu
Project location: Mexico
Project description:
“Obsesión por el Cielo” (Obsession for the Sky) is a weekly radio show where we talk about astronomy and space exploration. It is broadcasted live on the radio station of the Universidad de Monterrey, in the metropolitan area of Monterrey in Mexico. It can also be heard live anywhere in the world through the internet, and the show is also offered as a podcast.
The radio program started to air in the year 2000 and to date 570 shows have been produced, the last 205 which are available as podcasts. In each program we offer a summary of the most relevant astronomy news of the previous week, alerts of astronomical events that can be observed the following week, and we mostly discuss and comment on a specific topic related to the study and exploration of the Universe.
As part of the radio program we have also started a new project to help the public familiarize themselves with the night skies (“Un Paseo por el Cielo” – A Stroll About the Sky). It consists of four 50-60 minute audio recordings in which we help the observers orient themselves in the night sky and describe the location, shapes and mythologies of the constellations available that particular season.
We decided to apply our learned radio communication skills and thus create an audio that can be listened to at the same time as looking up at the night sky. To our knowledge there is no such resource available in Spanish.
We are asking for funds to continue the radio show´s web presence (podcast site maintenance) for the next three years, and to help cover the costs of production (writing, recording, editing and CD manufacturing) of the audio shows. Both products will be freely available to the general public.
About the project leader:
Pedro Valdes is faculty member at the Department of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Monterrey. Dr. Valdés has made astronomy outreach to the public an important part of his professional life. He has been producer and host of the local weekly radio show “Obsesión por el Cielo” for the past 14 years and he also offers astronomy talks to schools and the general public on a regular basis, hosts star parties, and belongs to the local astronomical club.