Astronomy – a subject of interest

Astronomy – a subject of interest

 **Celestial events lined up for sky enthusiasts – A news in THE HINDU news paper today ( 26.4.2013 )

This news takes my memories  43 years before , when I was a student of Astronomy Club in Vivekananda College, Mylapore.

As I was about to write a blog on the topic of  my  interest linked to the past my site “ Chander’s Memory lane “ , a above  topic or title came to my mind . This was and is an interesting subject since 1969 soon after I joined B.Sc,Mathematics , under graduate course , in SRM Vivekananda College , Mylapore.  Astronomy is a subject  taught to us  as a part of major subject and in examination, we have to write a separate paper for this subject. As a science student I am deeply interested in Astronomy and I was a student member of Astronomy Club of our college.

In weekends we go to the terrace of our Math dept. by twilight , where a large Reflecting Telescope was installed to observe the celestial objects.



Pirate's Telescope



I have seen the planet Mars ,  Jupitor and its few moons, Saturn’s ring , Moon at the closest range  with the craters  so close to our eyes , and the different  planets  of Zodiac signs. It was  also a great experience to  see the starry night sky from our Mylapore home terrace  after midnight. Falling star is a daily phenomenon and watching it was linked with a myth !

In our scouting days also we do star watch and  plot the  night sky with zodiac signs.



Moon



Moon's craters

Saturn's ring



Jupitor through the lens of an ordinary telescope



**”The coming one month will be marked by interesting celestial events, starting with a lunar eclipse on April 25 and 26, and a daily meteor shower that will last through the month of May.

The planet Saturn will be at opposition with the Sun, and visible at its closest, biggest and brightest from the Earth on April 28. One can see the planet rising from East or South-East, after the Sun sets in the west.

At midnight, one can see it overhead while in the morning it can be spotted between West and South-West. People can also witness the annual meteor shower of Eta Aquarids between April 19 and May 28. Meteors have their origin in flakes of dust left by Comet Halley during its 1986 visit into the solar system.

This year, the shower will peak on May 6 at 6.30 a.m., and continue to be brightly visible in pollution-free skies up to May 12. It can be spotted up to May 28, the PSI informed.

To have a glimpse of the shower, one must look at the constellation of Aquarius above East, starting from 4.30 a.m.

These apart, the conjunction of Planet Saturn with Moon will occur on April 26, when both the celestial bodies will be visible very close to each other. This can be spotted by the naked eye.

People can also witness the annual meteor shower of Eta Aquarids between April 19 and May 28. Meteors have their origin in flakes of dust left by Comet Halley during its 1986 visit into the solar system.”

 In the subject of Astronomy , we used to solve mathematical problems by finding the dates of future Solar Eclipse or Lunar Eclipse. Distance between planets , speed of the celestial body and so on were topics in Astronomy. No one in our batch  miss Astronomy class, because of the interest in that subject and the practical sessions.

It was my long time wish to have a small telescope like the one we see in sea pirate movies. I found many such in the Antique Stores in Spencer Plaza and old Moore Market ( now no more Moore … “

But still today I could not own one such telescope. May be I have not tried to own or the loss of interest in getting one or lack of funds to acquire a new one costing beyond capacity.

When my son was in schooling at San Thome,  I made a SPUTNIK model  with open solar panel wings , for his school science fair and of course his model won a prize.

When Neil Armstrong put his first step on the moon in July 1969, the entire world was listening to Voice of America and I was one with great interest on the achievement of mankind , and the live talk of the first man on the moon – “"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  Is an inspirational sentence for achievers.

In the same year , in  Madras , US Consulate and the American Library displayed a life size Lunar Module's model , which landed  on the Moon and allowed the visitors to go up in the ladder from one side and get down on the other. The inside is a replica of the original Lunar module with control panels. Many photographs and miniature models of the Apollo Mission were in display.  An exhibition, which I cannot forget. The feeling of  mine when I entered the Lunar Module cannot be expressed  in words.The stone pieces brought from the moon , in original were in display.

Apollo 11 Lunar Module " Eagle "

My eye sight is deteriorating with cataract and I do not know when I will have my own telescope to see the starry night’s celestial bodies!!! Let people who are interested to see the celestial bodies may try  with a telescope and do not delay to regret at later days like me !!!

World Book & Copyright Day

World Book Day & World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days) is a yearly event on 23 April, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright. In the United Kingdom, the day is instead recognized on the first Thursday in March.

World Book Day was celebrated for the first time on 23 April 1995.

Books may also refer to works of literature, or a main division of such a work. In library and information science, a book is called a monograph, to distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers. The body of all written works including books is literature. In novels and sometimes other types of books (for example, biographies), a book may be divided into several large sections, also called books (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and so on).
An avid reader of books is a bibliophile or colloquially, bookworm. I think I belong to that WORM community.

I wrote already in my blog about my love towards book and shared on how I was attracted towards books and how I created my own library  and the collections of mine .

Why people are attracted towards books  and what are the benefits of reading ?

For me , being an avid reader already, many times the cover of a book in display at any book stores attracts me. Then the title, the synopsis of the book in the back cover , then comes the author and last, the number of pages . I look for the price tag after my decision to buy it. Some times the price may not be affordable and skipped the idea of owning one. At last I look for the same title in e-book community forum for a quick free download . My son gave me an e-book reader and  recommended me to go for e-reading habits than covering our small home’s wall with books. Another distant daughter from Bangaluru  shared lot of e- books of my taste through mail attachment and gave some links to download freely. But as a reader for the past five decades , habits never dies, and so the hard copy  book reading never dies for me. Still I buy books and my catalog for sharing gets updated dynamically. Being a reader , my daughter in US  gifted me a sketch book to write while travelling and she feels a reader can become a writer one day and that writing live past the reader.

I do respect the copyrights of the author and never go for piracy book prints irrespective of the cheap price . They spoil the quality of the book  and the quality of book reading. Of course I know a book seller who gets imported books, one-time read and imported to India from U.S and Europe. The original one-time read and disposed books are always lovable to buy as  the good condition of books attracts bookworms’ like me.

I came across a page in FB called “Rare books Society of India”. Their services is very good for people like me, who are interested in keeping rare books in their possession and would like to share also  sometimes.

The Society says :  In spite of India being an ancient literary civilization and having one of the largest literary treasures of hand-written and printed material, we do not have a single Society for rare book collectors. This is an attempt to create a forum and bring those elusive connoisseurs to discuss and share their knowledge on Indian rare books.

Benefits of reading is a lot but to say a few I wish to give here eight different benefits.

Enhanced Smarts

In Anne E. Cunningham’s paper What Reading Does for the Mind , she found that reading, in general, makes you smarter, and it keeps you sharp as you age.

Reading reduces stress

When I’m reading a book, my mind shifts gears. Where I might have a had a stressful day, a book can easily distract me.

 Greater tranquility

Reading can soothe like no other.

 Improved analytical thinking

Cunningham’s studies have found that analytical thinking is boosted by reading. Readers improve their general knowledge, and more importantly are able to spot patterns quicker.

 Increased vocabulary

All successful writers will tell you that in order to write well, you need to read. Every day. You’ll be surprised at the words you start incorporating into your writing. It’s no secret that reading increases your vocabulary and improves your spelling,

 Improved memory

Ihave been finding that I can remember stuff much easier when I have been reading consistently.

 Improved writing skills

The more you read, the better of a writer you’ll become.

 Helps prioritize goals

When you remove yourself from your work environment, you’ll start to see things that you might really want to do, that you’re not doing yet. Reading gives you a chance for your to wander.

 I wish on this World Book and I Copyright Day , to  all the book lovers , book worms , book publishers , book sellers and in particular pavement sellers who contributes many to become scholars abroad , a  VERY HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY .