1

S PA C E N E W S JAN 13 – MAR 13; Quarterly Newsletter from SPACE Group

Cover Story: I S R O ‘ S G I A N T L E A P – P r i v a ti z a ti o n

o f S p a c e L a u n c h V e h i c l e s

Guest Article: AMATEUR ASTRONOMY IN INDIA: Need For A Serious Look

Feature Article: DEC 21ST, 2012 – Winter Solstice And NOT The End Of The World!!

Chief Editor : Sachin BahmbaEditors : Amit Verma & Divya Kanchanbaras

2

3

INDEX

S No. Topic Page

1. Cover story: ISRO ‘s Giant Leap – Privatization Of Satellite Production

6

2. Education News 9

3. Astroinquisites 14

4. Events News 15

5. Do at Home Astronomy 19

6. Guest Article: Amateur Astronomy In India: Need for a serious lookBy Mr. Biman Basu

20

7. Astro Tourism News 22

8. Feature Article: Dec 21st, 2012 –Winter Solstice and NOT the end of the World!! By Mila Mitra

26

9. Human Resource Corner 29

“The skies above, provide us an open lab to work upon, each star and constellation is as much a personal object for me as much as it is for you. Astronomy has no barriers or limitations for someone trying to understand the cosmos”

Mr. C.B DevgunPresident,

SPACE Foundation

4

Star Trail at Safdarjang's Tomb, New DelhiPhoto Credit – Mr. C.B Devgun

SPACE India is proud to share

Mr. Sachin Bahmba, Chairman & Managing Director SPACE has been appointed as the

Founding President of STS India, Space Tourism Society (STS) India Chapter

About STS

STS is clearly focused, with a long term overall view, and is evolving a strategic plan to introduce many new industries to realistic space tourism. These include the travel and tourism industry, the financial community, the cruise ship and resort industry, and the entertainment industries.

STS believes that space tourism is the most logical endeavor for private enterprise to pursue towards the goal of expanding humankind into space.

STS defines Space Tourism as:

•Earth orbit and suborbital experiences•Beyond Earth orbit (such as Lunar and Mars) experiences,•Earth-based simulations, tours, and entertainment experiences,•Cyberspace tourism experiences

5

Space X made history as it became the first commercial vehicle to visit the International Space Station (ISS). The launch signaled an era of private enterprise entering space – NASA’s biggest bet in recent times of entrusting small, private companies with big, public responsibilities.

Following the same path, in a bold move, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is opening up to market forces and plans to hand over part of the lucrative rocket launch business and satellite manufacturing to the Indian industry. ISRO plans to entrust Indian companies with the task of building rockets and satellites. It has a nearly 30-year-old partnership with the Indian industry. Its enduring tango with 400-odd companies has often been cited as a model for the defence sector to emulate.

TARGET

Chairman K Radhakrishnan has proposed a high order that requires the industry to put its skin in the game. He wants the industry to form a consortium and build a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)—ISRO’s workhorse with 21 consecutive launches—by 2017.

12TH FIVE YR PLAN

The 12th Five-Year Plan has sanctioned at least 58 missions in the next five years, as against 29 in the previous five. This boils down to almost one launch a month. The outlay has also doubled from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 39,750 crore. As ISRO can’t double its internal resources, its flight path terminates at the industry.

TIME TO TAKE OFF Isro has a busy time over the next five years as at least 18 PSLV (in picture) and half-a-dozen GSLV launches are scheduled

Cover Story : ISRO ‘S GIANT LEAP – Privatization of Space Launch Vehicles

6

In the next five years, 18 PSLV and half-a-dozen GSLV launches are scheduled. The industry believes that in a technology-intensive and risky business like space, weightage must be given to technical, manufacturing and financial capabilities of private players. The plan also include carving out a 250-acre, dedicated 'Space Park' adjoining the space port at Sriharikota, which could be used by private players to develop the Indian aerospace industry.

Private Players

ISRO works closely with the private sector like Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) Godrej & Boyce , and the most oldest is Larsen & Toubro. The industry does nearly 80 percent of the value addition to PSLV. But ISRO maintains a tight control on quality and final integration. Companies like L&T and HAL say they are prepared to procure materials, which are often subject to international controls.

7

CONCLUSION

Hence, ISRO is hiving off the money-spinning communication satellite business, conduct privatization of satellites production, and finally acutely focus on its core agenda i.e. space science research and development. With missions to Mars, moon and sun on the mind, ISRO rightfully seeks to divest itself of repeat and routine manufacturing and seeks to do what it does best - cutting-edge research.

The development of a proposed Space Park by ISRO shall spark off the Space Tourism in India and bring it on a global platform of emerging tourism trends. The accelerated research and development by ISRO and space tourism would mean rapid aerospace industry development, wide job opportunities for space science graduates and that shall instigate youth to take up astronomy and space science as a viable career option in India.

The dawn of a new Indian space era is here!

8* Please Note: Story and graphics are courtesy - Forbes India

N E W S I N F O C U SUNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL - CENTRE for STUDENT EXCELLENCE

1. Astronomy Exhibition at BAL Bharati Public School, Pitampura: BBPS Pitampura organised an astronomy exhibition on 1st Dec, 2012, to showcase the learning of Astronomy Club to parents, teachers and students. Various activities like;-Comet Making, Photo exhibition, Stellarium, Grail Moonkam, Sun Observation through telescope, Solar goggles and through Pin hole projector and Hydrorocketry launching were conducted. Dr. P.S.Jaiswal (Lecturer Hans Raj College) & Lt. Col Harpreet Singh (Formerly lecturer at Khalsa College) quoted:- “It was great to see and understand the principle of Sundial to evaluate the local noon time. It was the rediscovery of the ancient Indian process of astronomy of Raja Jai Singh era. I am really lucky to witness the great phenomena. It was a great activity which has been organised by Children of Bal Bharati School Space club. We are proud of it.”

2. Hydrorocketry workshop for Singapore

students at Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura:- A Hydrorocketry workshop was organized for Singapore students on 23rd Nov during the student exchange program. In this workshop students learnt the rocket construction and launching of the rockets. It was a great experience for the students.

3. Overnight observations: - were conducted on 12th & 20th Oct at BAL Bharati Public School, Pitampura for 9th class students & Astronomy club students. The students learnt to orient themselves according to night sky. Also learnt about various constellations and how to use planisphere to hunt for stars and constellations.

4. World Space Week Celebration at Step By Step, Noida:-World Space week is an international celebration of science and technology. Students of Middle astronomy club & junior school students were celebrated World Space week 2012.They have done various activities like:-Movie screening,Hydrorocketry-1,Straw Rockets, Balloon rocket race, Astronomy Game, Pop rocket etc. Also school has participated in Space painting competition under the World Space Week at junior level.

Students are making comet during the Astronomy Exhibition day

Student launching the rocket

Students observing a night sky through the telescope

Students learning about rockets through straw rockets

9

5. Autumnal Equinox Project:-This project was held in IVth & Vth classes from Sep to Oct month at Step By Step, Noida. In this project students were given a worksheet in which they were supposed to note down the time of sun rise and sun set in the whole months in the interval of 5days. The aim of the project was to make the students understand the importance of Equinox.

6. ”All India Young Scientist” Video Podcast Competition at G.D Goenka school, Rohini:-The competition was conducted by Space in collaboration with the Northern Chapter of Indian Science Congress. Students from class 9th & 10th participated in the competition. Priyam Aggarwal from class 9th has won the best video category as a young scientist student from the state. As a winner, the selected student was invited to participate in the Northern Region Science Congress on 26th & 27th Nov as a student delegate.

7. Space Art Contest under the World Space Week Celebration at G.D Goenka, Rohini:- It was one of the most exciting events of the celebration as the children concentrated their indomitable enthusiasm on the drawing of Space Art and completed it within the specified time. Students from class 3rd to 5th participated in the Space Art Contest.

8. Astronomy Day celebration at Space Astronomy Club Schools:- is a culmination of the space astronomy club Module 1.It gives students a platform to showcase the activities learnt in the club. In last quarter celebrations were done at Khaitan Public school (Noida), Delhi Public school (Saket), Apeejay School (Pitamura), Amity International School, sec-6 (Vasundhara), Delhi Public school (Gurgaon) and Tagore International School (Vasant Vihar). We have received the great feedbacks of the event. Mrs. Shashi Ranjan Principal of Amity International school sec-6, Vasundhara:- Excellent involvement of students in space activities & also wonderful to see their knowledge about facts. Well organized! “Kudos to the Space

Team” Mrs. Nirmalesh Gupta space club coordinator of Khaitan Public School, Noida:-It was an exciting day. Everyone

enjoyed a lot. Great support & help provided from Space. Well done. Ms. Spana Dhawan teacher of Delhi public school sec-45, Gurgaon:-A well thought out & well executed program. Could feel the excitement of learning new things among the students. Ms. Geeta Arora teacher of Tagore Vasant Vihar:-Very impressive, like the Moon crater activity most and it’s fun to see rocket launching. Excellent work.

Students making their poster

UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOLSPACE ASTRONOMY CLUB

Students Observing through the Pin hole projector at Apeejay Pitampura

Students with the comet made by them at Delhi public school ,Saket

10

2. Atulya Aman from VIII-D, Space astronomy club student of St. Mary, Dwarka clicked the picture of MOON through 38mm refractor telescope.

3. Talk with an Astronomer under the World Space Week at BAL Bharati Public School, Rajinder Nagar:-The school was celebrating World Space Week from 4th Oct to 10th Oct, 2012 and at the culmination of the programme they have arranged the talk with an Astronomer for the students and invited Mr. C.B Devgun (President of Space) a renowned Astronomer to their school on 10th

October, 2012

4. Rocket a Space Vehicle (Amity International school sec-43, Gurgaon):-This workshop was done in the school on 27th Nov, 2012.And school students & teachers had a great experience in the workshop. During the workshop Principal (Mrs. Sandhya Awasthi) was also present. Feedback from the Principal:- “Well conducted and executed. Great Learning for the students”.

5. Workshops at Ryan International School, Sohna Road:-We have conducted Let’s Know about the Earth, Astronaut-can u be one of them, Air Rocketry on 29th Nov, 2012 at the school premises , whole school had a great experience. Ms. Monica school teacher said “Overall an informative session. Students really enjoyed in Air rocketry. Would look forward for more such session in future.”

6. Hydrorocketry & Comet Kitchen workshops at Lawrence Public school, Sanawar (Himanchal Pradesh):-The workshops were conducted on 17th & 18th Nov. Feedback from the Coordinator (Mr. S.K Jain):- “It was a great experience for the kids, they enjoyed too much. It was well organized and I certainly recommend that they should come again.”

The principle of the school waiting for the rocket launch at Amity Vasundhara

Moon Picture clicked by Atulya Aman 8th D student of St. Mary School ,Dwarka

School coordinator launches stomp rocket

UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL SPACE EXPLORERS

Student finding keys

11

1ST WINNER - DAV CENTENARY PUBLIC SCHOOL 2ND WINNER - TAGORE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

RESULTS OF ANNUAL SPACE BOARD COMPETITION 2012 ARE OUT!!

3RD WINNER - AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL3RD WINNER – STEP BY STEP SCHOOL

12

A balanced blend of knowledge coupled with artistic excellence enlightened the “Annual SPACE Board Competition, 2012” organized by “Space Technology and Education Pvt. Ltd.” About 28 schools running “SPACE Astronomy Clubs” and the “Centre for students Excellence (CSE) - Astronomy Club Members” participated and competed with each other in the recently concluded SPACE Board Competition which began on 1st Oct, 2012 and concluded on Oct 20th, 2012.

“Mars Science Laboratory”, the theme for this year, aims for more awareness about the recent development in Astronomy and Space Sciences among the students, thus fostering creativity and teamwork among club members. It was an effort to bring together all the genius young minds of SPACE across Delhi/ NCR to show their interest, creativity, knowledge and teamwork. The Competition encouraged not only the students but the schools at a higher level, to showcase their talent and work in the field of space sciences.

The theme was a part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program and thus the schools were invited to maintain a school board using the related content and pictures etc. Each school was able to submit as many as five high resolution pictures clicked from different angles, with their best interpretation of the theme by depicting US Astronomer's/Astronaut's biography, Asaph Hall III, Recent Astronomy news, Articles on Mars Science Laboratory and Astronomy picture related to curiosity rover on Mars with explanation.

The winners of the “Annual SPACE Board Competition”, 2012 are DAV Centenary Public School, Paschim Enclave (Ist Prize), Tagore International School, East of Kailash (IInd Prize) and Step By Step School, Noida (IIIrd Prize) -Amity International School, Saket (IIIrd Prize)

All entries for this competition will now be featured on the SPACE websites (www.space-india.com/www.space-india.org/www.universeintheschool.com) or on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/109156850798846600382/

Congratulations to all the winners who made the “Annual Space Board Competition, 2012” a success by their participation and given us an opportunity to make out the hidden talent in these young minds.

13

A REPORT ON ANNUAL SPACE BOARD COMPETITION 2012

ASTROINQUISITES

Q. Why Do Stars Twinkle?

A: On a clear, dark night, our eyes can see about 6,000 or so stars in the sky. They seem to twinkle most of the time. But most of the stars are shining with a steady light; however the movement of air (sometimes called turbulence) in the atmosphere of Earth causes the starlight to get slightly bent as it travels from the distant star through the atmosphere down to us on the ground. This means that some of the light reaches us directly and some gets bent slightly away. To our eyes, this makes the star seem to twinkle.

14

N E W S I N F O C U SPAST EVENTS

1. AUTUMN EQUINOX

Sept. 22nd, Autumn Equinox marked the beginning of autumn in the northern. On this day the day and night are approximately equal length. SPACE spread awareness of this day by conducting “Project Paridhi" – hands on science activity, at Jantar Manta, a 300 years old scientific observatory located at the heart of Delhi. Under this project participants replicated and took actual measurements of the shadows made by the Sun to measure the size of the Earth as done 2300 years back by astronomer - Eratosthenes.

There were around 300 people present at Jantar Mantar including school students, and general public who had come out of curiosity to learn about the method to measure the Earth. About 50 students from NGO AAM Foundation for underprivileged children also joined us in the activity. The experiment was conducted by Mr. Sachin Bahmba, CMD, SPACE and several educators from SPACE. All students carried out measurements as per the experiment centered around noon, despite the heat and submitted accurate measurements. This teaches hands on science and learn science by doing to students.

Mrs. Sarabjit, teacher from ASN School said – “These students learned about measurements, through this they can have advanced knowledge and practical exposure to what we teach in classrooms”. Ms. Dimple, teacher from AAM Foundation said- “These students have come first time to Jantar Mantar, it’s a life enriching knowledge to them as they don’t get access to such events”.

2. WORLD SPACE WEEK 2012

World Space Week 2012 was concluded on 10th Oct, achieved a huge scale in 2012. This year 65 nations across the globe participated and more than 573 events were celebrated under the WSW. Around 84 events out of the total were celebrated in India as mentioned by Mr. CB Devgun - President, SPACE and also the

national coordinator for WSW celebrations in India.

World Space Week (WSW) is the largest annual public space event on Earth as announced by the United Nations General Assembly in the year 1999. The theme for WSW for 2012 was “Space for Human Safety and Security”. Throughout the week, SPACE associated schools, amateur astronomers and other organizations conducted astronomy events such as fairs, quizzes, movie shows, observations and painting competitions to present Astronomy in a fun way.

To spur the interest of the public several organizations and amateur astronomy groups conducted public outreach activities. SPACE Foundation, also celebrated WSW in the office premises by conducting Face/Body Interdepartmental Competition. Participants painted their teammates around any theme related to Space and covered a diverse range from WSW logo, constellations, meteors etc

15

Students at Jantar Mantar during Autumn Equinox

At the end of the World Space Week, an evening observation was organized for general public and masses at the India Gate Lawns. SPACE had put up several telescopes for masses to observe the celestial objects in the sky. Many astronomy enthusiasts joined to help the organization in doing the public outreach. There was a lot of curiosity among public to see the telescopes out there through which they can observe stars, planets, moon closely. About 200 people peeped through telescopes and were mesmerized looking at stars, planets, moon so closely. World Space Week 2012 was a resounding success and was celebrated in its true scientific spirit.

3. “All India Young Scientist” – Science Video Podcast Competition by SPACE

SPACE in collaboration with Indian Science

Congress Association (ISCA) has conducted an “All India Young Scientist” - Science Video Podcast Competition on the juncture of the completion of the 100th

year of the inception of ISCA.

SPACE in collaboration with the Northern Chapter organized a science video podcast competition for the senior school level to select students to attend Northern Regional Science Congress (NRSC). Students had to create unique and innovative videos of 2 to 5 min duration, explaining any scientific phenomena or principles in any field of science.

The competition was open to schools from Delhi/NCR as well as from 6 other locations in the North such as Punjab, Allahabad, U.P. etc. An overwhelming of about 170 video podcasts was received. Students created videos on original experiments and gadgets created by them as well as demonstrated activities that explain science principles. 5 students from Delhi and NCR received the best ‘Young Scientist ”

The winners include: Sachdeva Public School, Rohini for the video "Voice Recognition"; St Marys School, Dwarka for the video "Global Warming"; Amity International School, Noida for the video "Recycling our Way to Future Energy"; GD Goenka, Rohini for the video entitled "Pinhole Projector" and The Air Force School, Delhi for the video entitled "Carbon Dating".

These students, as well as 30 winners

from other locations such as Kanpur, Allahabad, Patiala, Karnal, Chandigarh and Jammu got an opportunity of attending the Northern Region Science Congress on 26th and 27th November at India International Center in Delhi which was inaugurated by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon’ble Union Minister, and Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

5. Project Paridhi on Winter Solstice, December 21st

Winter solstice of 2012 was on December 21 and was also the shortest day of the year. Project Paridhi – Also known as Eratosthanes Experiment - A Hands on Science activity was conducted on this day.

On the day of the Winter Solstice 21st Dec, Delhi people got a rare opportunity created by SPACE to calculate the circumference of our planet under “Project Paridhi” which is an International Citizen Science Project. This project was conducted by using a giant sundial at one of our scientific heritages - Bara Pulah. This site was constructed during the Common Wealth Games back in 2010.

16

Students during World Space Week

17

By doing this project at Bara Pulah, SPACE Foundation aimed to establish its importance as one of our scientific heritages. This was for the first time ever in history that the largest sundial of this size was used by the public and students in a large group to replicate an ancient experiment of measuring the Earth. This experiment was conducted under the guidance of Mr. Sachin Bahmba, CMD SPACE Group and who is also a space science enthusiast.

1. Great India Star Count

To bring back the charm of unpolluted star filled skies, SPACE initiated the campaign Project Dark Skies. This campaign is a SPACE initiative to fight against light pollution in India.

In collaboration with International Project ‘Globe at night’, SPACE will conduct ‘Great Indian Star Count’ (GISC) during Jan to April 2013 – to encourage the participants to go at night, peep towards the sky after dark, count the stars they see in certain constellations such as Orion, and report what they observe. The numbers of stars seen are a direct indicator of the light pollution in that local area. This is an international citizen science project which calls participation from the citizens of India from all walks of life.

The data submitted is then studied and it has been observed living in the metro cities miss 97% of the stars visible in the sky than those staying in the remote areas. GLOBE at Night 2012 Results declared that India had achieved the 2nd position across the world in the largest number of observations submitted. SPACE has been contributing in this program under the “Project Dark Skies” from the

past few years.

In 2013, there will be many opportunities to participate in GLOBE at Night. Specifically, Globe at Night will be conducted on January 3 - 12, 2013, January 31 - February 9, 2013, March 3 - 12, 2013, March 31 - April 9, 2013 and April 29 - May 8, 2013. Further details can be found on the website www.projectdarkskies.org

NEWS IN FOCUSUPCOMING EVENTS

Sundial at Barapulah

Students performing Winter Solstice Experiments

Project Dark Skies

2. ISS EARTHKAM

SPACE brings the enthralling experience of imaging Earth from a unique perspective of space. ISS EarthKAM is an international educational program of NASA through which school students can select and take stunning, high quality images of Earth from a digital camera mounted at a nadir pointing window in the Destiny lab of the International Space Station. They can select the location of their choice on Earth via a website interface on their computer which provides the tools to look at the upcoming ISS orbits, evaluate terrain, check the weather conditions and provides all details regarding orbit locations, timings etc.

Students from SPACE associated schools have used ISS EarthKAM in previous sessions to study geographical a region of interest. The next EarthKAM mission is tentatively scheduled in Jan-Feb, 2013.

18

A picture taken by student through ISS EarthKAM

Do At Home Astronomy

Making a SEXTANT: A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the object's altitude. Most importantly the sextant can be used to find the latitude of a place by pointing it towards the pole star. Follow the simple steps to make one for you with things easily available at home.

1.

2.

3.19

Guest Article:Amateur Astronomy In India: Need for a serious look

By Mr. Biman Basu

Amateur astronomy plays a crucial role in advancement of observational astronomy, especially in the discovery and study of variable stars, asteroids, and comets. In India, amateur astronomers face an uphill task. Good quality astronomical telescopes are either not available or are prohibitively expensive, quality popular books and journals on observational astronomy are mostly foreign publications suitable for observers located in the west, books published in India suffer from poor production quality and often, factual inaccuracies. Another problem that amateur astronomers in India face is widespread light and air pollution which makes seeing conditions in most parts of the country far from satisfactory, except for a few who can avail of observing facilities at a big observatory like those at Kavalur and Nainital.

These problems not-with-standing, a few Indian amateur astronomers did make their mark by their sheer dedication. Radha Gobinda Chandra – a self-taught amateur astronomer in a remote village of Bengal in British India – was one of the earliest Indian amateur astronomers to specialise in the observation of variable stars. Chandra was one of the early observers of NovaAquilae-3, seen in 1918, but he failed to communicate his findings to astronomical observatories in Europe or USA in time. He did not realise the significance of his discovery and had taken the brightening of the nova as merely routine rise in brightness of a variable star. In the meantime a European astronomer E.C. Bower got the credit of being the first person to communicate his observational findings of Nova Aqulae-3 on 8 June 1918. However, as a mark of recognition and respect to his findings, Chandra was offered honorary membership of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AASVSO).He was also gifted a 6-inch refractor, which is now located at the Kavalur Observatory.

Octogenarian amateur astronomer P. Devdas of Tamil Nadu did extensive mapping of the surface of Mars and published papers on the igneous and volcanic origin of the lunar and planetary craters, banded structures on the clouds of Venus, and the nature and origin of Sun and Moon illusion. Though not a professional astronomer, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, London, in recognition of his contributions to astronomy.

Jyotirvidya Parisanstha, based in Pune, Maharashtra, is among India’s oldest formal groups of amateur astronomers. It was established in 1944 by a group of eminent citizens of Pune, primarily for the spread of knowledge of astronomy among the public. Right from its conception, the Parisanstha has been actively working for the propagation of astronomy and the spread of scienti fic temperament.

20

The Astronomical Society of India was established in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, in 1972. At present it has more than 500members. The objective of the society is the promotion of astronomy and related branches of science in India.

Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) is a Delhi-based NGO, founded in 2001, with the goal of popularising science via astronomy and space sciences. It is a team of eminent astronomers, science communicators and educators, which works for spreading science and an attitude of rational questioning and experimentation amongst children through astronomy. It conducts clubs, courses and workshops for school students in various schools.

Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, is engaged in the popularisation of astronomy at national level through various means. It conducts telescope-making workshops for school students, teachers and amateur astronomers. Vigyan Prasar has been organising special observation sessions for the public during solar and lunar eclipses, and transits of the inner planets, which are very popular.

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune, Maharashtra, interfaces with schoolteachers and amateur astronomers. It organises workshops for making sky globes, 6-inch Dobsonian telescopes, and mini-planetariums. IUCAA also invites secondary-school children to spend a week of their summer vacation working with astronomers.

In India amateur astronomy remains a low-key activity with few active groups and hardly anything in school curriculum to expose young minds to the thrill of astronomy. Considering the vastness of the country and the availability of several locations with excellent seeing conditions, a lot still needs to be done. If amateur astronomy in India is to become really meaningful and contribute to astronomical knowledge at the international level rather than remaining confined to conducting telescope making workshops and occasional sky watching sessions, the amateur astronomers’ associations/clubs need to devote more time for some serious observations that could lead to new discoveries, of comets, asteroids or variable stars, for example.

As yet no Indian has put his or her name on a comet; it is time one does.

21

A S T R O T O U R I S M

A team of 17 students and three teacher started from Army Public School Noida, on the morning of December 21, 2012 and checked in at Alwar Bagh Resort, Sariska in afternoon. The journey was quiet comfortable. The students were very excited throughout the way and played many games and won prizes!

Post evening tea the group started with what we had come for: ASTRONOMY. Students learnt reading sky maps and various concepts of night sky including finding directions using stars and band of zodiacs. After this, the team proceeded for dinner. Students danced and had a lot of fun while playing housie alongside bonfire. The day ended with students hunting constellations in the sky using sky maps and then gazing Jupiter's Moons and our own Moon through telescopes. Everyone was tired by the end of day 1 and was waiting to get up the next day as the team was to go for a Jeep safari.

Day 2 started at 6 am. It was a chilly morning, all students were fully packed in winter clothes but still shivered as the Jeep moved. The eyes of all were fully open as nobody wanted to miss a glimpse of the safari. The group spotted many other creatures like Jackal, wild pig, pug marks of tiger, spotted dear, crocodile etc. After the safari, the entire team reported back to resort safely and was divided into two teams to play a treasure hunt game. The teams were given a challenge to hunt the solar system objects using clues provided. The winning team won a goody bag while everyone learnt about solar system facts. The fun did not end here as just after this, team building games were played including sack race, chain making, looping the tyre etc.

Apart from the fun, the team also did a lot of astronomy including looking at galaxies, nebula, star clusters and planets through telescope and also trying their hands on astrophotography. The night ended with a special surprise! A Rajasthani cultural program where the students danced and enjoyed a lot. The trip ended with a closing ceremony and some more astronomy on day 3.

This trip is going to be a lifelong memory for one and all.

Pooja Kumar Tour Director, Sr. Educator at SPACE22

A blog entry, post Weekend Celestial Getaway to Sariska, India with Army Public School, Noida

AstroTourism India offers a gamut of exciting and enthralling Astro Tours & Weekend Gateway to watch out for in Summer 2013!!

• International Space Challenge Program at KSC, NASA, Orlando: an exclusive product offering in India; providing weather ballooning, robotics and astronaut training.

9 Days Orlando [5 Day KSC with Space Challenge + University Visit + 2Theme Park]

• International Student Astronaut Training Program, KSC, NASA, Orlando: a highly enriching astronaut training and NASA experience program.

10 Days NASA / USA Visit [6 Nt Orlando including 3 Day KSC + 2 Nt New York and also available supplements for Niagara Falls or Washington DC]

• Space School program at Space Center, NASA, Houston: 5 days of age customized space school program, experiencing astronaut training and other space activities.

Supplements available for Orlando, New York, Niagara Falls and Washington DC

• International Space Camp at Huntsville, USA: 5 days of exhilarating Space Camp at US Space and Rocket Center, NASA, Hunstville, Alabama, USA.

Special activities at Space Camp combined with optional supplements of Orlando, New York, Washington, Niagara Falls.

23

AstroTourism India offers a gamut of exciting and enthralling Astro Tours & Weekend Gateway to watch out for in Summer 2013!!

• International Space Camp at ESC, Belgium: European Space Center is a gateway to the space program, with state of the art astronaut training facility with a 5 day camp.

9 Days in Belgium and France [ 6 Nt Brussels + 2 Nt Paris including 5 Day Camp ESC] Special Note: a foundation Rocketry (hydro) Workshop would be conducted in India for all participants, exclusively by AstroTourism India.

• Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma Island, Spain: exotic destination with a beautiful night sky.

8 Days Santa Cruise da La Palma Island including trip to ORM Observatory and sky Gazing sessions.

• International Dark Sky Reserve, UNESCO site, New Zealand: Sky, Observatories and fun!

9 Days New Zealand, visit to Mt John Observatory, Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve, University Visit. [2 Nt Lake Tekapo +3 Nt Christchurch + 1 Nt Auckland + 2 Nts Rotorua]

• Spaceport Malaysia: Go behind the scenes at the most futuristic spaceport development, private space industries launch pad facilities and more.

Malaysia Space Port [2 Nts Kuala lumpur & 2 Nts Genting Highland, with supplement for Singapore also available]

24

WEEKEND GATEWAYS

• Celestial Getaway Sariska: Enthralling combination of astronomy, astrophotography, wildlife and pure fun!

•Observatory Tour Nainital: visit the famous ARIES observatory and soak in the beauty and fun of Nainital. Also available as a combination with Jim Corbett National Park

UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CELESTIAL TOURS

• Solar Eclipse - Annular Solar Eclipse – May 2013 Australia

• Hybrid Solar Eclipse - Nov 2013 Gabon - Africa

For More Information on any tour

Contact: 9212669959 or email at: getintouch@astrotourism.in

25

Friday, Dec 21st, 2012 is the day of Winter solstice, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year. In astronomical terms, the Winter Solstice occurs when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun. On this day, the sun is directly overhead on Tropic of Capricorn. Winter solstice is celebrated with activities and traditional festivities around the world.

However, this year, Doomsday predictions warned of the end of the world on that date resulting from a devastating astronomical cataclysmic event! This doomsday prediction found its origin in finds relating to the Mayan calendar. Lets find out more about these threats and what they meant, and could these really harm us at some point.

The first Doomsday theory claimed that the sun is entering a maximum activity phase and will harm the earth. The sun cycles through quiet and strong activity periods about every 11 years with solar storms and flares during the peaks. We have entered a period of stronger activity but the peak is expected in 2013, and scientists say that this one is lower in magnitude than others in recent history with fewer sunspots!

Another theory claims that Earth’s magnetic fields will reverse suddenly on Dec 21st. Poles have indeed reversed in the past, but the flip has occurred over hundreds of thousands of years, and cannot happen suddenly! The last swap occurred about 780,000 years ago. There has been at least one period where the magnetic poles did not reverse for 30 million years.

A third theory claims that a Planet ‘X’ or Nibiru, will crash into the Earth. Nibiru, a planet supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, was initially predicted to collide into Earth on May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar . A planet about to collide should have been a really bright object in the sky by now, especially given NASA capability with various missions to observe deep space.

Feature Article:

DEC 21ST, 2012 –WINTER SOLSTICE AND NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!

26

The doomsday fears originate from the Mayan Calendar. The Mayans had several calendars for different functions such as for agriculture, for social and political purposes. Specifically the Long Count Calendar measured cycles of 400 years and on December 21st of this year, one such cycle will come to an end. Archaeology experts state that another new ‘Baktun’ or cycle was slated to start on this date. There is no dire prediction found listed anywhere in Mayan history or cultural records.

Leaving all the hype behind year 2013 promises to be a super year for those who are following science and are learning every day!

- Dr. Mila Mitra, Scientific Officer, SPACE

Doomsday also points to the alignment of planets (pic 1) during that period. The image shows the position of planets on Dec 21st, 2012.There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. This is supported by previous alignments that have happened during 1962, 1982 and 2000.

Some predict that the galactic alignment will somehow create a combined gravitational effect between the Sun and the supermassive black hole , Sagittarius A, located at the center of our galaxy thus destroying Earth (pic 2 - Image shows this concept). Apart from the fact noted above that the "galactic alignment" already happened in 1998, the Sun's apparent path through the zodiac as seen from Earth does not take it near the true galactic center, but rather several degrees above it. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that happens annually.

27

Pic 1

Pic 2

SPACE INDIA CONGRATULATES FELIX FOR HIS DAREDEVIL DIVE FROM SPACE TO EARTH !!

The world watched with baited breath as Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil skydiver, launched himself off the platform of his capsule 24 miles above Earth in October. A tense 9.03 minutes later, Baumgartner landed . The 43 year old broke several records, smashing the highest ever freefall and became the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound. At his peak, Baumgartner travelled at 833.9mph. The stunt was seven years in the making. He said after the jump: "When I was standing there on top of the world so humble, you are not thinking about breaking records. I was thinking about coming back alive. You do not want to die in front of your parents and all these people. I thought 'please God, don’t let me down.”

HR CORNER

Human Resource department of SPACE group is happy to share about the successful Campus Recruitment Drive for Educators- 2013, conducted at the following prestigious colleges:

1) Amity University, Noida 2) Manav Rachna University, Faridabad 3) Sharda University, Greater Noida 4) Chitkara University, Chandigarh & Himachal Pradesh 5) Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi 6) Kirorimal College, Delhi University

Dean Academics Chitkara University at Moon Watch

conducted by SPACE

“It was great interacting with SPACE team. We reallylook forward to work with you in future for various assignments.”

Dr. Rajnish Sharma, Dean (Academics), Chitkara University

29

S P A C E G R O U P

FB user : Spacian Twitter handle: Spacian

Websiteswww.space-india.com www.space-india.org www.astrotourism.in

www.spacearcade.in www.leoplanetaria.com www.eclipsechasers.in www.astronomica.in

Email us at: getintouch@space-india.com WZ-19 Asalatpur, A3 Block Janak Puri, New Delhi-110058

Ph: +91-11-45086320, 25522193

30