The study of variable stars is the most effective method application of your creative powers for an astronomy lover. In order to better understand the physical processes occurring in stars, it is necessary to know how their brightness changes over long periods of time. The problem, however, is that thousands of luminaries in our Galaxy need this kind of observations simultaneously!

Professional astronomers have time and large instruments, but due to their small numbers, they are simply not able to monitor the behavior of all objects of interest to them. On the other hand, a significant part of variable stars is accessible for research using small telescopes, or even with the naked eye. In addition, the main methods of their observations are based on fairly simple principles. That is why professional astronomers have long tried to attract to cooperation the broad masses of people interested in the study of the Universe and who want to bring real benefits to real science.

One of the most energetic promoters of the idea of ​​such cooperation was the director of the Harvard University Observatory, Edward Pickering. In 1882, he organized a small group of volunteers who wanted to observe variable stars. Soon the results of their observations began to be included in the observatory's official reports.

The Pickering Initiative received further development in 1909, when he gave a public lecture during which he demonstrated the light curves of variable stars obtained by his group. Among his listeners was William Alcott, a Connecticut lawyer and astronomy enthusiast who had already published several popular notes on astronomy.

He was inspired by the idea of ​​providing all possible assistance to Pickering and his associates and put together the basic principles and tasks of a new amateur organization that could collaborate with professional astronomers in the study of variable stars. Olcott outlined his thoughts in a large programmatic article, which was published in the October 1911 issue of the American magazine Popular Astronomy.

By the publication of the next issue of the magazine, Pickering’s group already had the name AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers) and united six people. This team became the prototype of a unique cooperative organization of amateurs and professionals, which now, almost nine decades later, still remains a clear example how science lovers and professional scientists can and should coexist and interact.

Today, AAVSO has its own modern office, from where it coordinates the work of about 600 observers from 40 countries who study more than 5 thousand variable stars. There is also an archive containing over 8 million observation results! Today, all this data is completely systematized and accessible to any researcher, both professional and amateur, via the Internet. The friendliness and openness of the AAVSO allows absolutely everyone to join its activities; it is only important that your observations are carried out according to standard methods and formatted according to certain rules.

The outstanding results of such cooperation between professionals and amateurs led to the creation of several more similar organizations. This is one of the oldest in the world section of Variable Stars of the British Astronomical Association (exists since the 90s of the last century), the French Association of Observers of Variable Stars (AFOEV), which was founded in 1921, then almost completely collapsed during the Second World War, but was revived again in the late 60s and is now very active. Since the 50s, the Berlin Working Group on Variable Stars (WAG) has gained fame and international recognition. Other interesting groups work in Holland, Hungary and Scandinavian countries. IN southern hemisphere The leader is a New Zealand team of observers working closely with the local Royal Astronomical Society. It can be argued that with the help of amateurs united in these structures, the science of variable stars receives more than 80 percent of the observational data.

But the undisputed leader is still AAVSO. Thanks to the international authority of this organization, most amateurs studying variable stars duplicate their observational reports for it. As AAVSO Director Janet Matthay says, "Today, more than half of our observations come from outside the United States, which makes it increasingly difficult to continue to use the word American in the name of the association; if astronomy lacks one thing, it is nationalities. And our association is the perfect match for that." confirmation". And, despite the rapid development of observational technology, the future of visual studies of variable stars seems very promising to her. According to her, the biggest bottleneck in the entire program is the lack of funds to process and coordinate observations, and not the number of stars or their observers in need of study. With the latter, there are no problems and are not expected...

First major project AAVSO began the study of long-period variables with large amplitudes of brightness changes (stars like Mira Ceti). But when it turned out that visual measurements made by different observers using a single technique reached a fairly high accuracy - 0.1 magnitude, the programs were significantly expanded. In the 70s, with the beginning of studying the sky in the ultraviolet and x-ray regions of the spectrum, the main efforts were redirected to the study of flaring variables. Theories of the mechanisms responsible for flares in such stars became at that time one of the hottest topics in discussions among scientists and required substantiation in the form of observational material. Today, studies of the Miras have again become important for understanding the processes of stellar and galactic evolution.

Among the many projects in which the AAVSO has been involved, there have been some that have been successful due in large part to the proactive patrol work of the association's members. An example is the unique ultraviolet observations of the variable star YZ Cancri, made at the time of its flare activity using the European IUE satellite. At approximately 1 a.m. on March 5, 1987, a telephone rang at the satellite control station in Spain. This was an alarm from the AAVSO office, where reports of the star's activity began to arrive. Thus, with the help of amateurs who discovered the beginning of the flare, astronomers were able to obtain a number of unique spectrograms that forced them to reconsider previously existing theories regarding the nature and forms of stellar wind in binary systems containing white dwarf. About another similar work was featured in the February 1997 issue of Astrologer.

One of the latest grandiose projects of interaction between professionals and amateurs was the participation of AAVSO in the work of the European Hipparchus satellite. Designed to carry out ultra-precise astrometric work, this satellite needed information about the predicted brightness of variable stars in those areas of the sky in which regular observations were planned, for which all AAVSO resources were involved. On the other hand, multiple measurements of the brightness of stars, which were also part of the task spacecraft, allowed to open a large number of possible new variables awaiting their researchers.

In addition to this, information on the magnitudes of comparison stars for most maps of variable neighborhoods produced at AAVSO was significantly refined, and formulas were established for the transition from the satellite instrument magnitude system to visual magnitudes. The latter seems very interesting for future similar experiments, because the agreement between observations from Earth and from space turned out to be very convincing even for skeptics. Based on the results of this work, a special atlas of light curves will soon be released, including data from visual and satellite measurements. It is very likely that in the near future such parallel observations of the activity of variables from Earth and from space will become regular.

Along with research tasks, the association does a lot of work to promote its achievements, attract new members to its ranks and train them in techniques and methods of observation. For example, in 1992-95 academic years A project was piloted in Massachusetts schools that attempted to continue connecting astronomy professionals and societies with school teachers, students, and their parents. Within this educational program special booklets and instructions were prepared for performing the simplest astronomical observations, including: determining the positions of the Moon and planets in the sky and plotting them on star maps; study of constellations; registration of changes in the brightness of Cepheids.

Together with the American National Science Foundation, AAVSO has been working for several years on a program that includes the preparation of a series of printed instructions and video materials with which astronomy enthusiasts can familiarize themselves with the techniques and methods of real professional science and take part in real-life research projects. This program is also educational in nature, but is more specialized and designed for active observers.

Majority teaching materials, prepared for both projects, can be successfully used and is used in educational institutions at different levels in physics, mathematics, programming and other natural science subjects. In this regard, one can only regret that our domestic professional astronomers cannot organize such interaction with a fairly large and often highly educated army of Russian astronomy amateurs.

In our country, unfortunately, there are no organizations that would coordinate the activities of amateur astronomers, so we recommend that observers of variable stars contact the American Association of Variable Stars Observers (AAVSO), 25 Birch St., Cambridge, MA 02138-1205, USA. And although membership in this organization is paid, it gladly accepts the results of observations from everyone. So your observations, even if you are not an AAVSO member, are really needed and you can make a real difference to science!

Those with Internet access can use it to contact AAVSO by email ([email protected]) or try connecting directly to the organization's host computer (http://www.aavso.org). In it you will find great amount information about variable stars, including maps of the surrounding area with comparison stars, standard instructions, registration and observation forms for reports and, of course, the latest news from the world of variable stars, as well as detailed information about ongoing scientific and educational projects.

Try your hand, because due to the enormous extent of our country from west to east, your brightness estimates will be especially valuable for eliminating the forced gaps in observations caused by the lack of observers from Europe to Japan. And as an initial acquaintance with the technology and methods of observing variable stars, we strongly recommend that you find and read the book by V.P. Tsesevich “Variable Stars and Their Observation” (Science, 1980), as well as the article “

The world around us is changing so quickly that sometimes we don’t notice it at all.

But the changes are simply fantastic - modern architecture is trying to “make friends” with historical heritage, wild nature comes into conflict with technological progress, and every day another page of the calendar goes into eternity... But activists from re. photos decided to “pause” time, or rather, using the example of just two photographs to show us what we did not notice. And believe me, what you see will take your breath away!

1. The first year of construction of the Eiffel Tower and the symbol of France today!

2. Town Hall of the Hotel de Ville, which houses all the municipal authorities of Paris since 1357!

3. Monument to the reformer Martin Luther in the old part of Dresden.

4. Completed construction - North Cape on the island of Magerø in northern Norway!

5. And this is the Norwegian Hammerfest in 1889 and 115 years later!

6. Portobello, Scotland. That time when you want to turn back time!

7. Odda, Norway. When nature shows who is more important...

8. One of the most famous beer restaurants in the world, the Hofbräuhaus in Munich, opened back in 1607, and time has no power over it!

9. Take us back to Paris in 1900!

10. Rystad, Norway. Isn't that impressive?

11. The Reichstag building immediately after the end of the war and almost 70 years later!

12. Palace of Sultan Abdul-Samad in Malaysia - when the past met the future!

15. Osnabrück main railway station (Germany).

16. Unique shots - lunch on top of a skyscraper in New York in 1932 and London in 2011.

17. Has 107 years passed on the market square in Frankfurt? We didn't notice!

18. Cart and steam locomotive near Mont Saint-Michel (France) 100 years ago and today...

20. And here is the famous cabaret “Moulin Rouge”...

21. Corner of Ratajczak and St. Martin streets in Poznan, Poland. Time cures…

22. San Francisco. Can you find 10 differences?

23. At the entrance to Notre Dame Cathedral. No comments…

24. Well, another memory of the most romantic capital of the world, as we will never see it again!

25. Grosser Garten Park in Dresden!

26. Cheney Glacier (USA) in 1911 and 2005. And you didn’t believe that they were melting...

30. Take a closer look - in this photo you will make more than one discovery for yourself!

Project participants:

• preparatory children speech therapy group;
• senior teacher,
• educators,
• teacher speech therapist,
• musical director,
• parents.

Relevance:

“Man is a unique world of cultures that interacts with other individuals - cultures,
creating itself in the process of such interaction and influencing others"

M.M.Bakhtina

The problem of multicultural education of preschool children in modern conditions the development of a multicultural society is of particular relevance. Introducing a child to the world of human values ​​ensures the formation of tolerance, the child’s awareness of his belonging to world cultural values.

It is obvious that a multicultural society is in need of a new worldview aimed at integrating cultures and peoples with the aim of their further rapprochement and spiritual enrichment. All this substantiates the importance of multicultural education, the purpose of which is the formation of a person of culture, a creative personality capable of an active and productive life in a multicultural environment.

For preschoolers, familiarization with the culture of different peoples is a world of unknown things and vivid impressions. If this world becomes close and understandable from childhood, then the child will develop a need to learn historical information, a high cognitive activity, the desire to appreciate the merits of the cultures of other peoples, which, undoubtedly, will be an integral feature of his spiritual formation and social development.

Target: the formation of a creative personality through the study of different cultures, the peculiarities of human interaction with nature in different cultures and the formation of the rudiments of tolerance and respect for foreign culture.

Tasks:

1. To acquaint children with the nature and climate of the country being studied, to give an idea of ​​the beauty and diversity of flora and fauna.
2. To give an idea of ​​the characteristics of human life in these natural conditions, to introduce appearance, housing, clothing and life of representatives of the era being studied, introduce traditional activities of this people.
3. Promote the use of acquired knowledge in a variety of activities.
4. Teach to treat people around you kindly, to cultivate a culture of behavior in kindergarten, at home, at a party, on the street.
5. Introduce various sources of information.
6. To form the intellectual and personal qualities of preschoolers in the course of mastering all educational areas (“Physical education”, “Health”, “Safety”, “Socialization”, “Work”, “Cognition”, “Communication”, “Reading fiction”, “Artistic creativity”, “Music”) along with tasks reflecting the specifics of each educational field, with mandatory psychological support.
7. Develop independence, communication skills, memory, thinking, creative imagination, musical abilities.

Estimated implementation results:

1. Presence of initial ideas about various world cultures, features of human interaction with nature different countries.
2. Creation of a knowledge system for joint activities “child – teacher”, “Child – parent”.
3. Equipment for a subject-development environment.
4. Formation of sustainable interest in various sources of information.
5. Interaction with society (visiting museums, exhibitions, libraries).
6. Introduction to basic generally accepted norms and rules of relationships with peers and adults (including moral ones).

Stage 1: collection of information and materials for the implementation of the project

1. Statement of the problem, determination of the goals and objectives of consistent work.
2. Collection of information for the implementation of the project.
3. Determination of the level of knowledge and ideas in this area, methods of pedagogical diagnostics..
4. Creation of a subject-development environment that reflects the specifics of the work being carried out on multicultural education.
5. Study of best practices in the work of kindergartens of JSC Russian Railways.
6. Selection methodological literature and information material.

Pedagogical diagnostics

Levels of children's knowledge development:

High level(13-15 points)

• Knows the name of his city, the capital of Russia; names continents and recognizes (from illustrations) landmarks; knows and recognizes the flag, the coat of arms of Russia, can explain the symbolism of the coat of arms; names the natural resources of the native land and others countries of the world,
• conveys his attitude to the national cultural characteristics and traditions of the peoples of other countries.

Average level(8-12 points)

• Knows the name of the city, his home address, the coat of arms of Russia; finds it difficult to name continents and landmarks (does this after explanations from an adult); finds it difficult to name the animal and vegetable world other countries, their national characteristics. Answers are given without reasoning or explanation, they speak with a limited vocabulary, and do not use subject terms.

Low level(5-7 points)

• The child finds it difficult to answer the questions posed, knows the names of the city, cannot explain the symbols of Russia, does not name the continents, and does not know the cultural characteristics of different peoples. The teacher's help and auxiliary questions do not have a significant impact on the answers; children often remain silent. The speech is monosyllabic, with a limited vocabulary, they do not use subject terms.

Stage II:

1. Mastery of basic basic knowledge about culture different nations and the peculiarities of human interaction with nature in different countries.
2. Development of speech, outlook, memory, thinking, communication skills, creative imagination, musical abilities of pupils.
3. Involving parents in the upcoming creative work.

For work in the project “The World Around Us”, we selected the following lexical topics:

1. My neighborhood.
2. My city.
3. My homeland is Russia.
4. Plants of our forests.
5. Wild animals of Russia.
6. Our country on the world map.
7-9. Continents. Their similarities and differences.
10. Travel. Seas and oceans.
11. Plants of different continents.
12. Animals of hot countries.
13. Animals of cold countries.
14. Sea life.
15-18. Countries and peoples of the world.
19. Schools of the peoples of the world.

Lexical topic: Continents. Their similarities and differences.

Socialization

* Didactic game"Guess by the description"
* Role-playing game “We are travelers”
*Plot-role-playing game “On the way to India”
*Role-playing game “In the Northern Seas”

Cognition

*Consideration of illustrative material.
*Study of reference and encyclopedic literature.
*Conversations about continents.
*Watching videos about the continents.
*Watching the cartoon “Around the World with Lyolik and Bolik.”
*View the film “Tales of the Famous Sailor”.
*Working with an interactive whiteboard.
*Speech therapy classes of the cognitive cycle.
*GCD for each continent “Hello, new land!”

Speech development and communication

*Compiling stories from pictures.
*Compilation of stories from personal experience.
*Guessing riddles.
*Communication with guests who have visited different continents (Eurasia: China, India, Czech Republic; Africa; Antarctica).
*Communicate with each other while drawing and making a map of the continents.
*Puzzling riddles, word creation (composition by children).
*Sound analysis of words.

Reading fiction

*Semantic reading of the atlas “The World and Man”.
*Working with the world atlas.
* Getting to know the map of continents.
*Reading stories “Geography for kids.”
*Oleg Tikhomirov “How Columbus discovered America” z-l “Murzilka” 1 – 2005
*Oleg Tikhomirov “Discovery of Antarctica” j-l “Murzilka” 6 – 2002

Productive activity

*Three-dimensional design “Map of the World”.
*Collective application.
*Creating an album of drawings “We travel the world.”
*Together with parents, creating a photo album “Travel yourself, travel with us!”
*Exhibition of drawings “Hello, new earth!”
*Three-dimensional design “Animals of hot countries.”

Artistic and aesthetic activities

*Listening: Song of Friends (Merry Travellers).
*Learning songs: “Song about six continents.”
*Mus. game "Chinese Dragon".

Physical education and health work

*Learning the morning exercise complex “On the Northern Seas”.
*Finger gymnastics “Africa”.
*Outdoor games.
*Physical leisure activities “In Antarctica” (methods of movement of Antarctic animals).

life safety fundamentals

Conversation with children “Travel. How to behave on the road"

Using the created algorithm ( Annex 1), work on each country is unique.

Nations of the world: China

*Descriptive story about China.
*Collage “China”.
*Examination of Chinese characters.
*Traditional Chinese tea drinking.
*Making Chinese dragons from salt dough.
*Coloring dragons from dough.
*Musical game “Chinese Dragon”.

Nations of the World: India

*Learning Indian national dance.
*Drawing up a collage “India”.
*Retelling of the story “How an elephant saved its owner” ».
*Activation of the sense of touch and smell when trying different varieties of Indian tea.
*Cognitive speech therapy session"National Indian costume."
*Video presentation “Countries of the World”.

Nations of the World: America

*Handmade: Indian national headdress (embroidery of North American Indian patterns on headbands).
*Watch the video “Undiscovered America”.
*Collage “North America”.
*American football sports.
*Learning the Texas cowboy dance.
*Cognitive speech therapy lesson “Visiting the Indian people.”

Stage III:

• Generalization of experience, determination of the result of practical activities, development of an algorithm for subsequent pedagogical work in this direction.
• Presentation of the project results to parents.

Productive project results

1. The subject-development environment has been transformed:

– corners for multicultural education have been equipped, which make it possible to conduct individual and subgroup work with students according to their interests and preferences;
– equipment and didactic material carries certain information about different world cultures, features of human interaction with nature in different countries;
– updated materials for parents.

2. As a result of the project:

– children have formed the rudiments of tolerance and respect for foreign cultures;
– preschoolers have developed a strong interest in studying the cultures of different countries;
– the pupils have developed creative, speech, musical, linguistic abilities;
– positive respect for representatives of other nationalities has been formed;
– the ability to navigate the information space has been developed;
– children enjoy playing role-playing games with multicultural themes, independently developing and complicating the plot of the games;
– cooperation and co-creation as equal partners are traced, dialogical interaction is ensured, and the possibility of self-realization for everyone.

3. The level of parental activity in organizing joint activities for multicultural education of preschoolers has increased.

Collection “The World Around Us” is a magazine reissue book collection 2011.

Collection " The world around us“My universal encyclopedia of knowledge” will introduce you to the world around you and help you assimilate school knowledge. On its pages you will discover a lot of new things about science and technology, plants and animals, you will find detailed information about the history of mankind, about our planet, cities and countries of the world! Collect complete collection educational magazines “The World Around Us”. Publishing house Ashet Collection(Hachette).

Collection

• Each page contains many educational facts, bright illustrations, photographs and diagrams.
• Detailed explanations make all texts accessible and engaging.
• Colorful illustrations and photographs allow you to fully immerse yourself in the topic.
• Key facts, concepts and dates are presented separately for ease of remembering.
• Drawings and diagrams make information visual.
• The volume of each magazine is 48 pages.

With the collection's magazines you will receive stickers with images of planets, their satellites and artificial objects of the Solar System. With the first issue you will receive a poster of the Solar System. Find each sticker its place on this poster.

The variety of topics and information in the magazines is combined with a clear structure. On the spine of each issue of the collection is indicated its title and one of the 6 headings of the encyclopedia to which it belongs. By organizing issues into convenient folders, you will always know where to find the information you are interested in.

Magazine

The Encyclopedia “The World Around Us” is well organized and divided into 6 sections:

• Plants and animals– You will learn a lot of new things about plants and animals that are familiar to you, and you will very quickly learn to recognize other, previously unknown species. A detailed overview of the fauna of our planet will allow you to meet even animals that none of your friends have heard of!
• Man and environment – You will be able to get to know our planet, oceans, continents and atmosphere better. You will also see what people do to protect and preserve the world around us.
• Science and technology– You can easily find answers to the questions “What’s inside?” and “How does it work?” You will learn a lot of new and interesting things thanks to simple and complete explanations and trace the history of the most important scientific events.
• The World History– Thanks to fascinating texts and colorful illustrations, you will become closely acquainted with the great figures and discoverers of the past, lost civilizations and important dates world history. Any historical event You will remember it easily and for a long time.
• Art and society– Learn a lot of new and amazing things about the art and culture of different countries and civilizations. And also about unusual hobbies and the interests of your peers and their parents around the world.
• Countries of the world– Take a fascinating trip around the world and get acquainted with the countries of the world, their history, geography, administrative organization and traditions. Special pages are dedicated to Russia.

Release schedule

№1 – solar system + poster + sticker – 12/24/2016
№2 + №3 – Ancient Civilizations + Great Inventions+ sticker – 01/12/2017
№4 – The human body+ folder + sticker – 01/26/2017
№5 – Origin of the Earth+ sticker – 02/02/2017
№6 – Mammals+ sticker
№7 – Planet Earth+ sticker
№8 – Insects, arachnids+ sticker
№9 – Russia+ sticker
№10 – Sea creatures+ sticker

How many issues

Total planned 75 issues.

Recommended price:
First edition - 49 rubles.
Second + Third issues (2 magazines) – 149 rubles.
Fourth issue and subsequent ones - 149 rubles.
Frequency: weekly.