Day 6

Today, the participants of the Open World Astronomy Olympiad had to overcome two rounds. The first one was the Observational Round. It was in test format, and each task was supported by an illustration: a photo, a table, or a graph from a real scientific article.

This stage of the competition was dedicated to studying the Universe through observations. For example, the participants analyzed pictures of the night sky. The problems covered many topics, including the properties of space objects, their coordinates, methods of studying celestial bodies, and modern observation tools. These exercises helped the participants understand astronomical phenomena and technologies used to explore them.

The Express Round was also held in the form of test questions. The students had to quickly and accurately solve a series of short problems. The main difference from the Observation Round was the focus on calculations. Some questions concerned physics, which is close to astronomy and astrophysics.

"Today I was less nervous than during the first two rounds. This helped me better concentrate on the tasks. I think I did quite well  although there is always room for doubt. The most interesting task was to identify the type of galaxy by its spectrum. Of course, I really hope to win a gold medal at OWAO. Firstly, the award would show that my efforts were not in vain. Secondly, a medal at an international olympiad is an important step towards my dream in astronomy," said Polina Sologub, a participant from Belarus.