Thousands of people joined the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration's (PAGASA) free astronomical events, including planetarium shows, telescoping, and stargazing sessions on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
Students from different universities, parents with their children, and professionals were seen at the event to celebrate this year's World Space Week (WSW) with PAGASA.
PAGASA weather presenter Nico Mendoza underscored the importance of having these kinds of celebrations, especially in the Philippines.
Events like these, he added, will also help Filipinos have a better understanding of the concepts of science.
"Ine-encourage ko 'yung mga estudyante to pursue science in general para mas dumami yung scientists natin (I encourage the students to pursue science in general for our scientists to increase in number)," Mendoza said.
"Kasi kung mas marami tayong critical thinkers, mas maunlad at mas marami tayong magagawa through research (Because if we have more critical thinkers, there is more development and we can do so much more through research)," he added.
Meanwhile, Myla De Mesa, 38, from Sta. Maria, Bulacan, said she and her family traveled from the province to PAGASA Observatory at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, to support their eldest child in his interest in astronomy.
"Nagbabasa siya ng mga books about astronomy at the age of 5, and kabisado niya ang lahat ng planets kaya sinamahan namin siya rito dahil hilig talaga niya (He reads astronomy books at the age of 5, and he memorized all the planets, which is why we supported him because it is really his interest)," De Mesa said.
Unexpected ‘surge’ of attendees
Mendoza said that it is just this year when the free astronomical sessions have unexpected number of attendees.
"Ngayon lang po ganito na sobrang dami kasi nung nakaraan naman po, marami naman pero hindi kami dinumog nang ganito and mas maayos po 'yung pagpapasilip (It is just now that there are huge number because last time, there are many but we were not like this in numbers and the flow of viewing was more organized)," he said.
"Hindi po namin na-anticipate na sobrang dami po ngayon (We have not anticipated that there will be so many people this year)," he added.
Mendoza noted that for 2024, PAGASA will let people register beforehand as what happened was a "lesson learned" for them.
'Wonderful', 'rare' experience
Angel Nollora, 23, from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines said it was "a wonderful experience," as it made her closely connected with the wonders of science.
Twenty-four-year-old Queen Yapan, an auditing firm employee, said she was not fond of the space when she was younger, but found the PAGASA event "interesting and rare" when she saw it publicized online. which pushed her to attend.
PAGASA, in coordination with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSa), said that WSW is celebrated annually from Oct. 4 to 10.
Moreover, the PAGASA Observatory offers telescoping and stargazing sessions from Monday to Sunday at anytime of the day for a fee of P25. (Lizst Torres Abello)
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