Josephians Star in the 11th Singapore Astronomy Olympiad

The Singapore Astronomy Olympiad (SAO) is Singapore's most academically rigorous Astronomy and Astrophysics competition, challenging students to apply their knowledge in STEM, focusing on Astronomy and Astrophysics. Its primary aim is to select potential candidates to represent Singapore in the forthcoming International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA), slated to take place in Brazil later this year.

Eight Josephians participated in the 11th Singapore Astronomy Olympiad, hosted at NUS High School of Math and Science in March 2024. Three students distinguished themselves; Monai Sitavarin (MN403) and Jonas Wong Jun Yi (MN619) clinched the Silver medal, while Tharun Pugalanthi (MN516) secured the Bronze medal, showcasing remarkable achievements in this prestigious event.

The Olympiad comprised two rounds. The initial round consisted of a two-hour test featuring multiple-choice questions covering various aspects of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The subsequent round, divided into three sections—Theoretical, Data Analysis, and Observation—presented diverse challenges to participants, spanning different facets of the subject. The Theoretical round encompassed multiple-choice, short-response, and long-response questions, primarily revolving around computational astronomy and astrophysics. Meanwhile, the Data Analysis round focused on professional astronomy research inquiries involving graph plotting and basic statistics. Lastly, the Observation round involved identifying telescope parts and observing celestial objects and constellations in the night sky.

Congratulations to our three medallists on their outstanding accomplishments in the 11th Singapore Astronomy Olympiad!