SPACE website

Total Lunar Eclipse Dec 10, 2011

2011-12-10T15:12:00.001+05:30

For Total Lunar Eclipse Dec 10, 2011
Click on to go to Lunar eclipse Blog
http://lunareclipses.blogspot.com

2011-10-22T11:37:00.001+05:30

Live Internet Telescope Project

26 Oct,2011 to 2 Nov,2011
SPACE is proud to bring the ‘Internet Telescope’ project for the first time to India. SPACE is conducting this project in collaboration with IASC, International Astronomy Search Collaboration. A pilot test was conducted in July 2011 and a second pilot test will be conducted from Oct 26th to Nov 2nd, 2011. These pilot projects will enable us to launch Internet Telescope as a big Project in April 2012 with about 80 participants from across India.

The project will be using a 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes located at the Ironwood North Observatory. This is a privately-owned observatory located in Queen Creek, AZ. The students will be remotely commanding a CCD camera on the telescope to take images of asteroids, comets, and deep sky objects. The deep sky objects include star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae.For some spectacular images taken using the internet telescope, please go to the link: https://picasaweb.google.com/109156850798846600382/InternetTelescopeProjectOctNov2011

PSLV Launch today

2011-10-12T10:52:00.001+05:30

PSLV Launch on 12th October at 11:00 am IST

Watch it live at http://www.isro.org/scripts/livewebcast.aspx

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known by its abbreviation PSLV, is an expendable launch system developed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV, commercially viable only from Russia. PSLV can also launch small size satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The PSLV has launched 41 satellites (19 Indian and 22 from other countries) into a variety of orbits to date.

The Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) for PSLV-C18/Megha-Tropiques mission, which met on October 9, 2011 at Satish Dhawan Space Centre(SDSC) - SHAR, Sriharikota has cleared the launch of PSLV-C18 at 11:00 hrs (IST) on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.

The 50 hour countdown commenced at 09:00 hours today (October 10, 2011). During the Countdown, propellant-filling operations of the liquid propellant second stage (PS2) and fourth stage (PS4) of the launch vehicle will be carried out. Mandatory checks on the launch vehicle and spacecraft including charging of batteries and pressurisation of propellant tanks will be performed. Readiness of various ground systems such as tracking radar systems and communication networks will also be checked.

PSLV-C18 will inject Megha-Tropiques satellite into an orbit of 867 km altitude at an inclination of 20 deg with respect to equator. PSLV will also inject SRMSat from SRM University, Chennai, JUGNU from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and Vesselsat-1 from Luxembourg.

2011-10-10T13:12:00.001+05:30

SOLAR ECLIPSE CONFERENCE 2011
Dec . 15th - 17th 2011
The Solar Eclipse Conference (SEC India), celebrates the pursuit of mankind to unravel the phenomenon of Solar Eclipses one at a time, and chase the umbral shadow across the surface of the Earth. SPACE is bringing the SEC 2011 to India for the 1st time this year.
The Conference provides a common platform for:

Travel Enthusiasts;
Avid Photographers;
Those who value Scientific Research and Recordings;
Those who like to delve in the history of this event and understand the cultural implications;
Those who want to create awareness among the people by demystifying this phenomenon;
Finally, for those who simply want to participate for the sheer joy of witnessing this event.

The agenda of the conference is spread over three intensive days that will cover Travel, Education, Research, Science, Culture, Mythologies, Public Outreach, Pro-Am linking and Student learning possibilities.

Date : 15th (Thursday) to 17th (Saturday) of December 2011

Venue: Vishwa Yuvak Kendra,
Rama Krishna Bajaj Auditorium,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

http://www.eclipsechasers.in/about_sec_india.html

2011-10-10T13:02:00.001+05:30

Great Indian Star Count, Oct 14th to28th
Great Indian Star Count will be conducted by SPACE as part of and in collaboration with Great Worldwide Star Count.

Count the stars in the constellation Cygnus overhead or using the pipe method and quantify light pollution in your area. All participants will receive a participation certificate.

Details and registration through SPACE at:

www.projectdarkskies.org

Great Worldwide Star Count:

http://www.windows2universe.org/citizen_science/starcount/index.html

world space week 2011 - talk at russian centre delhi

2011-10-03T15:16:00.003+05:30

2011-09-19T15:35:00.003+05:30

EQUINOX DAY - Sept 23rd, 09:04 AM UT (14:34IST)

PROJECT PARIDHI

On Equinox Day, join us in PROJECT PARIDHI - A citizen science project to measure the circumference of the earth with shadow measurements

SPACE is embarking on yet another international citizen science project to measure the size of the earth with shadows measurements – “Project Paridhi – measure the earth again”. Under this project students will replicate and in fact take actual measurements of the shadows made by sun to gather the size of earth and its shape as done 2300 years back by astronomer Eratosthenes. This project involves reading of shadows at local noon by pair of teams on the same longitude on the globe. Eg cities like New Delhi, Banglore and Alma-ta in Kazakhstan fall almost with one degree of longitude and readings taken at the same time from these cities can tell us about the size and shape of the earth. Starting on 23rd September on the autumnal equinox day, this project initially will have a pan-Asian presence by having readings from India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, china and Russia. The observation base will be extended to global arena by next winter solstice in December 2011. This project is a showcase for proving that science can be best learnt by doing.
Register and find out more here: http://www.space-india.org/paridhi

Another Provisional Discovery

2011-08-12T07:45:00.002+05:30

A Provisional Discovery -- At Last!!

Congratulations to T. Makwana & N. Koralkar from Coinstar. Their preliminary discovery of AHSH25 made on August 2nd has been followed-up with a second observation. It is reclassified as the provisional discovery 2011 AP4.

A provisional discovery is followed by the Minor Planet Center for a number of years (typically 3-6 years). During that time any further observations will be used to fully define the orbit. When the orbit is fully defined, the asteroid is numbered and placed into the world's official minor planet cataloged maintained by the International Astronomical Union (Paris).

Fireballs in the Sky - Perseids Meteor Shower

2011-08-11T11:42:00.000+05:30

PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER
August 13th, in 2011 estimated around 07:00 Universal Time (12:30 IST on Aug 13th).

The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower's peak usually occurs on August 12& 13, but you may be able to see some meteors any time from July 23 - August 22.These typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero. But you don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower. The meteors appear in all parts of the sky. Look to the northeast after midnight.

The Perseids are considered by many people to be the year’s best shower, and often peak at 50 or more meteors per hour – in years when the moon is out of the sky.

Unfortunately, the full moon will spoil 2011′s Perseid display, obscuring all but the brighter meteors, during the shower’s actual peak. But you will see Perseids in the weeks leading up to the peak, too, if you have dark skies. These typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus the Hero. You don’t need to know Perseus to watch the shower because the meteors appear in all parts of the sky. The Perseids are considered by many people to be the year’s best shower, and often peak at 50 or more meteors per hour – in years when the moon is out of the sky.

Peak on:
August 13th, in 2011 estimated around 07:00 Universal Time (12:30 IST on Aug 13th)

2011-08-09T17:57:00.003+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Preliminary Discoveries

So far in the current All-India Asteroid Search Campaign, there are 21 preliminary Main Belt asteroid (MBA) discoveries. Congralutations to all of you!! The complete list is:

Object Students School Location Status Date Linked
TOV46E H. Saxena Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Ser. Sec. School, Vivek Viha India Preliminary 07/10/11 ABB0001
TOV477 P. Chawla & S. Saini Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Nagar India Preliminary 07/12/11 SOU9903
TOV47R A. Kaushik & R. Khurana Bal Bharati Public School, Rohini India Preliminary 07/21/11 ABC0002
TOV48A G. Singh Ryan International School, Noida India Preliminary 07/26/11 RIS0010
TOV484 S. Hill, A. Soisson, A. McNeely, & C. Fletcher Notre Dame QuarkNet USA-IN Preliminary 07/26/11 K09A50G
TOV486 S. Hill, A. Soisson, A. McNeely, & C. Fletcher Notre Dame QuarkNet USA-IN Preliminary 07/26/11 QND0001
TOV49B C. Satija & M. Chawla Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj India Preliminary 07/27/11 MAC1001
TOV48N P. Chawla & S. Saini Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Nagar India Preliminary 07/27/11 K06QG4O
TOV509 G. Singh Ryan International School, Noida India Preliminary 07/29/11 RIS0021
TOV50A G. Singh Ryan International School, Noida India Preliminary 07/29/11 RIS0020
TOV49Y R. Aggarwal, S. Jain, & P. Baldev Delhi Public School, Rohini India Preliminary 07/29/11 DPS0012
AHSH20 A. Agarwal & A.K. Singh City Montessori School, Chowk Branch, Lucknow India Preliminary 08/01/11 CMS0013
TOV51D A. Agarwal & A.K. Singh City Montessori School, Chowk Branch, Lucknow India Preliminary 08/01/11 CMS0012
TOV51C A. Agarwal & A.K. Singh City Montessori School, Chowk Branch, Lucknow India Preliminary 08/01/11 CMS0010
AHSH18 A. Agarwal & A.K. Singh City Montessori School, Chowk Branch, Lucknow India Preliminary 08/01/11 CMS0011
TOV51E H. Saxena Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Ser. Sec. School, Vivek Viha India Preliminary 08/01/11 K08U53L
TOV50U S. Hill, A. Soisson, A. McNeely, & C. Fletcher Notre Dame QuarkNet USA-IN Preliminary 08/01/11 K03QA4F
AHSH23 S. Singh & A. Sivadas Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad India Preliminary 08/02/11 IPS0035
TOV4A9 Anandhi, Shivmahadev, & Amruthavarshini Shri Natesan Vidyasala MHSS India Preliminary 08/04/11 SNV0003
AHSH32 H. Saxena Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Ser. Sec. School, Vivek Viha India Preliminary 08/04/11 ABB0074
CGS1315 S. Devgun SPACE Team - II India Preliminary 08/04/11 SRI00008

IASC follows the preliminary discoveries very carefully to see if they are followed up by the international sky surveys. If and when that happens, you will be immediately notified.

Update from Patrick Miller on Aug 9th

2011-08-04T17:11:00.000+05:30

Source: SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

7 MBA Discoveries

2011-08-03T06:42:00.001+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

7 MBA Discoveries

That is correct. There are 7 discoveries:

1. H. Saxena from Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Ser. Sec. School, Vivek Viha discovered TOV51E. This discovery was linked to K08U53L in the image set 2011 OR15-0801-32.

2. S. Hill, A. Soisson, A. McNeely, & C. Fletcher from Notre Dame QuarkNet (United States) discovered TOV50U. This discovery was linked to K03QA4F in the image set P100RBK-0801-24.

3. S. Singh & A. Sivadas from Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad discovered AHSH23. This discovery was linked to IPS0035 in image set P100SZU-0802-32.

However...the following 4 MBA discoveries were made by A. Agarwal & A.K. Singh from City Montessori School, Chowk Branch, Lucknow. This is an IASC record...congratulations!!

AHSH20 linked to CMS0013

TOV51D linked to CMS0012

TOV51C linked to CMS0010

AHSH18 linked to CMS0011

All of you have done outstanding work!! Congratulations.

Image Sets Available

Image sets from July 29 and 31 are available. Also sets from August 1 and 2 are available Check you school folder. There are important NEO observations and possible MBA discoveries to make.

Happy Hunting!!

2011-07-29T17:46:00.003+05:30

3 New Preliminary Discoveries
AIASC Phase II
A. Kaushik & R. Khurana from Bal Bharati Public School, Rohini discovered TOV47R. This was linked to their observation ABC0002 in the image set 2011 KC15-0722-24.

G. Singh from Ryan International School, Noida discovered TOV48A. This was linked to his observation RIS0010 in the image set P100PBJ-0726-32.

C. Satija & M. Chawla from Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj discovered TOV49B. This was linked to MAC1001 in the image set P100PKX-0727-32.

Important Discovery - TROJAN ASTEROID DISCOVERED AS PART OF AIASC 2011

2011-07-26T16:48:00.000+05:30

The following was announced at a meeting of Global Hands on Universe yesterday, by Prof. Patrick Miller. This is the 1st time a TROJAN ASTEROID HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE HISTORY OF IASC:

P. Chawla & A. Aggarwal are two students from Bal Bharti Public School (New Delhi), Rajinder Nagar. On June 29th they discovered the asteroid 2011 MV9 that was confirmed and moved from preliminary to provisional status.

Yesterday, the Minor Planet Center announced that 2011 MV9 is not just any ordinary asteroid. It is a very rare type of asteroid that astronomers call a "Trojan."

The Trojain asteroids come from the Main Belt but have been captured gravitationally by Jupiter. These objects move 60 degrees ahead of and behind Jupiter in its orbit

This is an outstanding discovery...a wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations!!

Prof Patrick Miller,
Director,
IASC

2011-07-26T12:15:00.000+05:30

Important Discovery

P. Chawla & A. Aggarwal are two students from Bal Bharti Public School (New Delhi). On June 29th they discovered the asteroid 2011 MV9 that was confirmed and moved from preliminary to provisional status.

Yesterday, the Minor Planet Center announced that 2011 MV9 is not just any ordinary asteroid. It is a very rare type of asteroid that astronomers call a "Trojan." The Trojain asteroids come from the Main Belt but have been captured gravitationally by Jupiter. These objects move 60 degrees ahead of and behind Jupiter in its orbit

This is an outstanding discovery...a wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations!!
-----------------------------
This discovery was part of AIASC Phase I, being conducted in India by SPACE in collaboration with IASC.

2011-07-15T17:04:00.000+05:30

Provisional MBA Discovery

Congratulations to P. Chawla & A. Aggarwal from Bal Bharati Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi. They made the provisional MBA discovery 2011 MV9. They made their original discovery during the All-India Asteroid Search Campaign conducted May-July 2011. It was TOV44A discovered by the two studnets on June 29th, which has now moved to the provisional status. Good job!!

AIASC Phase I now has 2 PROVISIONAL DISCOVERIES, and 21 PRELIMINARY DISCOVERIES.

INTERNET TELESCOPE PROJECT

2011-07-12T17:34:00.000+05:30

SPACE and IASC bring you ‘Internet Telescope’

July 16^th, 17^th, 2011

SPACE is proud to bring the‘Internet Telescope’ project for the first time to India. This is in collaboration with IASC, InternationalAstronomy Search Collaboration. This is a pilot test for Global Astronomy Monthin April 2012...Astronomers Without Borders. In April 2012 this project will beconducted with about 80 participants during Global Astronomy Month.

The Pilot test in July 2012 willbe conducted with 16 participants, dates and sessions are listed below.

The Project Description
The project will be using a 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes located atthe Ironwood North Observatory. This is a privately-owned observatorylocated in Queen Creek, AZ. The students will be remotely commanding a CCDcamera on the telescope to take images of asteroids, comets, and deep skyobjects. The deep sky objects include star clusters, galaxies, andnebulae.

For the asteroids and comets, images will be taken 1-hour apart then blinked tosee the moving object against the fixed background stars. For the deepsky objects there will be three images of each taken...one with the red filter,one with the green filter, and one with the blue filter. The three imageswill be combined into a color image of the deep sky objects.

This is the first time thisproject is bring brought to India, and this will give the students theopportunity to be part of a international project and use hands on techniquesto control a telescope in real time and understand how to identify a target,how to plan the exposures and how to analyse the data.

Session Plan:
Groups of 4 students each will be placed at one location with a laptop withskype, and share their desltop. Each group will work 2 hours at theworkstation using the telescope taking asteroid, comet, and deep sky images.

Venue: SPACE Office, WZ-19,Asalatpur, Janakpuri

Session #1
Saturday, July 16th      9:30am - 11:30am IST (session 1, 4 students)
                      11:30am- 1:00 pm IST (session2, 4 students)

Session #2
Sunday, July 17^th           9:30am - 11:30am IST (session 3, 4students)

11:30am- 1:00 pm IST (session 4, 4 students)

Two Preliminary Discoveries

2011-07-08T08:12:00.004+05:30

Two Preliminary Discoveries

Congratulations to A. Gosain & P. Lekhi from Navy Children School, New Delhi - Team I.
On July 6th they discovered two Main Belt asteroids, TOV44T and TOV44W. These were linked to NCS0056 and NCS0057 in the image set SN9D478-0706-32.

IASC updates - Its raining Asteroids!!!!

2011-07-07T05:12:00.001+05:30

Triple Discovery!!

On July 5th, P. Chawla from Bal Bharati Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi made three preliminary asteroid discoveries in one image set. This student found TOV44M, AHSG06, and AHSG05. These three discoveries were linked to the observations BBP8110, BBP8107, and BBP8815 in the image set SN9C83D-0705-32.

This is a spectacular accomplishment. Congratulations!!!!

In addition to the triple asteroid discovery by P. Chawla from Bal Bharati Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi, there are two more discoveries from July 5th:

1. A. Arora & D. Bansal from Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj discovered TOV454. This discovery was
linked to ABD0001 in the image set 2011 MW2-0705-24.

2. S. Arya, S. Kesari, P. Kumar, & R. Jain from S.P.A.C.E. - Team I discovered TOV457. This discovery was linked to SPA0061 in the image set 2011 MT-0705-24.

AIASC PHASE II WORKSHOP

2011-07-06T11:59:00.000+05:30

AIASC PHASE II WORKSHOP

7th JULY, 2011

TIMING: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM

LOCATION:
Bal Bharati Public School (GRH Marg)
Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, Pin - 110060, New Delhi

All selected participants must join us at the AIASC Phase II workshop as listed above.
AIASC Phase II will commence on July 11th, 2011 and continue till Aug 29th, 2011.

IASC updates

2011-07-06T08:15:00.002+05:30

Image Sets Available

Image sets from July 1, 3, and 5 are available in the school folders. All schools have at least one set. Check your folder!!

The current campaign concludes on Friday, July 8th. It was extended by a week since the weather at the ARI Observatory has been a persistent problem. There is still time between now and Friday for your students to make important NEO observations and possible MBA discoveries.

Another Preliminary MBA Discovery!!!!

2011-07-04T22:26:00.000+05:30

Preliminary MBA Discovery

Congratulations!! P. Chawla & A. Aggarwal from Bal Bharati Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi made the preliminary discovery of the Main Belt asteroid TOV44A. This discovery was linked to their observation BBP8100 in the image set 2011 MV1-0701-24.

Several of you have asked about when a preliminary discovery is considered to be lost. Usually, after 7-10 days if the discovery is not observed and measured a second time, it is lost. However, on occasion IASC has received notification of the second observation as long as 90 days after the original preliminary discovery.

IASC maintains accurate records of the student observations and discoveries. If a follow-up is received and the preliminary discovery is moved to provisional status by the MPC, you will be immediately notified.

Image Sets Available

Image sets from June 30, July 1, and July 3 are available in the school folders. The images from June 30 are 5 days old, and will be removed from the school folders in the next few hours. If your students have not yet looked at these images, it is important that they do so...soon!!

Happy Hunting!!

IASC updates - new preliminary MBA discovery

2011-07-03T23:12:00.000+05:30

Preliminary MBA Discoveries

On June 30, R. Arora & Y. Gupta from Step by Step School, Noida (India) made the preliminary discovery of the Main Belt asteroid TOV440. This discovery was linked to SBS0003 in the image set 2011 MY2-0630-24.

Provisional Status to preliminary discovery

2011-07-02T10:15:00.002+05:30

Congratulations!! C. Betrabet & U. Bhatia from Ryan International School, Sohna Rd, Gurgaon made the preliminary discovery of the possible near-Earth object (asteroid) TOV444. This discovery has been confirmed a second time and is now in provisional status. Its new designation is 2011 MP4.

As more and more observations are made of 2011 MP4 and its orbit is fully determined, this asteroid will become numbered. At that point C. Betrabet & U. Bhatia can propose a name to the International Astronomical Union (Paris). It sometimes takes 3-6 years before sufficient observations are made...so patience is very important.

IASC keeps track of all the student asteroid discoveries that become numbered and placed into the world's official minor planet catalog. Since IASC started in October 2006, there have been 12 numbered asteroids discoveries by students.

Again congratulations to C. Betrabet & U. Bhatia for your discovery. Good job.

8th preliminary discovery!!! AIASC updates

2011-07-01T20:22:00.000+05:30

C. Betrabet & U. Bhatia from Ryan International School, Sohna Rd, Gurgaon (India) made the preliminary discovery of TOV444. This discovery was linked to the observation RIS0047 in the image set 2011 MV1-0630-24. This is discovery is of high interest, which means it might be a near-Earth object (NEO).

Remember a preliminary discovery must be observed a second time within 7-10 days. IASC monitors the second observations, and will notify you immediately of any change in status of your discovery.

The Discoveries & Observations page on the IASC web site at http://iasc.hsutx.edu/index_files/Page786.htm will be updated in the next few hours. All student observations will be listed.

Image Sets Available

Image sets from June 28 and 30 are available. There is at least one image set in each of the school folders. Check your folders.

AIASC Extended for One Week

2011-06-28T19:44:00.001+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Some Image Sets Available

Image sets from June 25 and 28 are available in some (but not all) of the school folders. As more sets become available they will be put into the school folders. Just in case, check your folder!!

Extended One Week

The current All-India Asteroid Search Campaign is scheduled to end in two days on June 30. However, with the problems we have had with the skies at the ARI Observatory, the campaign will be extended by one week until July 7. This will give your students additional time to make important NEO observations and possible Main Belt asteroid discoveries...hopefully making up for the bad weather.

Happy Hunting!!

updates on AIASC

2011-06-27T09:29:00.000+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Skies continue to be overcast at the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL). This is the reason there have been no image sets in the past several days.

However, the Tarleton State University Observatory located in Stephenville, TX has agree to provide survey images along the ecliptic for use in the All-India Asteroid Search Campaign. The skies are clear in Texas for the moment, and image sets from the 32" RC telescope should be available momentarily.

Your students will need to use a new configuration file, TSU.cfg, which will be provided in each of the school folders when the image sets from Tarleton State become available.

Be patient...there will soon be image sets from Texas. The skies will clear in Illinois and sets will again be available from the ARI Observatory, as well.

SPACE Celebrates "SUMMER SOLSTICE DAY "

2011-06-20T11:50:00.001+05:30

SUMMER SOLSTICE DAY

Tuesday, June 21^st, 2011

Longest day of the year!

June 21st will mark the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and is called the summer solstice. It is the longest day for people living in the northern hemisphere. In 2011, the solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21, at 17:16 UT (22:46 IST).

June 21 is a very important day for our planet in its relationship with the sun. June 21 marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and is called the summer solstice. It simultaneously heralds the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere. It is the longest day for people living in the northern hemisphere. In 2011, the solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21, at 17:16 UT (22:46 IST).

The name is derived from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstice, the Sun appears to stands still in its movement during its motion (it appears to travel slowly).

The earth spins around its axis, an imaginary line going right through the planet between the north and south poles. The axis is tilted somewhat off the plane of the earth's revolution around the sun. The tilt of the axis is 23.5 degrees; and thanks to this tilt, we enjoy the four seasons. For several months of the year, one half of the earth receives more direct rays of the sun than the other half. Days are longer in the summer for the northern hemisphere due to the tilt of the Earth's axis allowing for more sunlight to be projected onto the surface.

At the June solstice, Earth is positioned in its orbit so that the North Pole is leaning 23-and-a-half degrees toward the sun. As seen from Earth, the sun is directly overhead at noon 23-and-a-half degrees north of the equator, at an imaginary line encircling the globe known as the Tropic of Cancer. The sun's rays are directly overhead along the Tropic of Cancer (the latitude line at 23.5° north, passing through Mexico, Saharan Africa, and India). This is as far north as the sun ever gets. This results in the longest day of the year. For example in New Delhi, sunrise on summer solstice day in 2011 will be at 5:24 am and sunset will be at 7:22 pm making it a day which is almost 14 hours duration.

When the axis tilts towards the sun, as it does between June and September, it is summer in the northern hemisphere but winter in the southern hemisphere. Alternatively, when the axis points away from the sun from December to March, the southern hemisphere enjoys the direct rays of the sun during their summer months. All locations north of the equator have day lengths greater than 12 hours at the June solstice. Meanwhile, all locations south of the equator have day lengths less than 12 hours. Around December 21 the solstices are reversed and winter begins in the Northern hemisphere.

Cultures around the world, starting from historical times, mark this special day in celebration of the sun’s powers.

Summer Solstice Event conducted by SPACE Foundation:

To celebrate the summer solstice, SPACE Foundation will perform public outreach at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on Tuesday, 21^st June. SPACE team would also celebrate a Solar Fest where a small skit would be performed. All media and public are invited to attend this event.

Details:

Summer Solstice: June 21, 22:46 IST (17:16 UT)

Event: SPACE will conduct Public Outreach and Solar Fest (solar observations through pin-hole camera and ball projectors)

Location: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Date and Time: Tuesday, 21^st June, 2011; 11 am to 2 pm

For more information log on to www.space-india.org

Contact Apoorva 09212669953 or Aakanksha 09212669920.

updates for AIASC

2011-06-17T10:27:00.002+05:30

Image sets from June 16th are becoming available. Already some of have been uploaded into the school folders. Not all schools will have one of these image sets, but will receive new sets in the coming days.

Sets from June 12th are in some of the folders. These have not all been analyzed. Just to be sure, check your folder.

Happy Hunting!!

AIASC Phase II - Selected List of Participants

2011-06-16T16:30:00.003+05:30

     School                                                                                Participant
1. Genesis Global School, Noida -                              Zeba Shakil, Ishan Anand
2. Navarachana School, Sama -                                  Tejas Gopal krishanan, Vansil Shah
3. Delhi Public School, Greater Noida -                       Jaivrat Saroha, Sucheta Dey
4. Delhi Public School, Rohini -                                  Saksham Jain, Rishabh Aggarwal, Pranay Baldev
5. The Air Force School, Subroto Park, Delhi Cantt.  -    Gurek Singh, Neil Singh
6. Ryan International School, Noida -                         Gobind Deep Singh, Arnav Saini
7. KIIT World School, Pitampura                                Kirti Gupta & Komal

8. Navy Children School, New Delhi -                         Anubhav Kashov, Kartik Ranjan
9. Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad -                   Akshay Sivadas, Shardul Singh
10. St. Columba's School, Ashoka Road, CP -             Shiv Singhal/Vibhu Narayan
11. Venkateshwar International School, Dwarka -        Ayush Jaiswal/Karandeep Singh Mann
12. Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Nagar -             Souhard Saini/Vikramaditya Bansal
13. Bal Bharati Public School, Rohini -                         Ritika Khurana, Aashirya Kaushik
14. Apeejay School, Saket -                                        Akhil Raina, P. Paritosh
15. Ryan International School, Sec. 218, Faridabad -   Amar Chopra, Rahil Kavin Sannoo
16. G.D. Goenka Public School, Rohini -                      Manu Chopra, Shubham Chawla
17. N K Bagrodia Public School,Sec.-9, Rohini -          Raghav Jogodia, Sonpreet Singh
18. Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj               Mihir Chawla & Chhayank Satija

19. St. Joseph's Public School, King Koti, Hyderabad - S. Sashin Shreyas, Jeffrey Daniel
20. Convent of Jesus and Mary School -                        Anushka Goel, Sachi Sanghavi
Bangla Sahib Marg, New Delhi
21. Shri Natesan Vidyasala MHSS                                 P.Praveen Prabhu, V. Praveni
22. City Montessori School, Chowk Branch, Lucknow -Ajay Kumar Singh , Agam Agarwal
23. Bluebells School International, Kailash -                   Abhay Sharda, B. Chaitanya Srinivas
24. Amity International School, Sec. 46, Gurgaon -        Suhail Nagpal, Anirudh Bansal
25. Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura -                      Sharanjeet Singh, Vaibhav Sapra
26. Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Ser. Sec. School, Vivek Vihar - Himanshu Kumar, Uma Shanker
27. Indraprastha International, Dwarka

INDIVIDUALS/ORGANIZATIONS
28. Trushit Makwana, Naval Koralkar
29. Fergusson College -                                                   Asmita Bhandare, Sherry Chhabra
30. Astronomicans - Team II-                                          Prafull Sharma, Amol Garg
31. Astronomicans - Team III                                           Aman Singh, Yukti,Suvriti
32. SPACE Individuals                                                    Medhavi Haseja, Srijan Devgun

Watch Lunar Eclipse on 15th June, 2011 right here

2011-06-15T18:01:00.001+05:30

Live Webcast of Lunar Eclipse - Watch it here:

A live webcast of the eclipse will be broadcast by ECA (Eclipse Chasers’ Athaenium), the Eclipse wing of SPACE from 10:30pm IST (17:00 UT) onwards here. Tune in to watch and comment:

ECA Live Webcast of Lunar Eclipse

Chand ka Langar - Feast in the Shadow of the Eclipse

2011-06-15T00:21:00.000+05:30

Join the mass movement with SPACE Foundation and break the myth. Eat and fest when the moon hides behind the earth shadow. Add a scientific dimension to Indian society!

SPACE Foundation invites all the mediaand public to come and join us in the myth breaking movement on the night of total lunar eclipse on 15th June 2011. Come, observe and break the myth in one of the longest total lunar eclipses.

The youngest eclipse chasers Asmi & Chavvi who are only 10 & 7 years will initiate this movement for irradiating the myths behind the eclipses. Asmi is the youngest eclipse chaser to witness the eclipse. These two kids have witnessed 2006(Turkey), 2008 (Russia) & 2009(China) total solar eclipses and have exposed themselves in the shadow of the total solar eclipse for 10 minutes in totality.

The eclipse chasers will break the myth at 00:00 hours at SPACE Foundation office on June 15th, when the moon will hide in the earth’s shadow. SPACE will be mobile throughout the eclipse night and will throw a “LANGAR” at Nehru Planetarium & Noida Film City, sec 16 A.
Come and witness the mass movement and explore the scientist in you.
Beat the fear and feast the eclipse!

For further detail feel free to call SPACE Foundation on:
9212669920: Aakanksha Sinha (PR Executive)

Eclipse the Eclipse Myth

2011-06-10T15:38:00.000+05:30

Join us to break the Myth during the Total Lunar Eclipse

SPACE Foundation wants to invite people from all across India to join in a mass movement to break a myth by ‘feasting during the eclipse’.

Lunar eclipse is a scientific phenomenon and it has nothing to do with the food one eats. Therefore, we would like to call all Indians to participate in this campaign and break these undying myths which have been passing from one generation to another.

Just observe the eclipse and feast on something at the same time. Get together with your friends, neighbours and family and make it a party! You can do this from anywhere.

People who are interested can register themselves at https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGowQUQyNFdEX3ZVQ0tDUTk2Vno0TWc6MQ

The supporters of this campaign have to eat during the eclipse and click their photographs. Send in a report to info@space-india.org.

The report should contain pictures, description of event and general medical report reporting any adverse medical health which was previously not present, starting from 1 day prior to 7 days later. Report to be sent to SPACE Foundation by all the participating campaigners at info@space-india.org. A cumulative report with analysis would be then drafted and sent to UNESCO and other scientific organisations. Please join us to create a MEGA participation to make this one of the BIGGEST public outreach science events.

Please spread the word and register now!

Total Lunar Eclipse on June 15th (One of the longest in duration)

2011-06-10T15:19:00.002+05:30

On 15^th June, 2011, India will witness a lunar eclipse in totality.

This is the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2011, the second occurring on December 10. This first lunar eclipse of 2011 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in southern Ophiuchus about 7° west of the Lagoon Nebula (M8). The Moon passes deeply through Earth's umbral shadow during this rather long event. It is a relatively rare central eclipse where the moon passes in front of the center of the Earth's shadow. It will be visible completely over Africa, and Central Asia, visible rising over South America, Western Africa, and Europe, and setting over Eastern Asia, and Australia.

The total phase itself is long, and lasts 100 minutes. The last eclipse to exceed this duration was in July 2000. The Moon's contact times with Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows as seen from Delhi:

Penumbral Eclipse Begins:22:55 Alt:+34,

Partial Eclipse Begins:23:53 Alt:+37

Total Eclipse Begins: 00:52 Alt: +37,

Mid Eclipse: 01:43 Alt:+34

Total Eclipse Ends: 02:33 Alt:+29,

Partial Eclipse Ends: 03:32 Alt:+21

Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 04:31 Alt: +11

SPACE observes Eclipse:

SPACE Foundation will conduct an observation of the lunar eclipse from its office building on 15^th June. This is open to the public and media. Details of Observation:

Location – SPACE Office roof

WZ-19, Asalatpur, A-3 Block, Janakpuri

New Delhi - 58

Timings – 15^th June, 8 pm onwards

Webcast:

A live webcast of the eclipse will be broadcast by ECA (Eclipse Chasers’ Athaenium), the Eclipse wing of SPACE from 11:30pm IST (17:00 UT) onwards here. Tune in to watch and comment:

ECA Live Webcast

IASC updates +NEO confirmations june 9, 7:00 pm

2011-06-09T19:28:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image Sets Available

Image sets from June 6, 7, and 8 are available in the school folders. If your students have not already done so, they need to check their folder and analyze the sets.

NEO Confirmation

Congratulations to R. Arora & Y. Gupta from Step by Step School, Noida. In addition to their MBA preliminary discovery on June 7th in P100BXR-0607-32, they also had an NEO confirmation of a comet C/2011 L4. The measurements made by these two students were perfect!!

As more image sets become available, you will be immediately notified. In the meanwhile, keep an eye on your folder and...

Happy Hunting!!

Preliminary discoveries + NEO confirmation observation

2011-06-08T07:25:00.002+05:30

Congratulations to P. Chawla & A. Aggarwal from Bal Bharati Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi for the NEO confirmation observation of C/2011 L3 in the image set SL5FB87-0606-24. Observed on June 6th, it was linked to BBP8035.

There are three Main Belt asteroid (MBA) preliminary discoveries made on June 7th:

1. A. Arora & D. Bansal from Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj discovered TOV42V in P100BXS-0607-32.

The discovery was linked to ABD0003.

2. R. Arora & Y. Gupta from Step by Step School, Noida discovered TOV433 in P100BXR-0607-32.

The discovery was linked to SBS0003.

3. A. Gosain & P. Lekhi from Navy Children School, New Delhi - Team I discovered TOV431 in P100BWM-0607-32.

The discovery was linked to NCS0014.

Congratulations to all of you!!

updates - AIASC june 6 8:20 pm

2011-06-06T20:25:00.000+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image Sets Available

Image Sets from June 4th and 6th are available in the school folders. All schools have at least one image set. Check your folder.

Your students need to download and analyze their sets using Astrometrica. There are important NEO observations and possible MBA discoveries waited to be made.

New Preliminary Discovery

2011-06-05T21:36:00.003+05:30

New Preliminary Discovery

Congratulations!! P. Chawla & A. Aggarwal from Bal Bharati Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi made the preliminary discovery of the Main Belt asteroid TOV42I. They made this observation on June 4th in the image set SL1EBD7-0604-24, linked to BBP8027.

A preliminary discovery is the first observation of a Main Belt asteroid (MBA). It must be observed a second time in the coming 7-14 days; otherwise, it is considered to be lost by the Minor Planet Center (MPC). IASC keeps a close watch on second, follow-up observations. If one is made you will be notified immediately.

updates - AIASC 2:50 am

2011-06-05T06:06:00.000+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image Sets Available

Image sets are available in all of the school folders. The most recent sets are dated June 4th. Check your folder. Your students need to download and analyze their image sets. There are important NEO observations and possible MBA discoveries to be made.

This is the second year that SPACE and IASC have conducted the All-India Asteroid Search Campaign. This summer a total of 60 schools from India will participate.

Updates on correction and possible second preliminary discovery

2011-06-03T20:00:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Mistake Corrected

In the image set 2011 KH4-0602-24, C. Singh & I. Singh discovered the Main Belt asteroid TOV42C. This is a preliminray discovery that requires a follow-up observation in 7-14 days. A mistake was made in listing their school. They are from K.R. Mangalam World School, Vikas Puri.

In re-checking their results, a second discovery was detected. These two students also observed the Main Belt asteroid TOV42A. This was linked to CSA1004 in their MPC report.

Remember a preliminary MBA discovery needs to be observed that second time. If it is then the Minor Planet Center changes the status from preliminary to provisional. If it is not observed a second time, it is considered to be lost. IASC monitors the second observations. If these come in, you will be notified immediately.

Congratulations!! And, sorry for the mistake. In the meanwhile...

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

AIASC updates june 3, 11:00 am

2011-06-03T11:15:00.001+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Discoveries & Observations

Congratulations!! Looking at the image set 2011 KH4-0602-24, C. Singh & I. Singh from K R Manglam School, Vikas Puri made the preliminary discovery of the Main Belt asteroid TOV42C. Their observation was linked to IND0034.

A preliminary discovery must be observed a second time within 7-14 days. If that happens the asteroid is designated as a provisional discovery by the Minor Planet Center. If it is not observed a second time, the preliminary discovery is considered to be lost.

IASC will watch very carefully the status of TOV42C. If that changes to a provisional discovery, you will be notified immediately.

B. Rishi & A. Goel from Manav Sthali School, New Rajinder Nagar made the NEO confirmation of 2011 KN17 in the image set BZ250253-053132. Their observation was linked to MSS0001.

An NEO confirmation is not a discovery but the second observation of a near-Earth object. This observation is important because it confirms the existence of the NEO, refines the orbit calculations, and better assesses the impact risk with Earth.

Image Sets Available

There are image sets available from June 1st and June 2nd in some (but not all) of the school folders. If your students have not download and measured their sets, they need to do so. There are important NEO observations and possible Main Belt asteroid discoveries waiting to be made.

Again, congratulations to C. Singh & I. Singh and B. Rishi & A. Goel.

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

IASC Updates 2 June, 3:15 AM

2011-06-02T07:07:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image sets from May 30th, May 31st, and June 1st are available. There is at least one image set in each of the folders. Some (but not all) have two.

Check your folder. There are important NEO observations and possible MBA discoveries just waiting for your students to make.

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

NEO Confirmation -- IASC

2011-06-01T09:41:00.000+05:30

Congratulations to S. Arya, R. Jain, S. Kesri, & P. Kumar from S.P.A.C.E. - Team I. On May 30th they confirmed the near-Earth object (NEO) 2011 JP29. This observation was linked to SAC0001 reported in BZ47838-0530-24.

2011 JP29 is an Amor class asteroid. This type of asteroid has an orbit between the orbits of Earth and Mars. This particular object comes within 0.08 AU (1 AU = 150,000,000 km) from Earth.

An NEO confirmation is not a discovery. It is the second observation of an NEO, and is important since it confirms the existence of the NEO and better assesses the risk that it will impact Earth. For the foreseeable future 2011 JP29 does not pose an impact hazard.

Congratulations to these four students, and...

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

IASC Updates 1 June, 3:15 AM

2011-06-01T05:11:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image Sets Available

All school folders have at least one image set for your students to analyze. These images are dated May 30th and 31st, and come from the ARI Observatory located in Westfield, IL.

The ARI uses a 24" and 32" prime focus telescope, and takes images every night when the skies are clear and dark.

Check your folder...

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

IASC Updates 31 May, 6:25 AM

2011-05-31T06:23:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Some Image Sets Available

Image sets dated May 30th are available in some (but not all) of the school folders. The skies are expected to be clear again this evening, so additional image sets should be available on May 31st.

Check you folder, and...

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

Asteroid Search Phase II begins on July 11th

2011-05-28T13:38:00.000+05:30

All India Asteroid Search Campaign Phase II starts from
July 11 - Aug 26th 2011

Limited spots are left.
Check the SPACE Technologies website at
http://www.stepl.org/aiasc_2011.html

Please register through here as soon as possible.

First set of NEO Observations!

2011-05-27T17:09:00.002+05:30

Hello Asteroid Hunters,

Congratulations!
Several of you have your name in the 'NEO Observations' list! Observations means the 3rd or 4th observation of a NEO that has been discovered. Observations allow further refinement of the orbit.

See the Discovery and Observation list here on the IASC page:
http://iasc.hsutx.edu/

I hope most of you have sorted out installation and other issues with Astrometrica by now. If you still have any problems, please contact
Technical Contact: Poonam Sharma 9212669908

Do remember these points while creating a report:
1. Please look at data only in your folder
2. Please send only 1 report per team.
3. Put in a line with image set name, that is the same name as the directory name.
4. Name of the file should be the same as the image set

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CC ALL REPORTS To SPACE AT the following, since SPACE needs to check and track all reports. If you have any doubts, please clarify with us before you send it to IASC.

Email to SPACE here:aiasc@space-india.org

Regards and HAPPY HUNTING!
Mila Mitra

IASC Updates 27 May, 12:00 AM

2011-05-27T03:33:00.000+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

The Discoveries & Observations page at the IASC web site has been updated. You and your students can check it out at http://iasc.hsutx.edu/index_files/Page786.htm.

So far, there have been no Main Belt asteroid discoveries in the All-India Search Campaign, but there have been many near-Earth object observations. These observations are important as they allow the Minor Planet Center (Harvard) to further refine the orbits of these potentially Earth-threatening rock boulders.

There are some Main Belt asteroid discoveries made earlier by the students participating in the Xinglong Asteroid Search Campaign (China). You will find these listed on the IASC web site.

There are no new image sets from the ARI Observatory due to continued unsettled weather across the Midwestern United States. There are earlier image sets available in the school folders dated May 22nd and May 25th. If your students have not yet analyzed these sets, have them download them and use Astrometrica to conduct a search.

When new image sets are available, you will be notified immediately. Keep an eye on your folder, and in the meanwhile...

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

IASC Updates 26 May, 2:00 AM

2011-05-26T07:55:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image Sets Available

There are image sets available from the ARI Observatory. These are dated May 25th. All schools now have at least one image set in their folders. Check your folder!!

Happy Hunting!!

IASC Updates 23 May, 7:00 AM

2011-05-23T07:15:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Check your school folder. There are some image sets available dated May 22nd. Your students need to download and analyze these sets within 72 hours (i.e., by May 25th).

Not all of the schools have an image set but more sets should be coming this week. As they are available, you will be notified and the image sets will be uploaded into the folders.

The skies are darker and the fainter Main Belt asteroid discoveries are just waiting for your students.

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller

IASC Updates 21 May, 1:15 AM

2011-05-22T06:24:00.002+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

The weather remains a problem at the ARI Observatory (Westfield, IL). They have been no new image sets since May 17th, and the weather forecast is not promising for the next two days.

I realize it is hard for your students to be patient, but the skies will clear. The full Moon has waned so the night skies are getting darker. The skies have to be dark for your students to make the faint Main Belt asteroid discoveries.

Be patient. Check your school folder, and in the meantime...

Happy Hunting!

Dr. Patrick Miller

Update at 7:30 pm, 19th May

2011-05-19T19:39:00.001+05:30

All of the school folders have one image set dated either May 17th or 18th. Due to overcast skies, there are no new image sets from May 19th, and the weather does not look promising for the rest of the week.

Part of observational astronomy is contending with the weather. The skies will eventually clear and new images will become available. When they do, you will be notified immediately.

Just in case, keep an eye on your folder, and...

Happy Hunting!!

Image sets available to all schools/groups now!!!

2011-05-18T20:01:00.000+05:30

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image Sets Available

All school folders have at least one image set from the ARI Observatory. These are dated May 17th and 18th. Your students will need to download and analyze them by no later than May 20th. You need to prepare the Minor Planet Center (MPC) report and attach it to an email sent to
iascsearch(at)hsutx.edu along with a copy to SPACE. There is only one MPC report for each image set.
Check your folder, and in the meanwhile...

Happy Hunting!!

UPDATES FROM AIASC - May 18th

2011-05-18T10:48:00.000+05:30

Update from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Image sets are available in some of the school folders.

The skies are still unsettled at the ARI Observatory. Also we have tonight's bright, full Moon. It will take a couple of days for there to be a sufficient number of sets to distribute to all of the schools. Tell your students to be patient...image sets for them to analyze will soon be available!!

Everyone should have user ids and passwords by now.

If not, or if you still have installation problems - please contact us at aiasc@space-india.org.
------------------------------
Thanks students! Some students have been very prompt and send it very careful, prompt and clean reports! Good work!

Report Notes:
1. Please remember to send your reports here also (aiasc@space-india.org) as a cc.
2. Please remember to write your school name in abbreviation within brackets after MEA names. Ex:
MEA M. Mitra, J. Soin, C. Devgun (BBPS Noida)

AIASC Phase I STARTS ON 16th MAY

2011-05-15T23:16:00.002+05:30

Welcome to the select team of asteroid hunters!

As you know, Phase I will start on May 16th. All your email ids (or for the coordinator in case of organizations) have been forwarded to IASC, and you will directly start getting emails from there. The steps again are as follows:

1. You will get a user id and password
Could be anytime on 16th or close to it.

2. Go to website
http://iasc.hsutx.edu/

Go to link All India Search -I and All India Search-II and look for your folder names.
If there are two teams from one school/org (Amity Int. Vasundhara, Bhaskaracharya, and Star Gazing Club) - check with me or look at the space website - www.space-india.org for which team you are in.
Teams and Team Members are listed here:

http://organisationspace.blogspot.com/2011/05/tentative-list-for-aiasc-phase-i-may.html

3. Login to your folder and download your data to your computer.
Do this right away even if you cant analyse then.

4. Open Astrometrica, and load this data and do the analysis - 'moving object detection' followed by 'manual detection'.

5. Create the MPC Report, and edit it on notepad:
a. Add all participant initial and last names, and school name in brackets.
ex. MEA A. Singh, M. Gupta, R. Raman (DPS Sonepat)
b. Add Image set name (which should be the directory name of the image set)
c. save the file with the imageset name.txt
(Only save in txt, not MS word as it adds formatting)

6. Send mail to the following, with the report as an attachment and the image name in the subject line.
iascsearch@hsutx.edu
Remember to cc SPACE at:
aiasc@space-india.org

7. Repeat this process every time you get mail saying that data may be in folders.

8. All updates will also be posted on the SPACE website
www.space-india.org
Note that all confirmations and discoveries are posted on:
http://iasc.hsutx.edu/index_files/Page786.htm

9. If you are a coordinator - which is true only for organizations (Doon School, Bhaskaracharya, Star Gazing, Astronomicans and SPACE) - its upto you to forward all relevant emails to your group in a timely way. However, I will post everything on the SPACE website as soon as possible.

We will check the first few reports for formatting etc. Hope all of you have Astrometrica installed and ready to go! If not, send a query to the following address.
If you have any concerns especially in the first week, do not hesitate to contact us or get your reports checked.
PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE QUERIES here:
aiasc@space-india.org
Mila Mitra (9250901058)
HAPPY HUNTING!!!!!
HERE's TO MANY DISCOVERIES AND CONFIRMATIONS IN AIASC PHASE-I!

Selected List for AIASC Phase I (May 16th to June 30th)

2011-05-04T17:08:00.008+05:30

Congratulations! Welcome to Asteroid Search 2011 - Phase I

WORKSHOP DETAILS - Click Here

School Participants

1. Ryan Intl. School Vasant Kunj                                  Abhishek Arora, Darpan Bansal

2. GD Goenka Public School, Ghaziabad                      Sarthak Jain, Saksham Gupta

3. Step by Step School, Noida                                  Rahul Arora, Yashowardhan Gupta

4. Bal Bharti Public School, Pitampura                           Rushil Batra, Vaibhav Wadhwa

5. Amity International, Vasundhara- Team I                   Jay Raj Ghambhir, Bhuvan Aggarwal

6. Amity International, Vasundhara- Team II                  Snehil Bindal, Righved kumar

7. Ryan Intl. School, Sohna Rd, Gurgaon                       Umang Bhatiya, Chintan betraleet

8. Navy Children School, New Delhi - Team I             Pranav Pal Lekhi, Aseem Gosain

9. Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai                                  Sukrit Arora, Samraat Gupta

10. Delhi Public School, Mathura Road.                         Abhishek Lal, Akshay Rawat

11.Salwan Public School, Rajinder Nagar                      Kunal Narang, Siddharth Kripalini

12. Ryan International School, Mayur Vihar                  Kshitij Jain, Vaibhav Sharma

13. Ryan International School, Rohini                            Vrinda Bhargava, Pratyush Jain

14. Bal Bharti Public School, Noida                               Tushar Tiku, Hasan Nabeel

15. Delhi Public School, R.K.Puram                              Shubham Goel, Kartik Ashta

16. K R Mangalam World School, Vikash Puri              Chiranjeev Singh, Inderdeep Singh

17. Manav Sthali School, Rajinder Nagar                     Bhavya Rishi, Akash Goel

18. Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar                Rahul Thadani, Amlan Panda

19. The Doon School, Dehradun                                    Utkarsh Garg, Vaibh Bahadur

20. Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar             Anumit Kaur, Ishwarya Anand

21. Indraprastha International School, Dwarka               Mridul Kumar, Sahil Verma

22. Birla Vidya Niketan Pushp Vihar, Saket     Anannya Prakash, Kanishk Sharma

23. Bal Bharti Public School, Rajinder Nagar                  Pragya Chawla, Aparajita Aggarwal

Organizations/Colleges/Individuals:

24. Bhaskaracharya Astro Organization - Team I             Dinesh S Nisang, Jawale Yash

25. Bhaskaracharya Astro Research Organization - Team II: Parag Gore, Priyank Nimaje

26. Astronomicans- Team I                                           Akshay Gupta, Ishant Jain, Shashank Shekhar

27. Star Gazing Club, N.I.T., Karnataka - Team I:          Spoorthi G Nayak, Ronak Daga, Nanda Kumar

28. Star Gazing Club, N.I.T., Karnataka - Team II:        Leela Prabhu, Varsha G Hegde

29. Endeavour, Kanpur                                                  Pulkit Garg, Ashu Gautam

30. SPACE- Team I                                              Sachin Arya, Sneh Kesari, Pooja Raswant, Rishabh Jain

AIASC - WORKSHOP for PHASE I

2011-05-04T17:05:00.000+05:30

AIASC Workshop for Phase I

WORKSHOP DETAILS

Date and Location of Workshop:

On Tuesday, 10^th May, 2011

Indraprastha World School,

A2 Block, Balbeer Singh Marg, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi - 63

Timings of the workshop - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

(Be present for Registration at 9:30am)

Please Note:

It is mandatory for each team to bring a laptop along with a data card like Tata Photon, Reliance Connect etc. else the training cannot be provided and it would become very difficult for them to install the software at home. Internet connectivity is a must for the software to run.
Carry a copy of the selection letter with you to the workshop venue as an entry card.
All the participants are requested not to talk to any media person directly unless SPACE Foundation asks them to do so.
Bring the registration payment (Rs. 2500 per student) on the day of the workshop if you have not paid it in advance.
Teachers/coordinators may only attend if the students are from out of town.

What will be provided at the Workshop:

The Workshop schedule will include presentations and hands on software training with breaks for snacks and lunch, with overall timings of 10:00-2:00.
Workshop registrants will receive software training, handouts and guides, CDs with software ‘Astrometrica’, sample data and snack/lunch.
Travel and accommodation arrangements have to be made by the participants themselves.

Please contact below if you have any queries:
We hope to address most of your questions at the workshop. For Workshop RSVP, or if you have any queries about the workshop and the program, please contact:
Contacts for RSVP: info@space-india.org or call 09212669920

All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2011

2011-04-15T15:34:00.005+05:30

All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2011

SPACE and IASC are back with another season of Asteroid Hunting.

The “All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2011” will be conducted in India in two separate phases:

Phase I May 16^th – June 30^th

Phase II July 4^st – Aug 19^th

Last date for application/nomination: Saturday, 30^th April, 2011

Announcement of selected schools: Wednesday, 2^st May, 2011

Under the aegis of the All India Asteroid Search Campaign conducted by SPACE Foundation in 2010, two Delhi school students made history and bought laurels to the entire nation by discovering two asteroids. With an overwhelming participation of 45 schools across 5 states in India in 2010, the participants in this project succeeded in discovering 4 main belt Asteroids, 1 Virtual Impactor Observation, 25 Near Earth confirmations and 132 Near Earth Confirmation.

After the unprecedented success of All India Asteroid Search Campaign (AIASC) last year, SPACE Foundation in association with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), an educational outreach program which includes Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley and Global Hands-on-Universe Association (USA) is back with another season of excitement with AIASC 2011.

AIASC 2011 brings forth an exciting opportunity for school children and individuals to be involved in real time experimentation and to be at the forefront of research at the international level by finding an Asteroid in exclusive Astronomical sky data to be provided to them. This highly prestigious program will enable students to work in parallel with professional astronomers, to work with real astronomy data taken through observatories and expose them to the actual research being done in the field of astronomy. An extensive specialized workshop held by SPACE foundation will provide training preceding this program. Note that attending this paid workshop will be mandatory.

To join in this prestigious program, please contact info@space-india.org or

09212669934 and request a registration form. Schools - please contact 09212669920 for registration or queries. Note, selections will be on a 1st cum 1st served basis.

Yuri's Night on April 12th marks 2 Big Landmarks in Space Exploration

2011-04-11T11:36:00.000+05:30

Yuri's Night is celebrated over the world tomorrow. Human Spaceflight became a reality 50 years ago with the launch of “Vostok 1” on April 12th, 1961, carrying Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who took his place in history as the first human to enter outer space.

Exactly 20 years later, the United States embarked on a new era in spaceflight with the Space Shuttle (April 12th, 1981) launch. Designed to carry a larger crew and large volumes of cargo to orbit, the Space Shuttles became synonymous with human spaceflight for an entirely new generation of young people.

When the next 20-year point arrived, that generation (often called “Gen X”) laid a new space milestone by connecting thousands of people around the world to celebrate and honor the past, while building a stairway to the future. That event was Yuri’s Night, and it continues to bring the excitement, passion and promise of space travel closer to people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds.

Yuri's Night

www.yurisnight.net

Globe at Night - Great Indian Star Count

2011-03-22T16:53:00.000+05:30

GLOBE AT NIGHT- NORTHERN HEMISPHERE and GREAT INDIAN STAR COUNT
March 22nd - April 4th

PHASE II begins....

Thanks to all of you who participated in the first phase of Globe at night!

Globe at Night Northern Hemisphere is the 2nd 2-week campaign that helps to address the light pollution issue locally and globally. We urge everyone to participate and quantify the data. The 2nd campaign is from March 22 to April 4th, 2010 - using the LEO constellation. Under the campaign, observers will record the brightness of their night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Leo with star maps of progressively fainter stars found at http://www.globeatnight.org/observe_magnitude.html

Submit your measurements on-line at http://www.globeatnight.org/report.html with your date, time and location. Remember to send SPACE a copy at info@space-india.org, so we can track the results and build a database.

SPACE will be coordinating this campaign and Great Indian Star Count in India. Register through www.projectdarkskies.org and receive a participation certificate. To learn the steps to participate in the Globe at Night program: http://www.globeatnight.org.

We except the same motivation and interest from the observers around the country this time as well.

Note, A special Globe at Night session will be conducted during Earth Hour on April 26th at India Gate at a session hosted by Astronomicans. This will enable collection of data before and during Earth Hour data when lights are switched off!

'Supermoon' on March 19th

2011-03-17T19:41:00.000+05:30

Effects of the supermoon

By now you may have heard the hype making the rounds on the internet about the ‘Supermoon’ that will occur on March 19^th and how it is going to create large scale natural calamities around the world! The tragic earthquake in Japan followed by the tsunami and volcanic eruption have made people even more panicky as the supermoon approaches, as this appears to provide support to this theory! Lets find out more about this, and if it could happen!

'Supermoon' as coined by Astrologer Richard Nolle is a situation when the moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than on average (90% or more of its closest orbit) at its perigee point, and the moon is a full or new moon. On the 19th, the moon will be only 221, 567 miles from earth, the closest point (while at the full moon phase) in 18 years. "The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away from perigee--a near-perfect coincidence that happens only 18 years or so," says Chester of the US Naval Research Lab.

Distances between Earth and Moon:

Here are some numbers to understand the distances – Distance between Earth and Moon:

At average Apogee (Furthest) – 405,696 km

At average Perigee (Closest) – 363, 104 km

At closest perigee (Supermoon) on March 19th – 356,577 km

Distance on March 11^th, Day of Japan Earthquake – 3,94,000 km (Closer to Apogee!)

Effects of the Moon position:

The Sun and Moon do have a small but measurable effect on tides, in general. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in a straight line, that is, at new or full Moon — these effects are maximized and high and low tides are created, but these effects are minimal.

A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high "perigean tides," but this is nothing to worry about, according to NOAA. In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (six inches)--not exactly a great flood.

During full and new moons, "you see a less-than-one-percent increase in earthquake activity and a slightly higher response in volcanoes," seismologist John Vidale said. However, the moon's gravitational pull at lunar perigee (the closest approach of the moon during its orbit) does not have a significant effect, said John Bellini of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Note that on March 11^th, the day of the Japan earthquake, the position of the moon was closer to apogee (which is the furthest point) than perigee and not yet close to the average perigee point, so in that regard should not have been the cause of the earthquake in Japan!

Note that there are several supermoons that take place, about once a year. Very few have had any calamities happening at that time. This one happens to be the closest where it is also closest to the full moon (at the same hour) taking place in 18 years; although the moon was in fact closer placed in 2008 but the full moon phase then was 4hours after the perigee point!

Overall, it is unlikely that a supermoon will have more than a minor effect on weather and natural phenomena! Previous incidents where it may have happened are judged to be a coincidence. So, go out on March 19^th and appreciate the beautiful moon which will be 30% brighter and 10% larger than other nights.

Globe at Night - Great Indian Star Count

2011-03-11T17:48:00.000+05:30

SPACE will conduct Globe at Night - Great Indian Star Count

with Globe at Night

from March 24th - April 4th

Globe at Night Northern Hemisphere is the 2nd 2-week campaign in March/Apr that helps to address the light pollution issue locally and globally. The 2nd campaign is from March 21 to April 4th, 2010 - using LEO constellation.
Under the campaign, everyone will record the brightness of their night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Leo with star maps of progressively fainter stars found at http://www.globeatnight.org/observe_magnitude.html. Submit your measurements on-line at http://www.globeatnight.org/report.html with your date, time and location. A few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide.
SPACE will be coordinating this campaign and Great Indian Star Count in India. Register through www.projectdarkskies.org and receive a participation certificate.
To learn the steps to participate in the Globe at Night program: http://www.globeatnight.org.

SPACE Globe at Night/Great Indian Star Count Registration and Details:
SPACE Project Dark Skies Website

CST SPACE Hands on Teachers Training Workshop

2011-03-11T17:40:00.000+05:30

Teachers will launch rockets to learn about hands on science

SPACE and Council of Science and Technology, U.P. will jointly conduct a unique hands on science program for teachers in March/April, in 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely Bijnor, Lucknow, Hardoi, Meerut and Allahabad. The 1st one is ongoing from 10th - 14th March at Bijnor.

This program attempts to address why fewer students are pursuing higher studies in the pure sciences and instead going on to engineering, medical, computer science, Biotech etc. After this training, teachers will in turn be able to communicate the joy of science by utilizing these tools and methods and attract talent to this field at an early age, thus building the country’s science and technology base. Department of Science and Technology’s INSPIRE program addresses the same issues of how to attract students to the pure sciences, and this teachers training program is following INSPIRE’s precedence. A unique feature in this program is that it will be centered around Astronomy, as it a superset of many sciences and includes physics, chemistry, math, biology and geography within its boundaries.

The program will be initiated with the 1^st workshop at DAV Intercollege, Bijnor on 10^th – 14^th March. About 60 school teachers from Government schools will participate in a 5 day program encompassing presentations, hands on activities, model making, and demonstrations. A variety of activities such as making hydro rockets and sundials, creating solar systems with daily life objects such as fruits and marbles, and learning about the night sky through observations will immerse the teachers in hands on science. The activities will demonstrate how science can be better conveyed with teaching aids, and that aids are easily available as part of nature around us. Teachers will be introduced to internet tools of communication such as web conferencing and social networking with Twitter and Facebook as tools to disseminate and share information and pictures.

The program will culminate in a ‘KHAGOL MELA’ open to the public on 14^th March, 11:00 am- 3:00 pm, where teachers will design and conduct their own science activities! Hydrorockets made by participants will be launched. Find out your weight on different planets, learn how to make pop rockets, cook a comet in the comet kitchen and find out how gyroscopes work! All schools, colleges, and public are welcome to attend and find out about such activities at this unique space fair – ‘KHAGOL MELA. Local dignitaries will grace this event.

Pictures of this event can be found at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/organisationspace/HandsOnScienceTeachersTrainingProgrammeWithCST#5582451581008434130
https://picasaweb.google.com/organisationspace/HandsOnScienceTeachersTrainingProgrammeWithCST#5582451581008434130

Details:

1^st Workshop: DAV Intercollege, Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, 10^th – 14^th March 2011, 5 Days.

Khagol Mela: DAV Intercollege, Bijnor, U.P, on 14^th March, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hands On Science - Teachers Training Workshop being conducted a Bijnore

2011-03-11T08:30:00.004+05:30

Solar Walk Activity

SPACE and Council of Science and Technology, U.P. jointly conduct a unique hands on science program for teachers in March/April, in 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely Bijnor, Lucknow, Hardoi, Meerut and Allahabad. This program attempts to address why fewer students are pursuing higher studies in the pure sciences and instead going on to engineering, medical, computer science, Biotech etc. It is believed that if teachers introduce hands on tools and activities into lessons at the middle school level, it will increase the spirit of enquiry and enjoyment in science, as classroom teaching in science is perceived as dull. After this training, teachers will in turn be able to communicate the joy of science by utilizing these tools and methods and attract talent to this field at an early age, thus building the country’s science and technology base. Department of

Science and Technology’s INSPIRE program addresses the same issues of how to attract students to the pure sciences, and this teachers training program is following INSPIRE’s precedence. A unique feature in this program is that it will be centered around Astronomy, as it a superset of many sciences and includes physics, chemistry, math, biology and geography within its boundaries.

The program started as 1st workshop at DAV Intercollege, Bijnor on 10th – 14th March. About 60 school teachers from Government schools are participating in a 5 day program encompassing presentations, hands on activities, model making, and demonstrations.

A variety of activities such as making hydro rockets and sundials, creating solar systems with daily life objects

such as fruits and marbles, and learning about the night sky through observations will immerse the teachers in hands on science. The activities will demonstrate how science can be better conveyed with teaching aids, and that aids are easily available as part of nature around us. Teachers will be introduced to internet tools of communication such as web conferencing and social networking with Twitter and Facebook as tools to disseminate and share information and pictures.

The program will culminate in a ‘KHAGOL MELA’ open to the public on 14th March, 11:00 am- 3:00 pm, where teachers will design and conduct their own science activities! Hydrorockets made by participants will be launched. Find out your weight on different planets, learn how to make pop rockets, cook a comet in the comet kitchen and find out how gyroscopes work! All schools, colleges, and public are welcome to attend and find out about such activities at this unique space fair – ‘KHAGOL MELA. Local dignitaries will grace this event.

Details:

1st Workshop: DAV Intercollege, Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, 10th – 14th March 2011, 5 Days.

Khagol Mela: DAV Intercollege, Bijnor, U.P, on 14th March, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY on Feb 28th

2011-02-16T17:33:00.000+05:30

SPACE AND NEHRU PLANETARIUM INVITE YOU
TO AN

ASTRONOMY FAIR

for NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY

Feb 28th, 2011 from 10:00AM to 4:00pm

(Entry Free)

Exciting Astronomy and Space Science Hands on Activities:

Catch the meteors and save the Earth (Meteor demos)
Make you own Comet - Comet Kitchen!
Solar Observations – Observe the sun through different methods
Pop the Rockets
A walk through 3D Mars
A gyroscope in action
Weigh yourself on different planets

Demonstrations: A Telescope in action!

Arcade: Face Painting, Ring the Planets, Balloon Racing, Jigsaw Puzzles

Participate in a Competition: Launch your own hydro rockets!

Hydrorocketry at 12:30 and 2:30

A talk on the Life and Work of Prof. Chandrashekhar will be presented by Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, 11:00 am – 11:50 am

Please note that this event is free of cost, however the competition and a few activities will charge nominally. Please contact us at 25522193 for further information.

Join us for Messier Marathon at Sariska, 4th and 5th March, 2011

2011-02-16T16:53:00.000+05:30

Invitation to join SPACE for Messier Marathon

at Sariska on March 4^thand 5^th

SPACE invites you to join in a ‘Messier Marathon’ observation weekend on March 4^th and 5^th at Sariska Tiger Den in Sariska. Observe all Messier deep sky objects in one night! Learn how to point and guide a telescope hands on from experts, and see celestial objects in detail! The observations will be complemented by the location Sariska, one of the darkest sites away from city lights and close to a wildlife sanctuary thus offering other recreation such as safaris.

M-51 captured by SPACE during Messier Marathon, 2010

The French Astronomer Charles Messier discovered and catalogued the Messier objects while he was looking for comets! The Catalog consists of 110 bright deep sky objects - galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters scattered across the sky. Amateur astronomers across the world try to find the maximum of such objects in one night annually, thus called ‘Messier Marathon’.

The 2 day program will incorporate workshops and training to learn about these Messier objects as well as in the observing techniques and astrophotography. A Registration fee in the amount of Rs.1000 includes workshops and training. The registration fee will not include any equipment cost, boarding and lodging and transport. Rooms of different levels are available at this workshop venue, Sariska Tiger Den. The participants will have to reach their own travel arrangements to Sariska, to and fro. The equipment such as camera, telescopes, filters, eyepieces shall be available for purchase for the interested participants who do not own any equipment. We can arrange/coordinate with groups for arranging to and fro transport from Delhi and negotiate with the hotel on your behalf on request basis, which will not be binding on us.

This program is suitable for all from novice to experts, no prior knowledge of astronomy is necessary. Please join us in this wonderful opportunity to observe and learn about the Messier objects and observe them first hand in a Marathon session to find all 110! Please register by Feb 25^th as this is on a first cum first served basis. Write to info@space-india.org or call Ravinder Rawat, SPACE at 9212669913 for more information on this program.

Globe at Night - The steps

2011-01-21T12:13:00.002+05:30

2011-01-21T12:12:00.003+05:30

GLOBE AT NIGHT
SPACE brings you the GLOBE AT NIGHT program to estimate light pollution.
GLOBE at Night is an annual citizen-science campaign that encourages people all over the world to record the brightness of their night sky. ...

You can join in one or both phases:

1. Globe at Night Worldwide – Feb 26 to March 6

2. Globe at Night Northern Hemisphere + Great Indian Star Count – March 22 to April 5^th

Visit SPACE Project Dark Skies (http://projectdarkskies.org/) website for details and to register with SPACE. A participation certificate will be given to all those who register.

Globe at Night website:

http://www.globeatnight.org/

Globe at Night steps:
http://organisationspace.blogspot.com/2011/01/globe-at-night-steps.html

Partial Solar Eclipse on Jan 4th, 2011 - Visible from parts of Northern India

2010-12-27T15:25:00.002+05:30

THE FIRST ECLIPSE of 2011

A partial solar eclipse will occur on January 4, 2011. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth's view of the Sun. A partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the moon's shadow misses the earth.

The eclipse will be visible over most of Europe, the Arabian peninsula, North Africa and Western Asia.
IT WILL BE VISIBLE FROM PARTS OF NORTHERN INDIA.

Local Circumstances:
For details about local circumstances, visit the SPACE eclipse blog at http://solareclipsesindia.blogspot.com/

How to Observe:
For suggestions and tips by SPACE on how to observe a solar eclipse, visit here http://solareclipsesindia.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-view-solar-eclipse.html
For solar viewing goggles, telescopes etc visit the SPACE Arcade website:
www.spacearcade.in

Details and Map at NASA eclipse site here:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2011.html#SE2011Jan04P

QUADRANTIDS METEOR SHOWER on Jan4th, 2011

2010-12-24T15:47:00.000+05:30

QUADRANTIDS METEOR SHOWER
The Quadrantids are an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at their peak.
The shower usually peaks on January 3 & 4, but some meteors can be visible from January 1 - 5. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Look for meteors radiating from the constellation Bootes.

The source of the Quadrantid meteor shower was unknown until Dec. 2003 when Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center found evidence that Quadrantid meteoroids come from 2003 EH1, an "asteroid" that is probably a piece of a comet that broke apart some 500 years ago. Earth intersects the orbit of 2003 EH1 at a perpendicular angle, which means we quickly move through any debris. That's why the shower is so brief.
Details here:
http://meteorshowersonline.com/quadrantids.html

RESULTS of the "scientist of the day"

2010-12-24T10:41:00.001+05:30

STEPL (Space Technology and Education Pvt. Ltd.) conducted an experiment for school children as part of the Winter Solstice Day celebrations at Jantar Mantar on 22nd Dec by SPACE.

The competition titled 'Scientist of the Day' involved measuring the shadow of a long stick over a period of time and using the shortest shadow to find the Circumference of the Earth. This uses the concept that the sun rays shine directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn (the latitude line at 23.5° south, passing through Brazil, South Africa, and Australia) on the day of Winter Solstice. Younger students participated in a competition "Measuring the Sun Angle" which was a smaller part of the original one.

About 150 students from 21 schools from Delhi NCR participated in this competition, including schools such as The Airforce School, Subroto Park; DPS Sonepat; Ryan International School, Rohini; Step by Step, Noida; Apeejay School, Saket, etc. The students sat in groups amidst the green lawns surrounded by the ancient monuments and measured away for a couple of hours. It was a great experience for the teachers and students to be involved in such a project.

All the groups did a great job and attended to the measurements with attention and diligence. I am proud to announce the winners of these two competitions:

In Senior Section Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj won the first prize where as team 8 and team 7 from Ryan International School, Rohini got second and third prize respectively.

In Junior Section team 5 from The Air Force School, Subrato Park won the first prize where as team 15 and team 16 from Step By Step Greater Noida stood second and third prize respectively.

Earth will be at Perihelion on Jan 4th, 2011 (00:30 IST)

2010-12-23T16:19:00.000+05:30

Earth will be at Perihelion on Jan 4th, 2011

You may know that we don’t have a circular orbit around the Sun. It is elliptical, that means at one point we are closest, and at another we are at the furthest point away. On January 3rd at 19:00 UT or January 4^th at 00:30 IST, Earth will be at its closest point from the Sun on its' elliptical orbit around the Earth, which is known as Perihelion.
The Earth-Sun distance at that time is 147,093,590 km, which is about 5 million km closer than its farthest point in early July. However, this effect is much less significant than the effects due to the axial tilt of the Earth. Our seasons are determined primarily by the tilt of the Earth and not by how close or far the Earth is to the Sun.

To read in detail about Earth at Perihelion, find the attached document at the Google Calendar listing for this event here:https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1IXUie0Takfd07MxIuvCzg3l-TgJ7_qcaRN4YKO2sVWY&hl=en

SPACE celebrated Winter Solstice at Jantar Mantar, Dec 22, 2010

2010-12-23T15:16:00.002+05:30

SPACE celebrated Winter Solstice with public outreach and with a large group of school students at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
22nd December was the shortest day of the winter, i.e. the Winter Solstice when the Earth's axis in the Northern Hemisphere was tilted furthest away from the sun. After this day, the day lengths slowly increase again. This day is celebrated over the world in different cultures, the most famous celebrations being at Stonehenge. SPACE observed this day in Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

SPACE conducted public outreach at Jantar Mantar. Thankfully, although Winter Solstice indicates the peak of winter unofficially, it turned out to be a glorious sunny day. A lot of tourists and general wanderers walked through and were happy to find out what the ancient 'Jantar's (Yantras- meaning Machines) or structures were actually used for and how they were used to measure locations and time using the sun's shadow or by observing celestial objects.SPACE conducted tours of the various instruments and explained their workings.

STEPL (Space Technology and Education Pvt. Ltd.), i.e. the education wing of SPACE conducted an experiment for school children. The competition titled 'Scientist of the Day' involved measuring the shadow of a long stick over a period of time and using the shortest shadow to find the Circumference of the Earth. This uses the concept that the sun rays shine directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn (the latitude line at 23.5° south, passing through Brazil, South Africa, and Australia) on the day of Winter Solstice. About 200 students from 15 schools from Delhi NCR participated in this competition, including schools such as The Airforce School, Subroto Park; DPS Sonepat; Ryan International School, Rohini; Step by Step, Noida; Apeejay School, Saket, etc. The students sat in groups amidst the green lawns surrounded by the ancient monuments and measured away for a couple of hours. It was a great experience for the teachers and students to be involved in such a project.
Experimental material such as Telescopes, Binoculars and Astrokits were provided by SPACE Arcade www.spacearcade.in.

SPACE wil celebrate Winter Solstice at Jantar Mantar, 22nd Dec

2010-12-16T12:31:00.004+05:30

SPACE will celebrate Winter Solstice at Jantar Mantar
22nd Dec, 11:00am - 3:00 pm

SPACE will celebrate Winter Solstice with Public Outreach at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.

Learn about all the Jantar Mantar instruments and see how they are used.
STEPL will conduct competitions on 'Measuring the Sun Angle' (Primary students) and 'Measuring the Circumference of the Earth' (Middle and Senior school students)

A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun's apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme.

On the day of Winter Solstice, North Pole tilts away from the Sun and South Pole tilts towards the Sun. The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. So the Sun shines at lowest heights in Northern skies and at maximum heights at Southern skies. It results in the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere but at the same time it’s the longest day in Southern Hemisphere. So for people in Southern Hemisphere it’s a Summer Solstice.

Winter Solstice indicates winter at its peak. After this, the length of the day starts increasing and it reaches a point where day and night becomes equal in length at Vernal or Spring Equinox. The day continues to grow longer till Summer Solstice, the longest day.

The Winter Solstice will take place at 23:38 UT on 21st Dec (5:08 am IST on 22nd Dec) . In New Delhi, sunrise on winter solstice day is at 7:10 am and sunset is at 5:29 pm making it a day which is about 10 hours in duration.

On Dec 22nd, SPACE will conduct a Public Outreach in collaboration with Nehru Planetarium at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The students from various schools of Delhi will be performing activities tracking the shadow created by the sun using the Jai Prakash Yantra, and participating in competitions.

More information can be found at our blog http://wintersolsticeindia.blogspot.com/.

For details on competitions visit www.stepl.org

For telescopes, binoculars and cameras visit www.spacearcade.in

SPACE TEAM receives Kudos for Success in Great Indian Star Count Program

2010-12-01T22:45:00.003+05:30

SPACE TEAM receives Kudos for Success in Great Indian Star Count Program:
SPACE recently concluded the Great Indian Star Count program (Oct 29th - Nov 12th) in collaboration with the Great Worldwide Star Count. This time SPACE turned in a record 1000 observations from all over India, which was 25% of the total number of about 4500 from over the world!

Our reports have also generated media attention, as it calls attention to the fact that light pollution has now increased by as much as 5% in cities such as Delhi compared to last year.

Such media attention and record number of observations have earned us recognition from the Director of the Globe at Night and Hands on Universe program who have sent their congratulations to SPACE and invited SPACE to join the Globe at Night program in March 2011. They have also requested C.B. Devgun to be a presenter at the IAU (International Astronomical Union) session on light pollution in July 2012 and talk about GISC and Project Dark Skies programs there.

Thanks to all of you who have worked hard to contribute results to this program. It is a privilege to be recognized by an international organization of this stature and be invited to join their programs, and thus receive support in our push to create awareness of light pollution.

Read some media clippings here on this program:http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4636275

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Delhiites-midnight-loss-97-stars-not-visible/Article1-623197.aspx

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article854884.ece

Fireballs in the Sky- Geminids Meteor Shower on dec 14th

2010-11-26T11:52:00.010+05:30

Fireballs in the Sky -
Geminids Meteor Shower on Dec 14th

Avid star gazers can soon witness another sky theatre spectacle in the mesmerizing night skies - the Geminids Meteor Shower, peaking on 13^th/14^th Dec. This is one of the best meteor showers of the year and never disappoints observers. The peak of the shower this year falls just after the first quarter Moon. Moonset is within half an hour of local midnight across the globe for the maximum, while the Geminid radiant will be overhead around 02h local time.

The source of the Geminids shower is asteroid 3200 Phaethon. There's a cloud of dust trailing the asteroid and the Earth plows through it every year in mid-December. Bits of dust traveling at 80,000 mph hit our atmosphere and turn into glowing meteors.The Geminids got its name because its radiant position, from which it appears to originate, lies in the constellation Gemini.

Observe and Photograph the Geminids:
SPACE has the following handouts and suggestions to ensure that each one of you can go out and observe this wonderful spectacle:

SPACE suggests that students, amateur astronomers and the public go out on Dec 14th morning to a dark site away from lights and observe this nightsky spectacle. Details about timing and observing suggestions can be found listed below. Meteor Showers provide a wonderful photographic opportunity. Details on techniques and suggestions by SPACE to employ for meteor photography can be found here:
http://meteorshowersindia.blogspot.com/2009/12/photographing-geminds.html

SPACE will webcast a workshop on 'Meteor Showers and the Geminids' on 14th Dec. Find details on this website closer to the date.

Record and Report:
This year we would like all observers to become Citizen Scientists and record their results and report it to IMO (International Meteor Organization). Details can be found in the attachment, as well as on the IMO website, listed below. Each citizen scientist who reports their observations will have the privilege to have their names and results listed on the IMO website.

Interested in Joining an Observation?
If you or a group from your school would be interested in joining a tour to beautiful Rishikesh or to nearby Sakras to observe and photograph these spectacular fireballs, then contact STEPL Astrotourism at rishabhj@stepl.org for further details.

SPACE Plans:
SPACE plans to send a scientific team to witness and record the Geminids Meteor Showers to a dark site away from Delhi. In 2009, SPACE observed and created a very successful report for the IMO. This can be found on the blog listed below.

Geminids Details:

Maxima - Dec 14^th at 11h UT or 16:30 h IST

ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rate) - around 120.

The best time to watch the activity near the peak in India is on 13th December night/early morning on 14^th after moonset.

Relevant Websites:
SPACE suggestions on how to photograph Geminids Meteor Shower:
http://meteorshowersindia.blogspot.com/2009/12/photographing-geminds.html
SPACE astrophotography of Geminids:
http://picasaweb.google.com/organisationspace/Geminids2009#

IMO website Observations reporting location:
http://www.imo.net/visual/major/observation

Enjoy the last meteor shower of the Year.

Children's Fortnight celebrations at Nehru Planetarium

2010-11-15T14:59:00.000+05:30

Children's Fortnight celebrations at Nehru Planetarium
The Nehru planetarium has an annual Children’s Fortnight celebration in the later half of November (15th - 30th), commemorating Pt. Nehru’s birthday. Special shows will be held in the planetarium, and activities will be conducted.

A complete list of activities and the schedule can be seen here:
http://nehruplanetarium.org/taarewiki/pmwiki.php?n=Site.ChildrensFortnightNovember2010

SPACE will be collaborating in some of the activities held during this time. Please join us. These include:

November 16th - Moon and Jupiter Carnival
Sky theater live show on Moon and Jupiter. Free entry. Timings : 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM. Activity limited to 250 participants.Evening skywatch with telescopes. Viewing Moon and Jupiter through a telescope. Sunset to 8 PM
November 20th - Sun festival
Open outdoor activity. Anyone can participate in viewing sun projection through telescopes and binoculars, and in conducting some measurements and observations. Timings : 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
November 23rd - Making and using sundials
Registered activity. Limited to 30 participants. In the activity area of the planetarium.
Timings: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
November 24th - Matka Planetarium
Registered activity. Limited to 30 participants. In the activity area of the planetarium.
Timings: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

Updated List of observers registered for the GISC till now!!!!

2010-11-11T13:38:00.001+05:30

Following observers as per our registration data records have taken a step ahead and registered for the GISC and WWSC. SPACE wishes them good skies!!!

Vipul Raheja IIIT Hyderabad

chander devgun SPACE

Dinesh Nisang Bhaskaracharya Astronomy Research Centre

aditi avm convent dholpur

A.S Huidrom The Assam Valley School

prafull Ahlcon Public School

Ambrish Rawat IIT Delhi

Devendra Singh Raghuvanshi Marudhar Engineering College, Raisar

astha sharma IIT DELHI, DELHI

Shekhar Suman Singh LPU

Mohit Gupta Indian Institute of Technology , Delhi

Krushan Navrachana School, Sama

ARPIT SHUKLA Navarachana Higher Secondary School

MANANK SHASTRI NAVRACHANA SCHOOL

Jaidrath Zaveri Navrachana, Vadodara, Gujarat

AADESH SHAH NAVRACHANA SCHOOL

PALLAV JHAVERI NAVRACHANA SCHOOL

AJINKYA THAKARE NAVRACHANA SCHOOL

GEHASHRAY TOOR NAVRACHANA SCHOOL

Rahul Arora Step By Step A-10 Sector 132,Noida

babita kundalia hillwoods Academy preet vihar

Megha Arora DPS,VASANT KUNJ

Anamitra Saha Educator

Gayatri P Educator

Leesha Jyoti Scientific Officer

Rahul A Junior RP

aanchal sharma hillwoods academy,delhi

PRASAHASTI HILWOODS ACADEMY

Nipun Springdales

harman singh chawla sprigdales school, pusa road, new delhi

Tushar Sharma Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Tech.

Priyanka Srivastava SPACE

SAURABH GUPTA HILLWOODS ACADEMY,PREET VIHAR,DELHI

swastik msit,ip university.

akash maharaja surajmal

sanyam kundlia hillwoods academy

Amol Garg Sri Aurobindo College

Sneh Kesari STEPL

aanchal sharma hillwoods academy

manav rathi Maharaja Surajmal Istitute of Technoly

Jaishree SPACE

mila mitra SPACE

Prashant Bansal Punj lloyd ltd.

Ritish Verma hillwoods academy

srijan devgun national victor public school

Rohit Kumar AT&T

Pooja Kumar SPACE

satvik step by step school

Sahil Wadhwa Ryan International

Rahul Arora Step By Step,Noida,A-10 Sector 132

Arpit Srivastava BITS, Pilani - K.K. Birla Goa Campus

suvriti dhawan apeejay school sheikh sarai

amanjot singh ryan international rohini

Shivam Goyal The Doon School

akanksha singh step by step

Venkat Arun Springdales School, Pusa Road

Anandhi Mani Shri Natesan Vidyasala MHSS

Pooja Kumar SPACE

Rohit Kumar AT&T

Jagriti Saxena STEPL

Pratyaksh Singhal Step By Step school, Noida

mukund step by step noida

Angad Singh Step By Step School

Udisha Madan Step By Step

mehar gulati step by step world school, noida

ananya gupta step by step

ishaan mehta step by step

Shivesh Chatrath Step By Step

Sean Hunt Step By Step World School

Jahan Jolly Step By Step World School

urvi varmani step by step world school, noida

Meghna Talreja Step By Step World School Noida

Mahira Dasgupta Step by Step world school

kabeer singh babbr Steb by steb

sukhmani navin vacher Step By Step

Hansa Kantor step by step world school ,noida

vansh bhutani step by step

siddharth singh thosar step by step world school noida

Krishaang Verma Step by Step world school

Shivesh Chatrath Step By Step School

Jai Chopra Step By Step

Rishabh Johri Step By Step World School

Avantika Tandon step by step world school ,noida

viraj randev step by step

Viraj Bahri Step By Step World School

Rushil Kapoor Step by Step world school

Naina D. Lavakare Step By Step, Noida

T.Manish Hyderabad Public School

rushil kapoor step by Step school

Another feather in the SPACE cap! MBA discovery!!!

2010-11-11T10:39:00.000+05:30

Another feather in the SPACE cap!

Vikrant Narang and Mila Mitra from SPACE have made a Main Belt Asteroid Discovery on Oct 29th, as part of the NEO Plus campaign.
Details from Patrick Miller, Director as below:

----------------------------------------------------MBA Discovery!! -- IASC

Greetings from the International Astronomical Search Collaboration

Congratulations are in order. V. Narang & M. Mitra from S.P.A.C.E. in India discovered 2010 UJ98. This is a Main Belt asteroid discovery made on October 29th.

During the current campaigns, there have been three MBA discoveries...one each from Japan, United States, and India:

Object Students School Location Date
2010 UR2 Y. Yatsuyanagi Shizuoka University Japan 10/17/10
2010 UN8 C. Pannill Meredith College NC 10/27/10
2010 UJ98 V. Narang & M. Mitra S.P.A.C.E. India 10/29/10

Congratulations to all of you!!

Happy Hunting!!

Dr. Patrick Miller
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hidden Treasures” — a free competition by ESO

2010-11-09T15:09:00.001+05:30

Click here to go to the site

Great Indian Star Count clipping

2010-11-08T11:03:00.001+05:30

Moon in HDR by SPACE team

2010-11-05T21:08:00.000+05:30

Comet Hartley clicked from new observation site of SPACE at Sakras

2010-11-05T07:48:00.002+05:30

Comet Hartley clicked on Nov 2 night from new observation site of SPACE at Sakras

Click on image to see hi res

Close encounters of Hartely!!!!

2010-11-04T21:23:00.000+05:30

NASA's Deep Impact (EPOXI) probe has just completed its 435 mile flyby of Comet Hartley 2's nucleus. The spacecraft has turned its high-gain antenna toward Earth and data are being transmitted to mission control at JPL. The first raw images have just arrived and, even without processing, they are spectacular....

The first close-up image of Hartley

For more images click here..

Inauguration of SPACE's new observation site

2010-11-01T12:03:00.000+05:30

Winter skies are here!!!! SPACE schools have been gearing up for sessions during the nights in their SPACE clubs. SPACE has made another observation site available to its associated organisations at Sakras. First light !!! of the site is going to happen tomoro with the night observation sessions of the schools there.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=27.8536947&lon=76.9726342&z=18&l=0&m=b

Great Indian Star Count

2010-10-20T18:05:00.002+05:30

letter from CM Gujrat for the Asteroid hunt Programme success!!!!

2010-10-12T17:34:00.000+05:30

SPACE celebrated WSW2010 and WWLW 2010 in a special way!!!

2010-10-10T18:54:00.000+05:30

SPACE celebrated WSW2010 and WWLW 2010 in a special way!!!

WORLD SPACE WEEK - Celebration on 4th Oct

2010-09-29T22:37:00.003+05:30

WORLD SPACE WEEK
Oct. 4th to Oct 10th

SPACE and Russian Center invites you to join us
for a movie and presentation
at
Seminar Room, Russian Center for Science and Culture,
24 Feroze Shah Road, New Delhi
on
Oct 4th, 2010, 11:00AM - 1:00PM
to commemorate the start of World Space Week
(Oct 4th - celebrates the Launch of 1st Sputnik in 1957)

Itinerary:
11:00am     Welcome
11:10am     Presentation on Sputnik by C.B. Devgun, President, SPACE
11:30am     Movie (in 2 Parts):
Part I. In the future with confidence.
This film is about the history and modern development of space technology. From launching of first Sputnik in 1957 to contemporary technology of space exploration, monitoring of environment, Global Navigation System etc. The film demonstrates phases of development of ISS and international cooperation in space.
Part II. Russia the space power.
This documentary is about the key role of Russia in development of modern space technologies, Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos). It shows the stages of creation of launch vehicle, artificial satellites, and sophisticated equipment to explore space.
11:50am     Vote of Thanks by Russian Center
12:15         High Tea

Please note, as most Delhi and NCR schools will be closed, please show up and encourage family, friends, neighbours etc. to attend. Please call or register at the following contact as soon as possible if you plan to attend. Contact: Shikha Chanana atworldspaceweek@space-india.org, 9953419502

Lets' make this WSW another grand one like 2009!

Message from Delhi Chief Minister Mrs. Sheila Dikshit for SPACE

2010-09-28T23:59:00.000+05:30

letter of appreciation from Himachal CM for asteroid discovery by SPACE

2010-09-28T22:18:00.002+05:30

Talk by Vishnu Reddy

2010-09-27T16:04:00.000+05:30

More Images from the Talk by Prof. Vishnu Reddy at American Centre can be seen at

http://picasaweb.google.com/organisationspace/TalkByVishnuReddy#

"Discovery in Astronomy: A lifetime of cosmic adventures"

2010-09-24T17:50:00.000+05:30

Discovery in Astronomy: A lifetime of cosmic adventures”

- Talk and interaction by Dr. Vishnu Reddy

SPACE cordially invites you for a talk and interaction with well known Asteroid Hunter and research professor Dr Vishnu Reddy, currently working on NASA’s DAWN mission to asteroids.

Event: “Discovery in Astronomy: A lifetime of cosmic adventures” -

A Talk by Dr. Vishnu Reddy, North Dakota University, Asteroid Expert and part of NASA mission to asteroid Vesta

Dr Vishnu Reddy is a research professor at the Department of Space Studies, University of North Dakota, USA. He is currently working on NASA’s Dawn mission to asteroid Vesta. As an amateur astronomer, Dr Reddy has discovered 23 main belt asteroids, discovered 6 binary asteroids, and one supernova.

Itinerary:

10:00 AM Talk by Dr. Vishnu Reddy

11:00 AM Interaction

11:15 AM Vote of Thanks

11:30 AM High Tea

Venue: Auditorium, American Center, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi

Date: Monday, 27th September 2010 , 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Please call Shikha at 9953419502 for details or to register for the event.

COMPETITION CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER

2010-09-23T07:38:00.002+05:30

SPACE celebrates Autumn Equinox at Jantar Mantar, 23rd Sept.

2010-09-22T15:52:00.000+05:30

CELEBRATE AUTUMN EQUINOX
with SPACE and Nehru Planetarium
at Jantar Mantar on 23rd Sept., 2010

Learn about the ancient instruments! Be a part of measurements! Observe the sun through telescopes!
Exciting Competition with prizes for students - 'Scientist of the Day' by Measuring the Circumference of the Earth

Public Outreach and Solar Observations from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
'Scientist of the Day' contest from 11:00am - 1:30 pm

For details, visit SPACE website at www.space-india.org

Join us for some fun and bring your families and friends along!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCIENTIST OF THE DAY COMPETITION

Participate in a competition on MEASURING THE EARTH

and win prizes!!!

11:00am - 1:30pm

To see a video with instructions on this experiment - Click Here

Complete handout and instructions here:
MEASURING THE EARTH - EXPERIMENT NOTES

Report of International Observe the moon night at Sneh' Place

2010-09-20T12:38:00.000+05:30

On Saturday, the world celebrated "International Observe the Moon Night" as LRO completed one year in the Moon's orbit. Me as part of SPACE group wished to celebrate this international event and the location I picked was My residential society compound. I had informed all the members of the society a day before and requested to gather at the venue at 8:00 pm. I had issued a "76mm Reflector" for this cause along with plossel eyepiece.
It was all cloudy in the evening but I decided to continue with the program and set up the telescope by 8:00 pm. Initially only the small children came to see but were disappointed due to the presence of clouds. So I started explaining them the importance of the event and reason for celebrations. Then I showed them the telescope and by the time moon started peeping out of the clouds. This was the time to point the telescope towards the Moon and I asked them to form a line. the kids were so enthusiastic that they immediately formed a queue and started waiting for their turn.
I centered the moon in the eyepiece and then the observer started shouting WOW!!! as if they have seen something unusual. Many kids in society are also part of SPACE CLUBS at various schools so they were more excited to see. This way around 30 school kids and their parents had participated in this event.

Almost all of them had seen the moon for 4-5 times and every time they were surprised or amazed as this was for the first time they were looking through the telescope and also this was the first time they were looking at their nearest celestial neighbor so closely. They were thrilled to see the craters, maria and also the terminator. I explained them about craters, rotation and revolution and some facts about Moon.

By 9:00 pm, the sky was covered by clouds again and this was the call to pack up the instruments as there was no point waiting for the cloud to move. Still all the kids were pushing me to wait for 5 minutes, each time I pick the telescope bag. I also had plans to show them Jupiter and its Moons but due to clouds, it was not possible.

Sneh Kesari
Educator
SPACE

International Observe the Moon NIght - SPACE observation points

2010-09-18T15:16:00.000+05:30

Astronomica SPACE at SPACE office -Astronomica
C B Devgun at Dhruv Apartments, Patparganj - SPACE
Sneh Kesari at Ghaziabad - SPACE
Babita Kundalia at Mansarovar park - SPACE club
Deepak Sharma (SNC) at Meerut - SNC
Ashutosh Tripathi (SNC) at Indore - SNC
Srijan devgun at Patparganj - astronomica
Rishabh Jain at Noida - astronomica
Jaishree Soin at Ajay Enclave - SPACE
Shikha Chanana at Mahavir Nagar - astronomica

MOON AND VENUS CARNIVAL - A Celebration of Astronomy

2010-09-08T14:02:00.002+05:30

MOON AND VENUS CARNIVAL - A celebration of Astronomy

by SPACE in Collaboration with Nehru Planetarium
at the
Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
on

Saturday, 11th of September

from 2:00 PM to 8 PM.

Schedule:

2:00 - 5:00

Public Outreach - Find out about the Ancient Instruments at Jantar Mantar! also,
A daytime viewing of Moon and Venus using the Ram Yantra

6:30 - 8:00

Observe the Moon and the planets through Telescopes.
The moon and Venus will appear very close and present a beautiful view
For more details about Moon and Venus Conjunction, visit this article.

Please join us at Jantar Mantar.
Bring your friends and neighbours for a chance to observe the skies from within this ancient monument.

For details or queries, write to info@space-india.org or call 9250901042

IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER, PLEASE CHECK WWW.SPACE-INDIA.ORG FOR EVENT STATUS

Venus and Moon Conjunction

2010-09-08T13:59:00.000+05:30

On 11^thSeptember evening, Moon will be seen very close to the planet Venus, at least as seen from earth!! These heavenly bodies will be around 1/2 degrees apart that means as seen from the earth the apparent distance between them in the sky would be 7 times the size of the full moon. This phenomenon is called conjunction. Conjunction is a term used in positional astronomy which means that, as seen from some place (usually the Earth), two celestial bodies appear near one another in the sky. The event is also sometimes known as an appulse.

Moon – Venus conjunction is not very rare as each month the Moon will pass close to the Venus in the skies and when it’s very close then it’s a sight to watch and admire. You cannot miss both the objects as moon would be a waxing crescent and Venus, the brightest object apart from moon in the skies these days. This event can be enjoyed by seeing with the most wonderful optical instrument given to humans by the nature – the eyes. As both objects would be quite close, they can be seen with naked eyes and with a telescope as well. This will provide a good opportunity for astrophotographers as these two objects against the foreground of city dwellings would make a stunning visual presentation.

SPACE celebrated A Felicitation for All India Asteroid Search Campaign at American Center, Delhi

2010-09-01T06:45:00.001+05:30

SPACE celebrated A Felicitation for All India Asteroid Search Campaign

at American Center, Delhi

on August 27th, 2010

SPACE concluded the program 'All India Asteroid Search Campaign' (AIASC), a prestigious program run in collaboration with 'International Astronomical Search Collaboration' (IASC) with a special feliciation event.

IASC, run by Dr Patrick Miller, Professor, Hardins Simmons University, Texas, is an educational outreach program which is a collaboration between . Using images taken the night before with the 24" and 32" telescopes at the Astronomical Research Institute (ARI) Observatory, students make original discoveries of Main Belt asteroids and important observations that contribute to the NASA Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA).

The program run by SPACE in India involved 42 schools and groups. These groups were all coordinated by SPACE. A record 4 asteroids were discovered as part of this campaign! 2 asteroids were discovered by school children from Ryan International School, Rohini, the first time such a discovery was made by school children in India! To felicitate the discoverers and all the participants, SPACE held a function at American Center, Delhi on August 27th from 10:30am - 12:00pm. Ms. Indu Wadhwa and Director Anne Sheshadri kindly allowed us usage of the auditorium at American Center for this purpose.

About 75 people including teachers and students from various schools attended the event. Madam Grace Pinto, Director, Ryan Board, Ryan Pinto and Ms. Seema Wadhwa, Principal, Ryan International School, Rohini were also present. Director Anne Sheshadri started the morning with a welcome to the American Center. Mr. Anuj SInha, Honorary Director, Vigyan Prasar presided as chief guest and gave a speech encouraging hands on science and the love of basic sciences. Mr. Sachin Bahmba, CMD, SPACE talked about SPACE, how it brings such opportunities to be at the forefront of hands-on science to students and fosters the training and curiosity needed to achive such discoveries! Mr. C.B. Devgun, President SPACE showed a presentation about the International Asteroid Search Campaign Project. Prof. Patrick Miller, Director of the program joined the whole auditorium in a Skype session and talked about how pleased he was with such a strong Indian contribution to the program this time. The connections to the Skype session went very smoothly, thanks to the technical support at American Center.

SPACE presented trophies and momentoes to the discoverers Amanjot Singh and Sahil Wadhwa from Ryan, Rohini, and V. Narang and team from SPACE and participation certificates to all schools. Media were also present at this occasion and they interacted with the discoverers and with SPACE officers. This was followed by a high tea where all the attendees could partake of tea and snacks.