School students reach for the stars
School students from around Europe have picked up prizes in astronomy competition 'Catch a Star', organised by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The top prize of a week-long trip to Chile to visit the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) was won by Jan Mestan and Jan Kotek, students at the Gymnazium Pisek in the Czech Republic. Their winning report on 'Research and Observation of the Solar Eclipse' explained how they had studied solar eclipses and involved their fellow students in observations of an eclipse from their school in 2006. 'It's fantastic that we will see the VLT in action. I'm also looking forward to my first view of the southern sky!' said Jan Mestan. His fellow student, Jan Kotek, also excited about the trip, said: 'I am very happy that we'll visit the Paranal observatory, because this is one of the best astronomical observatories in the world, in the amazing scenery of the Atacama Desert.' The team's hard work was also helped by some good fortune, as it seemed at first that bad weather might block their view of the eclipse. 'It was cloudy, overcast, and a strong west wind was blowing in Pisek. The meteorological situation was nearly hopeless, and we thought we might have to cancel the observation. But later, the sky luckily cleared up and we could see the eclipse!' said the students. Other 'Catch a Star' participants won trips to observatories across Europe. 'The standard of entries was most impressive, and made the jury's task of choosing winners both enjoyable and difficult! We hope that everyone, whether or not they won a prize, had fun taking part, and learnt some exciting things about our Universe,' said Douglas Pierce-Price, Education Officer at the ESO.