Chief Editor : Sachin Bahmba, Editors : Amit Verma & Divya Kanchanbaras

Cover Story: Bihar – First Global Destination for Astro Tourism in

India

Guest Article: Neil Armstrong A Reluctant Hero

CONTENTS : EDUCATION | EVENTS | ASTROTOURISM | ANNOUNCEMENTS

SPACE NEWSLETTER OCT – DEC ‘12

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Bihar Government has announced a mega tourism project to build Astro-Tourism in the State. The aim is to develop the areas of Taregana, Taregana Top and Khagaul in the field of astronomy and space science tourism. The state has made an official announcement during September 2012, to call for proposals for selection of consultancy firm for development of an Astro-Tourism project in Bihar. The proclamation transcends back in time to the promise made by the then and now Honorable Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, addressed to SPACE India. It has been sheer commendable perseverance on behalf of the CM to keep up to this pledge that he made during the 21st century’s longest Total Solar Eclipse, on July 22 2009 at Taregana. Bihar is the first state in the country to have started with endeavor by a government and is now set to race-past others in India& the world in Astro-Tourism.

Landmark Total Solar Eclipse at Taregana, Patna on 22 July 2009

During 2008, SPACE India conducted an international workshop on Total Solar Eclipse to discuss about the then most awaited, longest Total Solar Eclipse of the century to be occurred in July 2009. Eminent astronomers and space scientists from different parts of the world participated as speakers and guests in the workshop. A site visit at Taregana, Bihar was organised for the delegates. It was during the scouting of this place that SPACE Team concluded it to be the best location world-over to view the eclipse. The celestial event saw a major media lobby about the place, Taregana and the occurrence, Total Solar Eclipse, amongst the masses and bureaucrats. A public watch on a gigantic level for the first time in India was organised by SPACE at Taregana. Researchers and tourists from India and abroad had gathered to watch the rare Total Solar Eclipse on July 22, 2009. Honorable CM of Bihar was the chief guest and a mammoth crowd of around 80, 000 people had gathered to witness the eclipse. Moved by the turn out as a result of mass scientific inquisitiveness, following are excerpts from CM’s speech at the event –

To create scientific temper among masses is important. There are lot of myths about planets which are critical to bust. The celestial movements, making observations and noting readings, acquiring new information and analysis of this information can be of vital usage. To develop scientific thinking is a big task. And, coming to Bihar for the total solar eclipse and doing such arrangements for people to view and learn about the eclipseis an impressive task undertaken by SPACE. It’s significant to spread scientific temper amongst masses.

Bihar – First Global Destination for Astro Tourism in India

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The iconic celestial occurrence brought the spotlight on Taregana, lost in the pages of history, a vital Astro-Tourism destination to emerge for generations to come to know the remarkable work of the man who gave the world the power of number zero “0”.The event marked the awakening of the Bihar government to tap the enormous Astro-tourism potential of the trio places Taregana, Khagaul and Som river, the Karma-Bhoomi of Aryabhatta. It was here he had set up an astronomical observatory in the Sun Temple during the 6th century, proposed the Heliocentric Model, and suggested for the first time in history that Earth revolves around the Sun. Aryabhatta at the age of 23 wrote his monumental work 'Aryabhatiyam'. The famous sixth century astronomer-mathematician camped at Taregna and nearby Khagaul to carry out his studies on celestial bodies. The names of both the places have astronomical associations, Taregana coming from 'tare (stars)' and Khagaul from 'khagshastra (astronomy)'.

Khagaul, Taregana (Masaudhi) and Taregana Top (Maner) were the centers for all astronomical studies conducted by Aryabhata, are mutually thirty(30) kilometers from each other (the approximate aerial distance from each other forms nearly an equilateral triangle)

*the actual map may vary from the illustration above

I expect SPACE to help us develop the birth place of Aryabhatta, places like Taregana, Khagaul and Som river, where he use to carry out his observations and has made major contributions to the mankind. SPACE should support us, suggest us, on the basis of it we would like to develop the entire place so that generations to come get to know about aryabhatta and most important aspect is to reproduce scientific temper. My best wishes to SPACE.

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GLIMSES OF THE HISTORIC TSE BIHAR, 2009

The area plunges in darkness during the total eclipse at 6:27am

Honorable CM of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar with SPACE Team

CM observing the eclipse through a telescope

The crowd assembled minutes before to view the eclipse at 6:16am

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Astro-Tourism is a novel concept designed to integrate Tourism with Astronomy & Science activities. It is the brain child of SPACE that brings together the thrilling sphere of travel, exploration and expedition with an equally exhilarating sphere of astronomy, space sciences and unraveling the wonders of the sky. It is an exciting domain already extremely popular among travelers and industry professionals worldwide, tourism boards are also waking up to this opportunity. It is becoming increasingly big business - identified as a World Travel Trend last year by Euromonitor ahead of the World Travel Market and already worth millions to places such as Hawaii, Chile and Australia. This concept has gained traction in India and worldwide due to the unrelenting and path breaking initiatives of SPACE India (and its subsidiary Astro Tourism India Pvt. Ltd.). Over the past 5 years, it has showcased to the travel industry and the world at large, the vast commercial potential ‘Astro-Tourism’ holds for the industry.

Astrotourism in Bihar

Bihar aspires to develop the state, create tourism jobs, preserve astronomical history and heritage and most important to celebrate the landmark works of the most poignant astronomer and mathematician of India, Aryabhatta. The government envisages building a robust tourism market for Bihar and bringing it on the world map for travelers, and contributing towards the state’s socio-economic growth. The states propose that the three centers' Taregana, Khagaul and Som river, would showcase of various concepts theories and models formed by Aryabhatta in the form of interactive demonstration centre (mini museum) and one of the locations will be equipped with facilities and latest equipments to facilitate further studies and repository in the field of astronomy. SPACE India has been invited by the government of Bihar to foster the development of Astro-Tourism in the state. SPACE is already working in full swing towards its dream project; under its sleeve are preparation of a concept presentation and formulation of a consortium with architects, urban and eco planners.

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NEWS IN FOCUS - UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL

I. Centre For Student Excellence

Astronomy Assembly at GD Goenka, Rohini

Centre For students Excellence (CSE) GD Goenka School, Rohini conducted an Astronomy assembly on 7th September in the School’s courtyard. It was presented by Astronomy club students and was conducted exclusively for all young aspiring students with the aim to showcase the wide panorama of the activities and projects performed by the students in Astronomy Club. Aim was to spread awareness about the club happenings and make students aware about the achievements of club students.

Make Your Own Comet

Students demonstrated the formation of a comet by The Comet kitchen. The process of making a comet using raw materials present in a real comet was explained in the assembly.

An air-rocketry session was organized as a special attraction for the assembly in the school courtyard. Students of class X Shrishti and Bhavya demonstrated how the air rocket works. A rocket was launched by the honorary Principal. The CSE enthusiastic students explained all the students about the basic principles of rocketry, how is it launched, etc.

Rocket – Get Set Go!

Astronomy Exhibition at Indraprastha School, Dwarka

CSE school International school Dwarka organised an astronomy exhibition on 25th August,12, showcased the astronomy activities during the Parents teachers meeting.

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A lot of scientific activities were showcased to parents and students that communicated science in an easy and effective manner. The achievements of the students were highlighted.

Intra Club Quiz Competition at GD Goenka Public School, Rohini

Centre For Students Excellence (CSE) GD Goenka School, Rohini organized Intra Club Quiz in the last week of Aug, 12. Quiz was for all young aspiring students of the club from grade III to X , aimed to test astronomy knowledge and motivate children to explore astronomy in a fun and informative way. The Quiz had interesting picture identification and MCQ rounds. Students thoroughly enjoyed the quiz-time.

Parents participating in the exhibition

Inter house Hydrorocketry Competition at Bal Bharti Public School, Pitampura

An Inter-house Hydrorocketry Competition was held on 28th August 2012 at BBPS, Pitampura to celebrate Science Week (27th August – 31st August 2012). Four teams representing the four Houses – Gurunanak, Dayanand, Vivekanand, Kabir were chosen for the competition. The Winner of the Inter-house Hydrorocketry Competition was Vivekanand House. The winning team will now participate in CSE Hydrorocketry Competition that is going to be held on 27th November 2012 where all CSE schools will be competing.

Students launching Hydrorockets

Hydro rocket launching by

Ms. Meenu Goswami,

Principal BBPS

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Evening Observation-Hands on Telescope, Step by Step school, Noida

On 23rd July 2012, a special evening session cum observation was organized by SPACE for astronomy club students of SBS. The objective of session was to train the kids in handling a telescope. 17 students from the school participated in the session , enjoyed exploring the sky through telescopes with educators.

Kids pointing their telescopes at various targets Kids observing Moon through their telescopes

and learning basics of a telescope

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Insight 2012, Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar

Centre For students Excellence (CSE) Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar celebrated Science Fair as a part of their Annual Expo - “Insight” on 28th July, 2012. It was celebrated exclusively for all young aspiring students and parents with the aim to showcase the wide panorama of the activities and projects performed by the students in different subjects such as nature, science, astronomy, maths, health & many more. The event had mass participation of the students, aim was to spreads awareness about the work done in the school and various clubs. The Chief Guest at the exhibition was Mr. R. P. Sharma (CBSE Advisory Board). Other dignitaries present were Dr. Rajesh Hassija (Director, Indraprastha School, Paschim Vihar), Mrs. Shikha Arora (Principal Indraprastha School, Paschim Vihar) , Mr. Sachin Bhamba (CMD, SPACE) and Mrs. Shalini Bhamba (CSE Head, SPACE).

Mr. R.P Sharma (CBSE Advisory Board) launched

the hydro-rocket to declare the event open

An exciting hydro-rocketry session was organized as a special attraction for the event in the school playground. The rocket was launched by honorary guest Mr. R.P. Sharma. The CSE students enthusiastically elucidate the visitors about the basic principles of rocketry, how is it made, etc. CSE had put up an astronomy stall, where edutainment acts like “Know your weight in the solar system”, “Be an Astronaut”, “Why we have 12 zodiacs”, etc were showcased. Students organized 3 different types of astronomy quizzes which attracted a lot of spectators.

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CRPF Dwarka Basics of Rocketry and Solar System Walk

CRPF Dwarka Basics of Rocketry and Solar System Walk was organised on 11th Sep, 2012. Students participated with lot of enthusiasm, During the event, a rocket was launched by the principal - Mrs. Meenu Tiwari. A thrilled Ms. Tiwari quoted :- "It was a great learning experience for the students. The rocket launching session went off well. It was well planned and very well executed.”

Hydrorocketry demo workshop at DPS Faridabad

DPS, Faridabad on 18th August 2012 at their “Annual Inter DPS Science Exhibition” organized Hydro Rocketry Demo Launches as a part of their event activities. Selected students from the school participated and taught about functioning and principles involved in Hydrorocketry. Guest of honors of the event were Mr. Ashok Chandra (Chairman, DPS Society), Prof B P Khandelwal (Vice Chairman, DPS Faridabad) and Ms Renu Mital (Director, DPS Society). Total 26 DPS Schools of the nearby territories participated in the exhibition. All the guest of honor’s, participatory schools and the DPS Faridabad School management was highly impressed and congratulated SPACE for showcasing the science concept through hands on learning .

II. Space Club III. Space Explorers

CRPF Principal

launching the rocket

Students learningabout launcher and the safety

Chairman, Mr. Ashok Chandra launching the rocket and interacting with the

student

NEWS IN FOCUS - UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL

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NEWS IN FOCUS - EVENTS

I. Past Events

All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2012

Achievements in this unique program in 2010, 2011 and now in 2012 have proved that with the right platform, regular guidance and hard work the sky is indeed the limit for students and amateur astronomers. SPACE feels immensely proud in sharing that this year the remarkable achievements by our students have marked our country’s name in the scientific hall of fame, and has been applauded by our entire science and educational fraternity. In 2012, SPACE coordinated 78 teams across India in this program which enabled students to access astronomy data taken through telescopes in the US and look for asteroids using complex software. More than 600 observations were submitted by the participants out of which there were 3 Provisional and 37 Preliminary discoveries of asteroids, 9 Near Earth Object Confirmations and 571 NEO Observations of asteroids. Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dikshit met and congratulated SPACE and the discoverers – “Space is not just the current but has unimaginable future for the entire universe. Our planet cannot just try to understand its magnificence but also learn from its knowledge. Bless all of you who have ventured into this exciting adventure"

AIASC participants with SPACE team Students during the AIASC workshop

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Felicitation Ceremony of All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2012

The 2012 Asteroid hunters gathered at Radisson Blu, Paschim Vihar on 07th September, 2012, for the culmination of All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2012, organized by SPACE. The Chief Guest for the ceremony was Dr. Subodh Mahanti, Director of Vigyan Prasar. Other special guests were Mr. Subodh Sharma, Assistant Superintendent (Philately), Delhi Postal Circle and Dr. Gupta, Indian National Science Congress Association. All participants received awards recognizing the hard work done by them over 3 months. The school teachers and all the students thanked SPACE for providing the opportunity to participate in a real science project at an international level. They appreciated that SPACE is successfully developing a space science and astronomy attitude in the students and encouraging them to pursue it as a career. The ceremony concluded with a small quiz which was organized for parents, teachers and students and concluded by a lunch. Chief Guest Dr. ahanti opened the ceremony with his words of encouragement “I congratulate SPACE for providing such a platform to students in our country. It is a great feeling to be among achievers” These young budding astronomers looked excited at their achievements and expressed interest in participation in the All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2013.

Glimpses of the AIASC 2012 function

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SPACE celebrated Autumn Equinox on 22nd September at Jantar Mantar

SPACE embarked on yet another International Citizen Science project on Autumn Equinox, 22nd September. During Autumn Equinox, the day and night are of approximately equal length. For example, sunrise on Sept. 22nd was at 6:10 am and sunset was at 6:18 pm making it a day which was almost of 12 hours duration.

SPACE Foundation celebrated this day by conducting Eratosthenes experiment - Measure the circumference of Earth and Scientific Heritage Walk at 300 years old scientific observatory, Jantar Mantar. Under the Eratosthenes experiment participants replicated and in fact took actual measurements of the shadows made by Sun to measure the size of Earth as done 2300 years back by astronomer - Eratosthenes. There were around 300 people present at Jantar Mantar, Delhi who had come out of curiosity to learn about the method to measure the Earth. Students from ASN School, New Delhi, St. Columba’s School, The Air Force School were present in large numbers. An NGO for underprivileged children - AAAM Foundation also joined with 60 students. The experiment was conducted by Mr. Sachin Bahmba, CMD, SPACE and several educators from SPACE including Sneh Kesari, Robin Chhabra, Pooja Kumar.Post experiment Scientific Heritage Walk was also conducted by President of SPACE, Mr. CB Devgun so the participants also learned about the working of ancient instruments like Jai Prakash Yantra, Ram Yantra, Samrat Yantra and Mishra Yantra. They were excited to know that how one can calculate time by reading them from the instruments like ancient times. They were also shown how the instruments were used to track the motion of the planets and stars.

Students conducting the experiment with gnomon stick

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Moon observation by SPACE at India Gate on International Observe the Moon Night Delhi

Public had a closer view of the Moon at India Gate on the nights of 22nd September 7-9 PM, as SPACE celebrated the International Observe the Moon Night. SPACE had set up about 15 telescopes at the busy India Gate lawns for the general public to observe the moon. The public were attracted by the line of telescopes and large numbers of upto 500 people gathered to get close up views of the crescent moon. Children were especially enthusiastic to get this opportunity! International Observe the Moon Night - ‘Under the Same Moon’ is an event conducted by Astronomy Society of the Pacific and NASA Night sky network around the world to bring to everyone’s notice the captivating features of the moon and to share that experience with all.

World Space Week

World Space Week is an annual observance held from October 4 to October 10 established by the United Nations General Assembly to be an international celebration of science and technology and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. The theme for WSW 2012 is "Space for Human Safety and Security". SPACE in order to achieve its goal to promote space science activities is planning to organize and conduct different Astronomy themed events throughout the week that include school students, amateur astronomers and public around Delhi and NCR. The events will include astronomy talks, competitions, science fairs, sky observations and for the younger crowd fun activities such as face painting and astronomy themed art.

II. Ongoing Events

NEWS IN FOCUS - EVENTS

Public observing moon through telescope at India gate

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NEWS IN FOCUS - EVENTS

III. Upcoming Events

Hydro –rocketry

SPACE will conduct an Inter school competition on Hydro – rocketry in Delhi, during the last week of Nov, 2012. This competition involves teams of students launching plastic bottles filled with water under high pressure using a wooden launcher. This simulates a rocket and its launch path and illustrates Newton’s third law of motion. The competition is judged on parameters such as distance, aesthetics and deviation from the straight line. The objective is to arouse enthusiasm amongst students towards Rocketry and to demonstrate the scientific principles of rocketry and aeronautics in a ‘Hands on Activity’ fashion.

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A former SPACE Club student Prafull Sharma from Ahlcon Public School, Mayur Vihar, Delhi has successfully penned down his name in the history of a comet discovery. Young astronomy enthusiast (16 years old), Prafull Sharma, studying in 12th grade has become the 3rd Indian and the 84th person in the world to discover a “SOHO Comet” (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), as a part of Sungrazer program. Comets, sometimes termed as dirty snowballs, are mixture of ices and dust that potentially impact the Earth. So it is important to correctly identify them and study their orbits.

Prafull Sharma, started learning astronomy with the SPACE club, run by the school in association with SPACE (Science Popularisation association of Communicators and Educators), Delhi in 2010. He has a keen interest in this subject, thus he participated in many astronomy projects conducted by SPACE. He has chased two eclipse, attended International Solar Eclipse Conference held in Dec, 2011 at New Delhi, Participated in All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2010, 2011 & 2012 done in collaboration of IASC (International Astronomical Search Campaign). He had discovered one provisional asteroid (QH80) and three preliminary asteroids during these campaigns. He is also an active member of Astronomica group, a group of amateur astronomers headed by SPACE.

NEWS FLASH !Former SPACE Club student Prafull Sharma discovers Comet SOHO!

For the 16-year-old Prafull Sharma, witnessing the fragmentation of a comet he was studying, became the highlight of a summer work experience program using the Sungrazer Project. However, that was just the icing on the cake; SPACE has always assisted him to contribute towards scientific discoveries by providing him a platform where he can perform with a help of suitable equipments as a part of his studies. This discovery has not only brought laurels to the school and SPACE but has also positioned India on the world map in the field of astronomy and space science education.

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ASTRONOMY DAY

The Space Astronomy Club is a very popular program run in schools of Delhi, since 2001.All these years it has changed its shape to provide optimum value to students, continuous up-gradation cum evaluation of the programs is undertaken to connect them to international educational astronomy projects such as All India Asteroid Search Campaign ISS EarthKam, GRAIL MoonKAM, and Live Internet Telescope.

A club functions as per the acdemic year of an institution. The year 2012 adds the closing of club, by celebrating an Astronomy Day by the club members, in the form of an astronomy fair organised within the premises of the school. It is a culmination of the space astronomy club. At the fair the club showcase all their astronomy learnings to other school students. This is a very joyful recapitulation of concepts for club students. Their learning gets strengthened by teaching and showcasing the same. All in all its a treat for the audience as interesting activities like hydro rocketry, solar walk, astronomy quizzing, movie screening, solar observation are performed with full zeal and zest by the club members.

It’s a chance for students to experience to thrill of astronomy education through this fair. This is open to all school students and teachers. This event is organized on special days like parent teacher meeting so as to involve parents and make them aware about the activities of the club and their child’s learning and participation in club activities.

Shalini Bahmba, Department of Education

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Answer: The blue color of the sky is due to the scattering of light by small particles of the atmosphere (air molecules). when the light falls on these particles of the atmosphere which are smaller in size than the wavelength of light, it gets scattered. Since the wavelength of blue color is smallest, it gets scattered the most and thus makes the sky to look blue.

ASTRO-INQUISITES

Why is the sky blue in color?

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The 1st Footprint on the MoonNeil Armstrong - A Reluctant Hero

Last month, the world marked the memory of two great events that shaped the history of space exploration. A half century ago in Sept. 1962, President John Kennedy gave his awe inspiring historic address “To the Moon” at Rice University, Texas thus propelling USA’s space race and setting the goals to reach the moon. On August 25th, 2012 the world mourned the passing of Neil Armstrong, the man who brought to fruition that American dream and left humanity’s first footprint on the moon. He was a hero to generations of Americans and the world, although he spurned the spotlights.

Armstrong was born in Ohio, and earned his Bachelor’s degree at Purdue University. He joined the United States Navy and served in the Korean War. After the war, he was a test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station, and logged over 900 flights there! He later completed his graduate studies from the University of Southern California.

Armstrong joined NASA’s second Astronaut class in 1962.He made his first flight to space as Command Pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. He achieved the first docking of two space craft with pilot David Scott, but this mission ran into problems and he had to control his capsule that spun out of control and bring it back in an emergency landing.

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In July 1969, Armstrong went on his second and last space flight as Mission Commander of Apollo 11. On this historic mission, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface in a lunar module, landed at the Sea of Tranquility and spent two and a half hours exploring and collecting samples, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the Command Module. Armstrong said that moving in the lunar gravity, one-sixth of Earth's, was "even perhaps easier than the simulations... It's absolutely no trouble to walk around". They left behind scientific instruments, an American flag, a mission patch and a plaque bearing the inscription “Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.” Asked about his experience on the moon, he said: "It's an interesting place to be. I recommend it.“

Armstrong’s walk on the moon was witnessed by millions around the planet and triggered hopes for the future of human space travel. The "one small step" established the supremacy of the US in the superpower space race with the Soviet Union, but also set a model for peaceful cooperation in space as in the inscription. He received numerous recognitions such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

Armstrong died on the morning of August 25, 2012, at the age of 82 from surgery complications. He leaves a long bequest of knowledge and research and the iconic phrase made after landing, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said Armstrong "will always be remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own, but it was his courage, grace, and humility before, during and after his historic Apollo 11 mission that has continued to lift him and all of us far beyond that breakthrough achievement."

Mila Mitra, Scientific Officer

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