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Chennai
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Thiruvananthapuram
Happy to be star-gazing
Home-made telescopes do not cost the earth.
EVERY SUNDAY, the auditorium in the State Science and Technology Museum witnesses a bustle of activity from 10 a.m. That is when a group of enthusiastic youngsters as well as the not-so-young learn the basic of star-gazing and train their make- shift telescopes on the sky for a closer look at the celestial bodies.
The Senior Technical Officer of the State Science and Technology Museum, G. A. Gerald Prakash, says the idea behind the one-day programme is to create interest in the "interesting movements of objects in the sky.''
``A general idea of the constellations is imparted to the students. Even with this makeshift equipment, they can spot the craters on the moon, the satellites of Jupiter and some other planets. Of course, they are not supposed to look at the Sun as it can cause irreparable damage to the eye,'' he says.
Peering through his telescope, a participant exclaims, "I can see an object as big as a cricket ball.'' "That's Mars,'' explains the instructor. "Towards the side, you will see a greenish ball, which is Venus.''
The amateur star-gazers start by identifying the main constellations among the 40 listed ones. These are the 12 Zodiacal constellations, the Ursa Major and Minor, the Great Dog and Lesser Dog, the Orion, etc. A book authored by Patrick Moore for amateurs, as well as star-charts, come in handy for the beginners.
An added attraction of the Sunday classes in the Museum is that the participants are trained in making mini-telescopes and mounts used in amateur sky-gazing.
A double convex lens with a focal length of 50 cm is fixed in a PVC pipe about 60 cm long. At the spot where the image converged, the eyepiece, fixed in a PVC pipe of slightly smaller diameter. The instrument is mounted on a stand for easy viewing.
A fee of Rs. 50 is charged from each participant. The material for fashioning the miniature telescopes at home is provided on payment of Rs. 250.
It is pointed out that the State capital is ideally placed for sky-gazing, as it is close to the equator and the northern and southern hemispheres can be seen almost in their entirety.
However, the cloudiness of the skies and light pollution from the sodium vapour and fluorescent lamps cut visibility. Jokes a stargazer, "We are perhaps the only people in the city who welcome power-cuts.''
Mr. Prakash says the S & T Museum is planning to set up a bigger and more powerful telescope.
Another astro-photography.
With the number of amateur sky-gazers on the rise over the year, the authorities are also thinking of arranging facilities for sky-gazing from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. to enable the viewers to get a glimpse of the constellations.
By Hari Sundar G.
Photo: S. Gopakumar
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Life
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
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