On Monday 30th November, Y5 had a very special meeting on Google Meet with an astronomer in New Zealand! Dave Owen is an astronomer, teacher, owner of a space museum in New Zealand and fanatic space enthusiast. He has been passionate about space for as long as he can remember, and he loves sharing his enthusiasm with others.

The children learnt more about Earth’s position in the Solar System and wider Universe; days, nights and years on Earth and other planets; the night sky; spaceflight (including robotic space probes and human exploration of space) and the International Space Station.

Here are some quotes from the children:

“It was a fantastic meeting and we all learnt so much about Space that we didn´t know”

“My favourite part was seeing the astronauts in a Space Station and how they moved and what they ate!”

“I liked learning about Black Holes around our Galaxy, and also in the centre of our Milky Way – the Super Massive Black Hole”.

“Learning and seeing the satellites and the Internation Space Station was really interesting”

“I liked learning about why Mercury was colder than Venus even though it is closer to the Sun. This is because it has no atmosphere or clouds (like on Venus) to hold the heat in.”

“I hope that one day I can visit Space!”

“It is strange that stars have names like Stephenson 2-18 – which is the biggest star we know of SO FAR.”