Ancient Skies, Modern Tools Workshop 1: Introduction and Basics - July 16
Includes a Live Web Event on 07/16/2025 at 10:00 AM (PDT)
Part one of a three workshop series for astronomy educators introducing the free astronomy visualization software Stellarium. Experienced educators from the ASP will showcase Stellarium’s applicability for presenting and creating student-centered labs/activities to explore basic astronomical phenomena.
Workshop 1: Introduction and Basics will cover the basics of using Stellarium and how it can be used to visualize various astronomical ideas such as constellations, the celestial sphere, daily motion of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, eclipses, retrograde motion, and more. After the workshop participants will use and play with Stellarium on their own and work through an example lab to familiarize themselves with the software.
This workshop is 1.5 hours long.
Attendance/Refund Policy
Live attendance is strongly encouraged and expected in order to get the most out of the interactive session. Full refund is available for cancellations up to 14 days prior to the start of the workshop. If you need to cancel please email learn@astrosociety.org.
Shanil Virani
Cosmic Engagement Specialist
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Shanil Virani is a professional astronomer and a passionate science educator with more than 2 decades of classroom teaching experience. He has taught astronomy at both the high school level and at the university level to both majors and non-majors. In 2017, Shanil was nominated by his students for James Madison University’s General Education Distinguished Teaching Award. In addition to his current role at the ASP, he is also an Adjunct Professor in the University Honors College at The George Washington University where he teaches a class on archaeo-astronomy.
Tony Smith
Online Learning Program Specialist
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Tony Smith is the Online Learning Program Specialist at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Tony has worked in informal science education since 2011 at various Pacific Northwest science centers and prior to joining the ASP managed the J. Watumull Planetarium at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, HI. In addition to the ASP, Tony also works part time at the Washington State University Planetarium and volunteers at the Palouse Discovery Science Center in Pullman, WA where he lives. Tony is passionate about science education and uses an interactive presentation style, asking for observations and input from the audience throughout his presentations.
