The StarPals project was started by Audrey Fischer in October 2007. This was when Comet 17P/Holmes appeared and then suddenly got bright in the sky. [img]/sites/all/modules/wysiwyg/plugins/break/images/spacer.gif[/img] International networking through Arnie Rosner of Global Rent-a-Scope and local assistance by members of the Chicago Astronomical Society and International Dark-Sky Association were key to the first StarPals event on November 14, 2007, an international conference between a school in Chicago and one in Jerusalem. It was a videoconference using Skype, a free voice & video chat software.
In each classroom, we had a webcam and a microphone to transmit, and a projection screen to display the other classroom. The students introduced themselves and asked each other questions, then the students watched via the “SkyCam” as Ido Bareket in Israel operated the telescope to image M42 (the Orion Nebula) and the exponentially brightened Comet Holmes. Comet Holmes became an "overnight sensation" when, within a 24-hour period, its brightness unexpectedly increased one million times, making it the largest cometary outburst ever witnessed. Not long after that, we started leading an after-school astronomy club program with elementary school students. The after school astronomy club met once per week, and the students ranged from grades 1-5 (ages 6-11). In the After School Astronomy Club, the kids learned about meteorites and comets, lunar phases and eclipses, light pollution, and astrophotography. They had a star party for the total lunar eclipse, participated in the Globe At Night star count, and demonstrated great teamwork for research and computer work. They created art and wrote poetry inspired by the cosmos, and the students each got to take home a keepsake calendar featuring their artwork and astrophotography. <!--EndFragment-->
