Guest Article

On Understanding

Universe

Cover Story

PSLV C-23 – India’s Ticket To

Manned Mission & Space Travel

From The News Desk Latest Updates On

Universe In The School

Space Outreach

Astro Tourism

Astroinquisites

Why does the Earth spin in one way and

Venus in the other

S P A C E N E W S ISSUE 36, JULY 2014

Monthly Newsletter of SPACE Group

Chief Editor : Sachin BahmbaEditors : Amit Verma & Divya

KanchanbarasAstronomy At HomeCardboard Constellation Slide Viewer

BLOGPOST

How Man Made Satellites Help A

Common Man

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

INDEX

S No Topic Page No.

1 Universe In The School 3

2 Blog : How Man Made Satellites Help A Common Man 9

3 Outreach Programmes 12

4 Astrophotography 15

5 Sky This Month : Constellations & Moon Phases For Jul’14 20

6 Cover Story : PSLV C-23 - India’s Ticket To Manned Mission & Space Travel

27

7 Astroinquisites : Why Does The Earth Spin In One Way And Venus In The Other

31

8 Guest Article : On Understanding UniverseBy Dr. Kumar Krishen, NASA

33

9 Astronomy at home : Cardboard Constellation Slide Viewer 36

10 SPACE India is hiring! 46

3

Center For Student Excellence

U N I V E R S E I N T H E S C H O O L

1. Summer Camp at Indraprastha International School, Dwarka

At the beginning of the summer holidays, a camp was organized for primary students of Indraprastha International School, Dwarka where a lot of activities of different subjects were conducted and Astronomy was one of them. In Astronomy activities students learnt new concepts which helped them to understand some difficult phenomenon in a fun filled way.

Students of class IV doing hands on activity of parachute making

Students of class IV mimicking the way astronauts sit in a rocket during a session ‘Can I be an Astronaut'

Students of class V getting their pop-rockets ready

Educator demonstrating parachute making to students of class IV

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2. Parent Teacher Meeting at Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar

SPACE Club “Fun with Universe” had its Parents Interaction Program in Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar during PTM.

During this program, SPACE Club ASTRONOMY KIT for Module 1 &2 and different activities were displayed. The activities which were displayed are as follows: 1. Hydro Rocketry 2. Solar Observation

The aim to conduct the Parent Interaction Program was to provide a platform for parents and students to know more about SPACE club, which is: 1. what we teach 2. what students learn 3. how do students learn with FUN 4. What skills do they nourish in SPACE club

During this parent interaction program, a lot of parents came to know more about CSE program and showed their satisfaction towards the CSE program. Students also participated in different activities and enjoyed a lot.

Rahul, Class 10 student of Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar showing Sun to students and parents through Projection Method

A parent getting ready to launch hydro rocket

Dev, class VII and Akshat, class VI students of Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar dressed like an alien and an astronaut

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3. Summer Camp at Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar

During the summer holidays, a fun camp was organised for primary students of Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar where activities of different subjects including astronomy were conducted to enhance learning skills of students. They learnt varied concepts of science that helped them to understand some of the universal phenomenon.

Class V students of Indraprastha World School, Paschim vihar getting ready to launch their stomp rocket

Class IV students of Indraprastha World School, Paschim vihar observing Sun through their Pin Hole Projector

Class IV students of Indraprastha World School, Paschim vihar ready to release their hover crafts on the floor

4. Teacher’s workshop at Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar

On 23rd of May, SPACE conducted a teacher’s workshop in Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar. The workshop was conducted for the teacher’s of the school where they learnt new facts about our Moon- LUNA. Not only this, but they also constructed a Moon clock to check the Moon phases on different days. Teacher’s enjoyed a lot during the workshop.

Photos cont. on the next slide

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Teachers sharing the story about phases of the Moon according to Indian Mythology

Teachers with the model of clock they made

SPACE Educators explaining the working of the clockTeachers taking part in the activity for Synchronised Rotation

4. Teacher’s workshop at Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar

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Space Astronomy Club

1. Parent Teacher Meeting at Presidium, Indirapuram on 24th May

SPACE Club “Fun with Universe” had its Parents Interaction Program in PRESIDIUM, Indirapuram during PTM meeting on 24th May’14.

During this program, SPACE Club ASTRONOMY KIT for Module 1 & 2 and different activities were displayed. The activities which were displayed are as follows: Stomp Rocketry, Pop Rocketry , and Comet Kitchen

The aim to conduct the Parent Interaction Program was to provide a platform for parents and students to know more about SPACE club, which is:

what we teach how we teach what students learn how do students learn with FUNWhat skills do they nourish in SPACE club

During this parent interaction program, a lot of parents came to know about SPACE club and showed their satisfaction towards the club. Students also participated in different activities and enjoyed a lot.

Harshita, 7A student holding a comet in her hands

Harshita and Bhavya, class 7A students helping in making comet

Arnav,class 5 student launching a stomp rocket

Arham,class 5 launching stomp rocket

Vedant and Siddhant- Module 2 SPACE CLUB students making Comets

Student understanding the construction of a stomp rocket

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Space Explorers

Space Exploration at Pathways World School, Sohna Road, Gurgaon

At Pathways World School, a series of workshops were conducted on 09th May’14 in a single day for all students of grade fourth. The theme for the workshop was SPACE EXPLORATION. The workshops conducted was - Rocket – A space Vehicle

In this workshop, students learnt the following facts about Rockets:

Rocket is a space vehicleRocket is the only vehicle which can go to spaceSpace is 300 kms above the ground levelBasic principle of rocketryRole of fuel in flight of a rocket

Grade 4 Students making their stomp Rockets

Students showing the Stomp rocket made by themselves Students launching their stomp rockets

To Have Fun With Astronomy & For UITS Updates

9

B L O G : How Man Made Satellites Help A Common Man

This weekend I, with a few of my friends went for an excursion into the hills of Uttarakhand (A state in India). Suddenly in the middle of night we were lost in the jungles. As no one among us remembered the way ahead, I pulled out my smart phone and started my navigator. No doubt that I reached my destination safely. This situation might have been faced by many of us and you would have surely been happy to have such a service, but have you ever wondered, how this is made possible? A set of 4 or more man-made satellites going around the Earth twice a day at an altitude of nearly 20,200 km can only make it possible. This is one of those numerous examples where man-made satellites have touched our lives and made many of our daily tasks easier.

Talking specifically of India, we have harnessed much out of our 72 satellites successfully launched into the orbit around the Earth. They serve various purposes like communications, broadcasting, natural resource management, weather forecasting, environment monitoring, and disaster management support.

Before the advent of INSAT only few of our metro cities had the television facility but after it the entire nation came under the ambit of TV broadcasting. Numerous Automated Teller Machines across the country, which has made it so easy for us to manage and handle money, are connected through the INSAT satellites. India being a country prone to several natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones, forest fires, landslides, earthquakes and even tsunami the convergence of Earth observation and communication satellites was on utmost priority for us. INSAT

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The applications of satellites in disaster management ranges from assessment of damages to establishing emergency communication, supporting relief and rehabilitation operations, enhancing disaster preparedness and to facilitate early warning systems. The importance of satellites in disaster management can be realized by comparing two natural disasters in the history of India. In 1977, before the advent of INSAT a cyclone hit the shores of Andhra Pradesh, the death toll was more than 10,000 people, a same intensity cyclone hit the shores of Andhra Pradesh in 1990, after the advent of INSAT, the death toll was less than 1000 people.

Moreover the EDUSAT launched in 2004, has revolutionized classrooms in rural, single teacher schools through interactive IP based technologies. The IRS system family of six satellites provides imagery on subsurface water, crop and fisheries monitoring, forestry, and more, data products of which it even exports internationally.

Image of Phailin Cyclone using INSAT 3D. Image Courtesy: mosdac.gov.in

Apart from the direct implications of these man-made satellites a lot of technologies have been developed in the process of developing these satellites. NASA has already listed a lot of commercially used products that have been developed by the help of research at NASA in its journal called ‘Spinoffs’. These products have touched our lives in many fields. Infrared ear thermometers that are used to measure the thermal radiations from our eardrums use the same technology used by NASA to calculate the temperature of stars. The water purification system using chemical adsorption, ion exchange, and ultra-filtration processes in the under developed regions with heavily contaminated water is a result of technology used for water purification system used in the International Space Station.

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From a farmer to a fisherman, a sailor to a pilot, a traveller to a sports man, the applications of man-made satellites have touched the lives of almost everyone. The development of mankind lies in the hands of development of Space Science and advancement of technologies used in these satellites. So today when you enjoy watching the FIFA world cup live, do not forget that there is a network of satellites orbiting our Earth that have made it possible for us to enjoy a football match happening in the other part of world.

Working of a cell-phone internet network with the help of Geo-stationary satellites

Submitted by,Abhinav Prakash Dubey, Educator | SPACE

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O U T R E A C H P R O G R A M M E S

Past

PROJECT PARIDHI SPACE celebrated summer solstice on 21 June by measuring the circumference of the Earth with its associated students and public at India Gate under Project Paridhi. SPACE did the project from multiple locations in Delhi. Mr C B Devgun, President, SPACE Foundation performed the experiment at Jantar Mantar, one of the several locations for the project. About 15 participants performed the activity, with an average result of 95% accuracy. 2 of our associated schools from Delhi & NCR were present - Bal Bharati Public School, Rajendra Nagar and GD Goenka Public School, Ghaziabad. Gaurav Madan from Bal Bharati Public School - Rajendra Nagar was our Student Scientist for the experiment and co-conducted the activity with SPACE.

All around the world, various cultures and countries celebrate the day in the form of various festivals, such as Midsummer or St John's Day in Christianity and Saint Jonas' Festival in Lithuania.Shreya Agarwal from Bal Bharati Public School said, “It was fun to measure the circumference of the Earth. The SPACE team helped us very much. I think everyone should this once in their life.” For the photo album CLICK HERE

Students of Bal Bharati Public School, New Rajinder Nagar with their school coordinator at India Gate for Project Paridhi.

SPACE Educator Shweta guides a participant during the experiment at India Gate

Gaurav Madan from Bal Bharati Public School - our first Student Scientist for Project Paridhi

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Ongoing

ALL INDIA ASTEROID SEARCH CAMPAIGN 2014 In our ongoing programme, All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2014, our associated schools have made 172 NEO Observations in Phase I and II. We congratulate all our participants!

To see the list of participants, CLICK HERE The final phase of this programme begins on 9 July and ends on 13 August. The list of selected participants for this phase has already been announced on our website. To see the selected candidates, please visit: http://space-india.com/aiasc.html We are proud to be able to bring this campaign to the Indian students for the fifth time consecutively. The campaign will be conducted in three phases, beginning on 29 April, 2014 and ending on 13 August, 2014.

The campaign is conducted in collaboration with International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC, Hardin-Simmons University, Texas, USA). SPACE is the coordinator for this highly recognized programme in India. Under this project, the University offers the participants exclusive access to images taken by 24” telescope and 32” telescope positioned in Astronomical Research Institute (ARI) Observatory, USA. Participants then download these images and analyze the data with specialized software provided during training to search for asteroids. Objects reported by students could be potential discoveries. All observations contribute to the Near Earth Object (NEO) data compiled by NASA and Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). Students get the exciting opportunity to work with professional astronomers and get access to real astronomy data. We wish all the participants success with their discoveries!

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For other upcoming celestial occurrences follow

SPACE CALENDAR

Upcoming

SUPERMOON – 10 August, 2014 A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon with the closest approach the moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, making the moon look bigger and brighter from Earth, than on other days. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The next such occurrence will be on 10 August, 2014, which will be the closest encounter in 2014.

On the evening of 10 August, associated schools of SPACE will hold an evening observation for their students and parents with the help of the prior training support by SPACE to view the moon and other celestial objects.

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A S T R O P H O T O G R A P H Y

Title : Aakash Ganga

Description: Our own galaxy, Aakash Ganga, flows in the dark skies of Astroport over the residential tents. Instrument Used: (Issued from SPACE) Camera: Canon 1100D Lens: EFS 18-55 Specifications:Focal Length: 21mmSensitivity (ISO): 1600Exposure Time: 30 secAperture: F/3.5 Photographer:Neeraj Ladia, Educator |SPACE

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Title: The North American and the Pelican Nebula

Description: The North American Nebula (NGC 7000) and The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) are one of the favorite targets for Amateur Astronomers.Rich in hydrogen, these clouds of dust and gases show a characteristic pink glow as energy from nearby stars and heat generated due to gravitational compression excites the hydrogen atoms. The bright star on the right is Deneb, the brightest star of the constellation Cygnus (the swan). It is also a part of the asterism “The summer triangle” Location: ASTROPORT Camera: EOS 6DLens: EOS 200mm, f/2.8 Specifications:Focal Length: 16mmSensitivity (ISO): 3200Exposure Time: 1’ x 90Aperture: f/4.0 Photographer:Rishabh Jain, Sr. Educator | SPACE

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Title: Earth, Sky and Home

Description: As the summer peaks, the milkyway stretches across the sky from the northern to the southern horizon. It is great to see our home galaxy, the sanctuary for billions of star and even more planets. This photograph was taken right after a downpour in the midst of the Aravali hills, Rajasthan, India

Location: ASTROPORT

Camera: EOS 6DLens: Tokina 11-16, f/2.8 Specifications:Focal Length: 200mmSensitivity (ISO): 10000Exposure Time: 30”Aperture: f/2.8 PhotographerRishabh Jain, Sr. Educator | SPACE

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Title: Sunset in Varanasi

Description: The picture shows the silhouette of the beautiful architecture of Varanasi Jn. Railway station as the Sun sets behind it.

Location: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Equipment Used: Camera: Motorola XT1033 (Mobile Camera)Lens: N/A Specifications:Focal Length: 4 mmSensitivity (ISO): 125Exposure Time: 1/752Aperture: f/2.4 Photographer:Abhinav Prakash Dubey, Educator | SPACE

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Title: The Running man Nebula

Description: NGC 1977 is a reflection nebula 1/2 degree northeast of the Orion Nebula. The three NGC objects are divided by darker regions. It is also called The Running Man Nebula and Sharpless Catalog 279. This reflection nebula, also known as NGC 1977, is located in the constellation of Orion about 1,500 light years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers). A reflection nebula doesn't emit any visible light on its own; instead it's illuminated by light from nearby stars.

Equipment Used: T3 iTelescope ( remotely operated, part of Internet Telescope project by SPACE )Camera: SBIG ST-8300C One Shot Color CCDLens: Takahashi TOA-150 Specifications:Focal Length: 1095 mmSensitivity (ISO): N/AExposure Time: 300 hundred secondsAperture: f/7.3Location: New Mexico, USA (remotely operated telescope)

Photographer: Aditya and Ishu Vikas Bharat Public School (SPACE Astronomy Club)

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Constellations

Evening ( Dusk )North - Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cepheus

East - Aquila, Lyra, CygnusWest - Leo, Crater, Corvus

South - Scorpius, Libra, Sagittarius Zenith - Corona Borealis

S K Y T H I S M O N T H : Astronomical Events Of Sky For The Month Of July’14

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Constellations

Midnight North - Ursa Minor , Ursa Major, Cepheus, Cassiopeia

East - Pegasus, AndromedaWest - Bootes, Libra, Hercules

South - Scorpius, SagittariusZenith - Cygnus, Lyra

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Constellations

Morning ( Dawn )North - Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia East - Taurus, Auriga, Aries, Perseus

West - Lyra, Aquila, Hercules, CygnusSouth - Capricornus

Zenith - Pegasus

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MOON PHASES(Time in IST)

Moon Phases, July 2014First Quarter - 1729 hours - 5 JulyFull Moon - 1655 hours - 12 July

Last Quarter - 0738 hours - 19 JulyNew Moon - 0412 hours - 27 July

FIRST QUARTER

FULL MOON

LAST QUARTER

NEW MOON

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

How many times have you seen this building being hit by aliens in movies? Let’s Explore!

We will take a journey to the heart of Niagara falls! Let’s make mist-soaked

memories!

Let’s go on a journey to the fascinating world of Dinosaurs and more!

Museum of Natural History

Empire State Building

www.space-india.com

• Do lunch at Niagara Falls

• Sail in Maid of the Mist Cruise and see

Niagara falls up and close

• Visit Museum of Natural History

• Spend time in Manhattan and

Times Square

• Clear myth and reality of Empire State

Building

• Visit the wonderful Ellis Island and spend

time admiring the Statue of Liberty

• Do shopping at a New Jersey Super-mart

Lets do it together…

Win Exciting

Discounts!!

Write to us

Now!!

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Let’s explore Orlando and New York!!

“The  experience was fabulous and smooth. Well done Astrotourism and kudos for excellent planning and arrangement . I am planning to send my daughter again to Europe trip next time.”

Niagara Falls

“The City that never sleeps” New York

Mr. Rajeev K Grover, Parent

www.space-india.com

Harry Potter coming alive!Explore Hogwarts together with your kids!

Visit the land of fantasy!Dream fantasize and re-live

your childhood with your kid!

Universal Studio Disney Land

Explore The world's premier marine adventure park with

200 acres of up-close animal encounters and

thrilling attractions!

Sea World

Book your

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Get special

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And the fun continues…

An up-close tour of Kennedy Space Centre

Explore with us…

• Exclusive tour to Kennedy Space Centre

to visit the launch pads of rockets

• Learn astronomy with your entire family

by the best from NASA

• Visit Universal Studio and live the

fantasy world of Harry Potter

• Enter the magical world of Disney Land

• Explore marine life at Sea World

“The City Beautiful” Orlando

It’s fun to travel with family!Let’s make this family outing memorable! Write to us at getintouch@astrotourism.inuse code ASTNWL01 for special discount

27

C O V E R S T O R Y : PSLV C-23 - India’s ticket to manned mission & space travel

India on June 30, 2014 successfully launched five foreign satellites from four countries on board PSLV-C23 rocket which placed them in orbit, an achievement described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an 'endorsement' of the country's space capabilities. After a perfect lift off from the First Launch Pad in Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.52am witnessed by Modi, Indian Space Research Organisation's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 placed all five satellites into their intended orbits, one after the other between 17 and 19 minutes after liftoff, in textbook precision.

Global endorsement of India’s space capability

This is a "global endorsement of India's space capability", said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the successful launch of an Indian rocket that carried five foreign satellites. Modi said: "Congratulations to everybody.""I feel specially privileged to witness this event in person," said Modi who clapped as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C23 (PSLV-C23) - standing around 44.4 metres tall and weighing around 230 ton - tore into the bright morning skies with orange flames fiercely burning at its tail.

The rocket's main luggage is the 714kg French earth observation satellite SPOT-7.Piggybacking on the main luggage are the four small satellites viz: 14-kg AISAT of Germany; NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) and NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) from Canada each weighing 15 kg; and the 7-kg VELOX-1 of Singapore.

PSLV PSLV-C23 carrying five foreign satellites lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota | PTI

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Besides Modi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu also witnessed the launch from the Sriharikota spaceport, about 100 kilometres from Chennai.

About the satellites

French satellite SPOT 7, identical to SPOT-6, which ISRO had launched in 2012, would be placed diametrically opposite to SPOT-6, forming part of the existing Earth observation satellite. European space technology company Airbus Defence and Space has built SPOT-7.

Germany's AISAT satellite would focus on the global sea-traffic monitoring system with special emphasis on high traffic zones using AIS signals. It is also Germany's first DLR satellite in the nano-satellite class. NLS 7.1 and NLS 7.2 are from the University of Toronto, Institute of Aerospace Studies/ Space Flight Laboratory in Canada. Both payloads would perform Two-spacecraft precision formation flying using differential GPS with centimetre-level relative position and sub-metre level accurate position control system. Satellite VELOX-1 from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is a technology demonstrator for in-house design of image sensor, MEMS-based attitude determination and control system and inter-satellite RF link.

PSLV C-23 Launch

The five satellites were launched under commercial arrangements that ANTRIX (ISRO's commercial arm) entered into with the respective foreign agencies.

After the PSLV's four stages ignited on time and separated with clock-work precision within the first 17 minutes 26 seconds, the five satellites were injected one after another.

SPOT-7 was the first to leave the nose cone, at 18 minutes 8 seconds after the ignition. AISAT, NLS 7.1 and NLS 7.2 were separated between 18 minutes 5 seconds and 19 minutes 51 seconds. The entire mission lasted about 20 minutes with the last separation of the fifth satellite VELOX-1 at 19 minutes 9 seconds.

LAUNCH POP UP IMAGE

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Precision marks commercial space mission

ISRO has so far launched 35 satellites from 19 countries around the globe -- Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom, bringing a huge sum to the country as foreign exchange.

Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan said that it was a high precision exercise. "To put the satellite at an altitude of 655km, we could afford an error margin of 20km, but we reached as near as 7km," he said. The launch cemented India's place as a sought after launch pad for foreign satellites. This also marks the 26th consecutively successful launch of PSLV.

Time to pitch for a SAARC satellite

Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured the austere traditions of Indian space scientists, post the launch and also urged them to gift a satellite to the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries in the neighborhood.Such a satellite will be helpful in Saarc nations' fight against poverty and illiteracy, the challenge to progress in scientific field, and will open up avenues to provide opportunities to the youth of Saarc countries," Modi said.

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SPACE India’ s take on the launch:

SPACE India representatives were invited by media to commemorate and comment on the landmark PSLV launch. They quoted :

“The launch is another feather in the cap of ISRO and India, as the success makes us kind of main players in the market for launches at a reduced cost. It also makes ISRO more confident of moving towards its goal of manned missions to moon and space travel! “– Mr C.B Devgun, President SPACE Foundation

“The Launch of PSLV-23 with 5 international satellites is a great feat for India. India is one of the few nations which offers services of a commercial space carrier for satellites and is promoting space sciences on a global platform. It is a proud moment for India to see a role reversal where countries of the European Union are opting for the PSLV instead of their home built Ariane rocket. Another successful launch now brings the tally of launched foreign satellites to 40 which are more than what India has launched for itself using this rocket. This is another sign of how swiftly India has progressed to powerful and technologically advanced nation. This launch and other similar launches have opened up the window for young students to take up space sciences as a career choice in India and help the nation grow as powerful unit, a nation of the future.” – Rishabh Jain, Senior Educator, SPACE India

*News & image courtesy : Time Of India, Hindustan Times and Economics Times

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A S T R O I N Q U I S I T E S :Why does the Earth spin in one way and Venus in the other

Because very often one wonders why all planets in our solar system rotate on their own axis regardless of its size or composition. The answer to this is pretty simple: To conserve the angular momentum. The words might sound heavy, but the concept is actually very simple.

When the planets were formed, it was all due to gravity. Tiny particles smashed into each other as the force of gravitation attracted them together. With time, they formed bigger chunks and as the clump grew bigger, it attracted more mass towards it. The law of conservation of angular momentum says that as these objects move closer to each other the ratio of energy will shift. Same particles occupying a smaller area will have more spinning energy, just like when a figure skater moves her hands in and starts spinning rapidly. You can try the same on a rotating chair.

Activity:

Spread your arms and legs out and ask someone to spin the chair. Once in full speed, pull your arms and legs inside and feel the chair spinning faster.

This is due to conservation of angular momentum.

To slow down the speed of the chair, spread your arms and legs again.

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If people lived on Venus they would have thought Earth and all of the other planets are weird for rotating counter-clockwise. While observing from above, one can see that all of the other planets in our Solar System rotate counter-clockwise. On Venus, however, the rotation is backwards, or clockwise, which is called retrograde.

Retrograde is motion in opposite direction than the usual or expected rotation. For e.g. if earth rotates counter clockwise it is expected that a satellite also revolves around in counter clockwise but if it revolves clockwise then motion is retrograde. An interesting observation, standing on the surface of Venus, one would be able to see the sun rising from the west. After 116.75 days it would travel across the sky and then set in the east.

But further a question surfaces while looking at all the rotation patterns of the planets i.e. all planets rotate in counter clockwise direction as seen from earth but Venus rotates in opposite direction i.e. clockwise. Let’s first try to understand why Venus does that.

Many astronomers believe that the reason for this backwards rotation could be due to the impact of another large planet billions of years ago or may be some huge asteroid. They also speculate that the combined momentum between the two objects averaged out to the current rotational speed and direction. Furthermore, some astronomers say that the way a planet rotates relates to how it was formed during the accretion of planetesimals (small rocks and dust combining and impacting, forming planets during the formation of solar system). It will rotate accordingly, depending on which side more impacts occur. Another theory is that Venus’s rotation was once counter-clockwise when it first was created from the solar nebula, and tidal effects (gravitational effects) from the planet’s thick atmosphere might have possibly slowed down its rotation.

By : Neeraj LadiaEducator I SPACE

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GUEST ARTICLE : On Understanding UniverseBy Dr. Kumar Krishen

Expanding the boundaries of our knowledge to understand the birth, existence, and extinction processes of universe presents one of the greatest challenges of all times. This includes the understanding of time, space, matter, and life. Scientists have advanced the Big Bang theory as one of the most plausible explanations for the formation of universe. According to this theory, the entire universe was once confined to a small space; ten to the power minus fifty centimeters, the space of a nucleus, smaller than a pea, or smaller than an American dime. Time, space and matter all began with the Big Bang. For a time up to ten to the power minus forty three seconds there was grand unification of all forces characterized by the Planck epoch. At this time, the result of Big Bang was the separation of the gravitational force. This was followed by the separation of strong force at about ten to the power minus thirty five seconds. Finally, the weak and electromagnetic forces ‑became differentiated at ten to the power minus eleven seconds. At a time of about one micro second, protons, neutrons, and hadrons formed. This was followed by the formation of light elements; deuterium, helium, lithium, and hydrogen at about a second after the bang. From three minutes to about half a million years, matter dominated with recombination and the onset of gravitational instability. From then to now, the universe continues to expand with the formation of galaxies and black holes. The Big Bang march of time was also characterized by a fall of temperature from three times ten to the power of thirty one degrees Kelvin to about two point ‑seven six degrees Kelvin today

This explanation of the expansion of the universe is based on the shift of hydrogen lines toward red end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Also known as the Doppler shift, it allows the calculation of the Hubble constant, which is based on how fast the velocities of galaxies increase with their distance from Earth. Cosmologists using theoretical tools available to date estimate the age of the universe anywhere from seven to twenty billion years; ‑depending on the values of the parameters used in these models. More recently, some scientists have advanced the notion that time and space were created as a result of the Big Bang.

Dr Kumar Krishen is ST/Senior Scientist / Lead Technologist for the Technology Transfer & Commercialization Office, NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas.

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For many reasons, including the ones mentioned here, the Big Bang leaves difficult and unanswered questions behind. These range from cosmological red shift being caused by Compton Effect as opposed to Doppler Effect to some scientists maintaining that globular clusters in our galaxy are older than fifteen billion years. The measurements of Uranium content in stars shows the minimum age of the universe to be twelve billion years, whereas, the best measurements of the Hubble constant produce an age of about ten billion years. In this respect questions have been raised about the range of validity of the Hubble constant. Recent reports stating that the farther reaches of universe are accelerating at a faster rate has also added complexity to this thought. Another aspect of unknowns is that the survey of visible and luminous matter yields mass density of only one percent of the critical density of the matter in the universe. This has led to the cold dark matter and dark energy theories to account for the matter in the universe. Recent findings from the Hubble and Chandra telescopes show black holes with an age of about thirteen billion years and galaxies separating at larger rates than has been observed and assumed to date.‑ Astronomy and cosmology have engaged the inhabitants of India for more than five thousand years. The emphasis on Vidya or knowledge runs deep in this part of the world. Indeed, it has been said that knowledge makes it possible to break the cycle of Samsara (birth death rebirth) and the gift of knowledge is the greatest gift. In Nayaya philosophy, the means of ‑ ‑obtaining knowledge are given as Pramanas. These include Pratyaksha (sense perception), Khyati (awareness of relationship due to senses), Anumana (inference), Upamana (similarity), Paroksha (invisible/instinctive/intuitive), and Manaskara (mental concentration/meditation

One of the profound concepts advanced in India is that of Kala or time (see Appendix). Kala has been defined as the power that limits the existence of eternal elements in matter. The smallest time known as Truti is about one tenth of a ‑nano second. From this time there are four times defined before Tala, which can last from half to three fourths of a second. ‑ ‑Bharata, the writer of music and dance is said to have recognized more than twenty two Talas. From Tala five times are ‑identified before Kala, about forty eight seconds. Kala again appears after four more gradations in the scale of time. This time it is defined as the sense of appointed time/mealtime, from six to eight hours. Three definitions from this comes Pahsha, fifteen days.

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On the higher end, one Manush Varsha is defined approximately as three hundred and sixty five days. The time scales following this are Kali, Dvapur, Trita, and Satya Yugs. A Maha Yug is the combination of these four Yugs and is estimated to last four point thirty two million years. This is followed by the definitions of Mun Vantar, Kalpa, Brahma Varsha, and life of Brahma. This last time scale is about three hundred and fourteen trillion years. The integers appearing in this time scale are those of pi. This is a profound result as it points to continuity of the circular frame. Within the time scales from Truti to the life of Brahma, cycles of birth, existence, and annihilation are expected for matter and life. The larger of these cycles are known as Pralays. The largest of these cycles is the age of Brahma, at the end of which entire universe is destroyed and then recreated. It should be mentioned that the Indian method of calculations is based on revolution of moon around the Earth. However, some of the scales of time mentioned here have been confirmed using the movement of Earth around sun in the recent past.

According to the Indian calendar, the universe is going through Kali Yug at this time. The time left for the first Pralay (annihilation) is about two point three five billion years. This number is close to the number that corresponds to the loss of magnetic shield around Earth, expansion of Sun, and loss of solar light to a significant level based on modern theories of the activity of Sun. It will cause major extinction of Earth and therefore life on Earth. Within the context of Kala, the cycle of life is also expounded in the Indian philosophy. Brahma is said to be the creator of life. Scientists believe that Brahma could be the DNA/RNA that resides in every cell of living entities. Indeed, the literature says that Brahma resides in all living beings and originated from water. The thought of life takes on a series of manifestations as Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortise), Varaha (mammals), Narasimha (half human half animal), and Vamana ‑(short human). Higher forms of life follow this. Fossils found in India and Kenya are dated back to twelve to fourteen million years and indicate the existence of short humans. The recent findings from fossils found in Chad, point to the possibility of humans with some animal features. We find ourselves at a crossroad of the exploration of the universe with diverging views and a heap of questions before us. What then should be done? The answer may lie in casting the net larger where all possibilities are considered for discussion and introspection. It is here that the thoughts of the universe and life in it as expressed in the literature of India should be considered and investigated. One must ask, "Why were such thoughts expressed in India at that time?" So, Kala might hold a mighty hint for us to pursue!

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A S T R O N O M Y A T H O M E : Cardboard Constellation Slide Viewer

Through this activity, we will learn to make our own slide viewer which is very easy to make and use!

A slide viewer is a device with the help of which you can project photographs on a small screen. So it’s like your own personal projector

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Material Required

1. Electric tape-1

2. Glue-1

3. Scissor-1

4. Butter paper-1

5. Black chart paper-1

6. A-4 size Transparencies (Projector sheets)-1

7. Cardboard box-1

1

2 34

5

67

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Stepwise Procedure:

STEP 1 Take a cardboard box which is open from two sides. You can use empty perfume box and cut open its two opposite sides for this step.

STEP 2 Now wrap the cardboard box with the black chart paper.

STEP 1 STEP 2

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STEP 3 After wrapping the box, cut a slit in the cardboard box using a scissor. The slit has to be near to one of the open ends of the box. Also, make sure the slit should only three sides of the box only. The fourth side i.e. the base of the box should not be cut.

STEP 3(i) STEP 3 (ii)

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STEP 4 Now cover the open end which is near the slit with butter paper. This end will be pointed towards the light source while viewing the slide.

STEP 4 (i) STEP 4 (ii)

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STEP 5 Now for making the pictures, take a printout of the desired pictures on the transparencies. However, the size of the picture should be 1mm smaller than the size of box. This will help to view the complete picture when inserted inside the viewer.

STEP 5 (i) STEP 5 (ii)

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STEP 6 Cut the pictures in square shape from the A4 size transparency then make a frame for the picture using a black chart paper.

STEP 6 (i) STEP 6 (ii)

STEP 6 (iii)

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STEP 7 Now paste the picture inside the the frame to make a picture slide which will be inserted inside the viewer.

STEP 7

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STEP 8 Now insert the picture slide inside the slit of the cardboard viewer and point the butter paper side of the box towards the light source to see the image clearly.

STEP 8 (i) STEP 8 (ii)

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STEP 9 Below is the the picture of the scorpion constellation when seen from the slide viewer.

Submitted By:-Anveshika Bagga, Educator | SPACE

STEP 9

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