Institut Teknologi Bandung

Astrocamp itself is a program from the External Division of Himastron ITB. This activity aimed to explore the night sky as a form of scientific implementation of Astronomy and a means of bonding with the Indonesian astronomy community. The main agenda of Astrocamp consisted of discussions between communities, games, and stargazing.

The event began with participants gathering at the front gate of ITB on Saturday afternoon. It then proceeded with a trip to Moko Hill using motorbikes and cars. After traveling for 30 minutes, the Astrocamp participants finally arrived at Moko Hill, also known as Bukit Bintang.

This area has a view of Kota Bandung's night light, but the sky conditions are still clear enough to see the stars clearly amidst the city's light pollution.

Upon arriving, the participants rushed to set up their tent while getting to know one another. Then, the event was opened in the evening by lighting a bonfire, introductions, games, and discussions. It was followed by cooking and eating while waiting for the fog to clear.

On Sunday morning at 01.00 WIB, the sky was no longer covered with fog. The night sky, this time, featured the Scorpio constellation and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Therefore, the main event was focused on stargazing. The participants also competed to get an image of their favorite constellation and galaxy.

In addition to these activities, Astrocamp became a forum for strengthening relationships between astronomy communities and being grateful for the beauty of God's creation.

ITB BP Himastron Head of External Division of Muhammad Ihsan Abdul Hakim revealed various memorable things in this Astrocamp event. "The memorable thing from this Astrocamp event at Moko Hill was getting to know each individual from various backgrounds in different communities, fun activities accompanied by the soothing natural scenery, as well as a stargazing agenda with a clear sky full of stars," he said.

Apart from getting images of the constellations, Astrocamp invited their participants to take pictures with the stars. They could capture the moment using a camera or cell phone camera. This included capturing a silhouette image of the night sky on Moko Hill..

In the morning, the event was closed with games about astronomical objects and laws or theories related to astronomy. It was then followed by the closing and group photos.

Reporter: Gishelawati (Astronomy, 2019)
Translator: Hanna Daniela Ayu (Aerospace Engineering, 2021)