Mimicking of Gravitational Lensing and Microlensing in a Classroom

Mimicking of Gravitational Lensing and Microlensing in a Classroom

Presenter: Jun Su and Jingcheng Zhu, Haian Senior School of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Province, China

This was a poster presented at the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).

When a point-like object passes between a background light source and an observer, the background illuminance fluctuates due to the gravitational microlensing effect. These objects are called massive astrophysical compact halo objects (MACHOs). In this project, an optical lens corresponding to a gravitational lens was printed using a 3D printer to demonstrate the images of an Einstein ring and a light source. Meanwhile, a process for searching for MACHOs and exoplanets was simulated based on the 3D printed lens, which could well present the total brightness change of the gravitational microlensing effect.

About the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop:

The topic for this year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education is ‘Leveraging the potential of astronomy in formal education’ and is scheduled to run 15 to 17 November 2022 as a fully virtual event on Hopin as in previous years. This year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop focuses on the role of astronomy in the core regions of formal, primary and secondary, education: How do we teach astronomy as its own subject? What is the role of astronomy in teaching physics or chemistry – or in communicating such a central future topic as climate change? In sessions marked with a * we aim to hear specifically from teachers. We also address the question of how to approach those who set the framework for teaching: How can you get your administration, or at a much higher level: your education ministry, to listen to you? Last but not least we look at how to bridge the divide between the fundamentals that are commonly taught in school and results from cutting-edge research, which tend to be fascinating to students and the general public alike. he workshop was organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (http://astro4edu.org). More details can be found on: https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/4th-shaw-iau-workshop/

Keep up to date with future Shaw-IAU Workshops and other opportunities at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education by joining our mailing list https://astro4edu.org/mailing-list/ Follow the IAU OAE on Twitter and Facebook under @astro4edu