Dear All,

The AC2019 Hall of Fame has now been uploaded, and may be found here. We have also uploaded the Day 1 question papers and partial solutions onto our website. Solutions to the Team Round will be uploaded shortly.

For photos of AC2019, as well as the top 3 videos for each category, please do visit our Facebook page!

Should you have any queries or feedback regarding AC2019, feel free to email us.

All the best for AC2020!

The AC2019 Organizing Committee

Dear all, thank you for participating in AstroChallenge 2019. We hope that you had a memorable experience and attained new knowledge in astronomy. We strongly believe in our vision: to enhance student’s interest in astronomy and to foster close inter-school ties in this field. Your keen interest in this AstroChallenge is a solid proof to it.

Below is the list of award winners of AstroChallenge 2019:

Junior Category:

• Most Popular Exhibit: Bukit Panjang Government High School Team 2
• Best Project Exhibit: National Junior College
• Best Video: Raffles Girls School Team 2
• Best Astronomer: Choong Kai Zhe (Raffles Institution Team 1)
• 2nd Runners-Up: NUS High School of Math and Science Team 1
• 1st Runners-Up: Raffles Institution Team 1
• Champion: Bukit Panjang Government High School Team 1

Senior Category:

• Most Popular Exhibit: Hwa Chong Institution Team 3
• Best Project Exhibit: River Valley High School
• Best Video: Victoria Junior College Team 2
• Best Astronomer: Yang Yuchen (Hwa Chong Institution Team 1)
• Best Observation: Raffles Institution
• 2nd Runners-Up: Hwa Chong Institution Team 1
• 1st Runners-Up: Raffles Institution Team 1
• Champion: NUS High School of Math and Science Team 1

Congratulations to all the prize recipients! We hope that all of you have meaningful takeaways from this event.

We would also want to hear from you how you find AstroChallenge 2019. Please take a few minutes to complete the feedback form at: https://tinyurl.com/AC2019Feedback. Your input can help us make the next AC even better! Looking forward to seeing you again in AstroChallenge 2020.

Dear all,

In response to a participant query, we will like to confirm that the Project Round Rubrics will be similar to what has been used in previous years. A copy of the rubrics may be found here.

Dear All,

We sincerely apologize for the long wait you have had to endure for us to come up with this information letter. We have to admit that there were quite alot of changes necessary. As such, We, the AC2019 Organizing Committee would like to implore you to read this Information Letter closely.

The Letter can be found here.

We would also like to take this opportunity to kindly remind everyone that the deadline for AC2019 registration has been extended to 2359 hrs on Friday the 17th of May 2019.

As usual, if you should have any questions at all regarding this letter or any other issue, email us. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

We wish you Clear Skies ahead and thank you for your support for Astrochallenge.

Due to popular feedback from schools, we have decided to extend the deadline to 2359 hrs on Friday the 17th May 2019. As the final details in the Information Letter are still being hammered out, we will be sending that to you shortly.

Please follow the link to register.

Thank you very much for your support!

Dear all,

We are proud to present to you another rendition of AstroChallenge rhis year. If you have not done so, please register at this link. Please register under “Junior” if either you are a secondary school or if you are enrolled in the first 4 years of an IP/IB school. If you are enrolled in a Junior College, Polytechnic or the last 2 years of an IP/IB school, please register under “Senior”. Any queries, any at all can be directed to astrochallenge@gmail.com. We will try our best to reply you as soon and as well as we possibly can.

With this, we are also delighted to present to you 30 questions for you to ponder about for the Project Round. This segment would count 35pc for Junior Section and 25pc for Senior Section this year. They are in the document attached below.

With regards to the Project Round, do include a written transcript for your video (can be in doc/pdf) and submit the transcript together with your video on Day 0 (31st May 2019) of AstroChallenge. At the end of your transcript, do include the references that you have used for your video.

Once again, if you have any queries with regards to AstroChallenge 2019, kindly direct them to astrochallenge@gmail.com. Furthermore, do keep a lookout on our facebook page for more updates on information pertaining to AC2019.

Regards,
AC 2019 Organizing Committee

Project Round Questions

Dear Teachers-in-charge and School Astronomy Clubs,

Thank you for submitting your feedback for our proposed reforms to AC2019. In response, we have fine-tuned our proposals in order to make AC2019 more accessible to all. We have summarized the major changes to AC in the attached changelog. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

In conjunction with our goals of making astronomy accessible to all participants, we would like to invite all potential participants of AC2019 to come down to the NUS Astro introductory sessions on astronomy. We hope that these sessions will be fruitful for beginners to astronomy that are looking for a place to start learning from. The dates of the sessions and session details are available at this link. Should you be interested, please check for updates about the session venues and details at the NUS Astro Facebook page

Regards,
The AC2019 Committee

Hi all,

We have created a feedback form based on the preliminary proposals we have received so far, and would greatly appreciate your thoughts on these changes. As always, we welcome your suggestions and take them seriously, so do provide us with your honest opinions.

The feedback form can be found at here

Regards,
The AC2019 Committee

Dear School Astronomy Clubs,

We have received feedback from certain schools last year, requesting for greater transparency regarding upcoming major decisions. In response to this, we will like to provide advance notice about potential AstroChallenge dates and other intended major changes.

1. Potential AstroChallenge Dates

   AstroChallenge is usually held around the first/second week of the June holidays, subject to favourable lunar phases. In 2019, this would likely translate to Day 0 being held on 31^st May, Day 1 being held between 3^rd – 5^th June, and Day 2 occurring on 8^th

   We would like to hear from you if there are potential issues/clashes surrounding these dates. Please kindly let us know of your concerns regarding these dates by contacting us directly, or via our email.

2. Changes to AstroChallenge Format

   After feedback that AstroChallenge is becoming too lengthy and could be made more relevant, the organizers have conducted an internal review and are proposing several major changes. It is our hope that the streamlined format will induce a greater focus on certain key aspects of astronomy knowledge and community engagement.

   To this end, the organizers are proposing the following (non-exhaustive) changes:

   Rebalancing the Theory Observation Round

   Previously, the format of the Theory Observation Round created an unhealthy incentive to memorize obscure NGC objects and galaxies, nearly all of which could not be seen in Singapore. Furthermore, other areas of practical astronomy (e.g. astrophotography and setup) were being neglected in comparison. While deeper knowledge of the night sky should and will still be rewarded, going forward the questions in the Theory Observation Round will place comparatively more emphasis on night sky basics and other aspects of practical astronomy. In doing so, we hope that these changes will help prepare students for the demands of a typical sidewalk session.

   Restructuring the AC Finals

   Due to the sheer quantity of questions, the AC Finals tend to drag beyond schedule. To combat this, we are adopting a 3-pronged approach:

   -Standardizing all future Game Rounds to be based on the Kahoot format
   -Reduction in the number of Buzzer Round Questions to 15 per round
   -Increasing the weight of the Preliminaries to 35% of the final score, at the expense of the Game and Buzzer Round

Once again, we would love to hear from you regarding your thoughts about these changes. We hope to make AC2019 an enjoyable and enriching experience for all.

Regards,

The AC2019 Committee