COVER STORY

WILL COMET ISON

KEEP ITS PROMISE?

From The News Desk Latest Updates On

UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL SPACE EVENTS ASTRO TOURISM

Astroinquisites

WHY SHOULD WE OBSERVE COMET

ISON?

S P A C E N E W S NOV’13

Monthly Newsletter of SPACE Group

Chief Editor : Sachin BahmbaEditors : Amit Verma & Divya Kanchanbaras

Astronomy At Home

COMET MAKING

Article by SPACE Educator

Comet ISON – How to observe it visually and

photographically

SPOTLIGHT EVENT

ALL INDIA ASTEROID SEARCH CAMPAIGN 2013 FELICITATION

CEREMONY

COMET ISONSPECIAL ISSUE

INDEXS NO TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL NEWS 3

2. ARTICLE BY SPACE EDUCATOR: Comet ISON – How to observe it visually and photographically

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3. EVENT NEWS 10

4. ASTROTOURISM NEWS 13

5. SPOTLIGHT EVENT : All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2013 Felicitation Ceremony

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6. SCHOOL IN FOCUS : Bal Bharti Public School, Rohini 16

7. SKY THIS MONTH 18

8. COVER STORY : Will Comet Ison Keep Its Promise?By guest writer - Biman Basu

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9. ASTROINQUISITES: Why Should We Observe Comet Ison? 24

10. ASTRONOMY AT HOME : Comet Making 26

11. SPACE India is Hiring! 31

UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL NEWS

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G.D GOENKA PUBLIC SCHOOL GURGAON

On 5th Oct students from Astronomy Club of G.D. Goenka Public School, Gurgaon conducted fun science activities like Safe Solar Observation, Work Display and Astronomy Quiz on the day of Parents Teacher Meeting in the school. Parents thoroughly enjoyed along with children.

INDRAPRASTHA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DWARKA

On 5th Oct students from Astronomy Club of Indraprashtha International School, Dwarka conducted activities like Safe Solar Observation, Observe the Universe in 3D, Stomp Rocket and Catch the Meteors on the day of Parents Teacher Meeting in school.

Students & Parents are observing Sun through Solar Goggles (above) & Telescope using solar filter (below)

A parent observing Sun through telescope using Solar Filter (above) and a student launching Stomp Rocket (below)

CENTER FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE - CSE

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INDRAPRASHTHA WORLD SCHOOL, PASCHIM VIHAR

On 19th Oct students from Astronomy Club of Indraprashtha World School, Paschim Vihar conducted activities like Craters making and Weigh yourself on other planets on the day of Parents Teacher Meeting in school.

BAL BHARATI PUBLIC SCHOOL, PITAMPURA

On 20th Oct students from Astronomy Club of Bal Bharti Public School, Pitampura conducted activities on the theme of Innovation like Evolution of Telescope, Model of Jantar Mantar, Model of Lunar Settlement, and Hydro Rocketry during an Annual Exhibition in the school.

A parent weighing herself on other planet (l) & student performing Crater making activity (r)

Students displaying Lunar Settlement (above) & Jantar Mantar Model (below)

To Have Fun With Astronomy & For UITS Updates

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SPACE ASTRONOMY CLUB

AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NOIDA

SPACE organized the Astronomy Day at Amity International School, Noida on 17th Oct, 2013. Students of SPACE clubs showcased their learning & interest towards astronomy on this day. They performed different activities like comet kitchen, hydrorocketry, time & direction using Sun, etc. Ms Rashmi Grover, Headmistress of the school was particularly impressed by the way students organized the event. Ms. Nivedita Verma Academic Coordinator said “The children really enjoyed the activities, very thoughtfully chosen and executed program.” Students put up stalls of different activities like, Hydro rocketry, Quiz, Solar System Walk, Movie, Photo Exhibition of club sessions and Comet Kitchen, etc on this day. Their active participation made this event a grand success.

A teacher observes the sun through a pin hole projector

Students taking part in Body Painting activity

Students projecting Sun image with the help of a telescope

Students showcasing comet making activity

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SPACE EXPLORERS SPACE conducted series of age-specific fun hands on astronomy workshops for various schools in Delhi & NCR during Oct’13 :

Student targeting lunar missions (l) & observing Moon through telescope during the workshop (r)

I. Destination Moon & Planet Watch at Cambridge Primary School, NFC for class 3rd – 5th on 9th Oct

II. Hydro Rocketry workshop at St. Mary’s School, Ghaziabad for class 9th-10th on 12th Oct

Students making (l) & launching (r) Hydro Rocket during the workshop

III. Astronauts can you be one of them? at Delhi Public School, Sushant Lok, Gurgaon for Class 3rd-5th on 19th Oct.

Students taking part in Lung Capacity Test (l) & Muscle Endurance Test activity (r)

IV. Solar Walk & Safe Solar Observation at The Air Force School, Subroto Park for Class 6th – 12th on 21st Oct.

Student observing Sun though Pinhole Projector (l) & Telescope using Solar Filter (r)

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Article : Comet ISON – How to observe it visually & photographicallyBy Rishabh Jain I Sr Educator SPACE

The buzz is everywhere. The comet of our lifetime is visiting us. Is it going to put up a spectacular show or is it going to go bust? Only time will tell.

This is a very small comet which was accidently discovered by two astronomers but it will go very close to the sun, so it is expected that it will show a long tail.

Here’s how you can observe it again and again over the small period of time its visible in the winter skies this year.

First of all you need some basic instruments to observe it (arranged in accordance to ease of use)

Unaided Eyes ( The best tool to observe objects in the sky, while they are bright )Magnetic Compass ( or a smartphone application that does that )Binoculars ( 8 x 50 at least )Small Telescope ( 76mm mirror/lens diameter or higher )

Now that you have any/all of these, you need to know where the comet is going to be in the sky.

A wise man says, just follow the given maps and start observing from the third week of November. The comet will take a round about the sun and will return back. (There are different maps for pre and post Perihelion – the closest approach to the sun)

To photograph it you will need the following (arranged in accordance to ease of use and cost)

Tripod ( must have, comes in handy for binoculars also )Point and Shoot Camera ( Normal Digital Camera/Phone Camera )DSLR Camera with a wide angle lensSky Tracker ( Astrotrac or similar )

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It is expected that the comet will get very bright. For the novice users, its best to wait it out till you start seeing the tail of the comet. For the advanced users with a good camera ( DSLR ) you can go full capacity with manually setting your camera. As the earth rotates, the stars in the images will tend to show a drag, which looks cool but if you want clockwork precision – sky trackers are available in the market. A few names are Polarie, Astrotrac, Orion.

It is essential to find dark sky to go for such shoots but the comet is expected to get very bright. Some estimates say that It is going to be visible during day time also. Woahhh!!

So get ready to hunt this comet down and capture it in your memories (Brain and Camera) forever

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EVENTS NEWS

PAST EVENT

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SALLY RIDE EARTHKAM

SPACE organized and conducted the Autumn Mission of Sally Ride ISS EarthKAM with Center for Students Excellence schools - Bal Bharti Public School - Pitampura, G.D Goenka Public School - Rohini, G.D Goenka Public School - Gurgaon, Indraprashtha World School - Paschim Vihar, Indraprashtha International School - Dwarka & Step by Step School - Noida as well as with several schools in Chandigarh from 22nd - 25th October, 2013. Workshops were conducted by SPACE experts at the above mentioned schools. Students targeted the images of USA, Canada, parts of Australia including Great Barrier Reef and Great Australian Bight, Mt Fuji in Japan, Egypt, various locations in India including - Gujarat, Nepal, Uttarakhand, Orissa & regions of geographical interest such as Sahara Desert and Mt. Fuji in Japan which will be taken by EarthKAM camera aboard ISS.

Image of Turkey taken by Chandigarh students, photographed by ISS EarthKAM

Islands in Indian Ocean taken by Step by Step, Noida, photographed by ISS EarthKAM

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WORLD SPACE WEEK (WSW)-EXPLORING MARS, DISCOVERING EARTH

WSW the “largest annual public space event on Earth” is an exciting International astronomical event organized by the United Nations General Assembly from October 4-10 every year. During the week SPACE conducted inter-schools painting competition for primary and middle level students in Delhi & NCR and for the 1st time with Chandigarh students. SPACE is the national coordinator of this “largest annual public space event on Earth”. The winners of the painting competition for Primary level are 1st Ananya Bansal- Amity International School, Saket; 2nd Rasmeet Singh Kohli- Lancers Convent & 3rd Chirag Sehgal- Sanskriti School. The winners for the Middle level are 1st Gaurav Pati- Amity International School, Pushp Vihar, 2nd Prasun Chaowdhary-Bal Bharati Public School, Gangaram Hospital Marg & 3rd Anuva Bajpai- Amity International School, Saket.

ONGOING EVENT

INTERNET TELESCOPE

SPACE is now the 1st ever organization in India, who have organised International project “Internet Telescope” independently with more than 100 schools & other organizations/institutes of India using Itelescope Facility as well as the one at Ironwood Observatory North in the US. This prestigious project of SPACE is a unique & rare experience for students to remotely control telescopes & click deep sky pictures. Started on 22nd Oct and this project will continue on 23rd Oct, 25th Oct, 29th Oct, 30th Oct, 01st Nov, 12th Nov, and will end on 13th Nov’13. This year a total of 40 sessions are going to be held at SPACE office, New Delhi.

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UPCOMING EVENT

For other upcoming celestial occurrences follow

SPACE CALENDAR

PROJECT PARIDHI

SPACE will conduct Project PARIDHI on 21st December’13, on Winter Solstice. It is the time at which the sun appears at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon.

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ST. THOMAS DWARKA TEACHERS GO ON A ASTRO WEEKEND GATEWAY AT ASTROPORT SARISKA!

73 teachers from St. Thomas School Dwarka along with SPACE Team Members went for a astro weekend gateway from Oct 18 – 20, 2013 at Sariska, Alwar. ASTROPORT is SPACE's new Sky Observation Facility Cum Research Centre at Sariska. The teachers accompanied by school principal Mrs. Sudha Kuruki were all excited for their pilot night sky training during the trip. The trip was conducted by Tour Director and SPACE Founding Chairman and Managing Director – Mr. Sachin Bahmba. Teachers were trained on basic telescope handling during the day. Later at night all the staff undertook night observation at Astroport. The sky was so clear, all the teachers were thrilled to view the constellations and planets so clearly! The teachers engaged in fun activities like fashion show, balloon games, bonfire etc. “It was a wonderful experience, need one more trip!” quoted one of the teachers.

ASTROTOURISM NEWS

To stay updated about latest Astro Tours

Group during the Safari Teacher looking through the telescope during Planet Watch

The group enjoying the Bonfire

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SPOTLIGHT EVENT – ALL INDIA ASTEROID SEARCH CAMPAIGN 2013 FELICITATION CEREMONY

The felicitation ceremony was inaugurated by Chief guest Dr N. Rathnasree, Director Nehru Planetarium, followed by a presentation on AIASC by Mr. C B Devgun, President SPACE, where he explained about the AIASC program, how to identify asteroids in the sky, etc. After the presentation, the asteroid discoverers had an interactive session via Skype with Dr. Patrick Miller, Director International Astronomical Union (Paris)” , during the session asteroid discoverers asked many questions to Dr. Miller which he answered graciously. Dr. Miller congratulated all the asteroid discoverers and SPACE for such remarkable achievement and effort.

Later on Mr. Amit Verma, CEO SPACE Technology & Education Pvt Ltd, along with Ms. Shalini Bahmba, Head Education Department - SPACE Technology & Education Pvt Ltd., Mr. Pankaj Bahmba, Director -Gnomon Astrotech Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. C B Devgun, President - SPACE Foundation gave away the awards and certificates to 60 Near-Earth Objects (NEO) observers. After that the preliminary asteroid discoverers received awards and certificates from Mr. Amit Verma and Mr. C B Devgun.

Post prize distribution a thanks note was delivered by Mr. Sachin Bahmba- Founding Chairman & Managing Director - SPACE Group, in which he congratulated schools, asteroid discoverers, principals and teachers for their remarkable achievement. Adding to this, Mr. Bahmba spoke about SPACE's Aryabhata project for MCD schools. He also invited all the schools to join in for "Million Twinkling eyes" project, to be a part of Mars, Planets observations on earth.

SPACE felicitated all the asteroid discoverers of All India Asteroid Search Campaign’13 during the AIASC'13 felicitation ceremony organised by SPACE at Radisson Blu Hotel Paschim Vihar, New Delhi. The ceremony was attended by 85 schools, principals, teachers, parents etc. More than 85 schools and around 170 students were present during the ceremony.

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Chief Guest Dr. N. Rathnasree, Director Nehru Planetarium and Mr. Sachin Bahmba presented awards and certificates to the Provisional asteroid discoverers. Dr. N. Rathnasree congratulated the asteroid discoverers and mentioned that how difficult it is to maintain uniformity in school/daily routine despite spending sleepless night for searching the asteroids.

Mr. Amit Verma closed the ceremony by a vote of thanks to all the participated schools, asteroid discoverers, principals and SPACE team. He announced the launch of a programme by SPACE for 2014-15 academic sessions, during which the students will be able to do digital learning celestial objects. He also introduced world 1st ever ASTROPORT in India by SPACE at Sariska, Rajasthan. At present globally there is no non- government site available. The Astroport will provide different astronomy activities like sky observation, astrophotography, meteorite observation, telescope making, Internet controlled observatory etc.

For the photographs of the event CLICK HERE

Provisional discoverers of AIASC'13 with Chief Guest Dr. N. Rathnasree, Director Nehru Planetarium, SPACE Group CMD Mr. Sachin Bahmba, Principal & teachers from Amity International School, Pushp Vihar, and Ryan International School, Sohna Road

SCHOOL IN FOCUS – BAL BHARTI PUBLIC SCHOOL, ROHINI

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The Astronomy Cub activities involve Night Sky observations, learning how to use equipments like Sun Dial, Planisphere, latitude finder, telescope etc.. Interaction with renowned scientists is also a part of this programme. The significant findings and explorations by the students are generously rewarded. Students were felicitated for preliminary Asteroid Hunt.

“The Astronomy Club in our School is becoming increasingly popular among the learners an the credit of this overwhelming response is attributed to SPACE (Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators) with whom we’ve been collaborated since the beginning.” - Sandhya Sachdev, TGT Science BBPS Rohini (Astronomy Cub Coordinator)

“With the Space, going Global, the Children are actively participating in the various activities offered and the visit to NASA is being looked up as another feather in their cap” - Bandhana Sharma, Vice Principal BBPS Rohini.

With a view to fulfill the persistent demand of residence of the vast residential complex of Rohini, The Child Education Society - the apex body of Bal Bharati Public Schools started the Rohini School in August‘1989. Meanwhile, the school has grown into a full fledged four section based composite Senior Secondary School affiliated to Central Board Of Secondary Education and the first batch of Class XII passed out of the School in 2002.

Since its inception in the year 1989 Bal Bharti Public School, Rohini has scaled several heights of success. Under the able guidance of Principal Ms. Rekha Sharma and Vice Principal Mrs. Bandhana Sharma the school’s academic and co- curricular progress has always been progressive. The school has several accolades to its name and accepts all new challenges in its stride. One such endeavor is the induction of Astronomy club in the School in association with SPACE since 2004. The astronomy club is an effort to satisfy the quest to explore. Its primary objective is to give wings to the dreams of our learners and inculcate in them the spirit of scientific inquiry. It also encourages the learning of a multitude of disciplines such as Astronomical Science, History, Geography etc.. Apart from theoretical training the students are given practical sessions wherein they apply the concepts of Space science to acquire new facts.

Ms. Rekha Sharma, Principal BBPS Rohini

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SCHOOL IN FOCUS – BBPS, ROHINI

Students of Astronomy Club BBPS Rohini in Action!!

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SKY THIS MONTH - Stay updated about the astronomical events of the sky for the month of November!

Constellations

Evening ( Dusk )North - Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Ursa MinorEast - Pisces, Andromeda, Pegasus, AriesWest - Hercules, Lyra, Corona BorealisSouth - Capricornus, SaggitariusZenith - Cygnus, Pegasus

Midnight North - Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Ursa Minor , PerseusEast - Taurus, Auriga, Orion, Cancer, GeminiWest - Pisces PegasusSouth - Cetus, LepusZenith -Perseus, Aries

Morning ( Dawn )North - Cassiopeia, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major,East - Gemini, Leo, Cancer, CraterWest - Taurus, Orion, Aries, Perseus, AurigaSouth - Orion, Canis Major, Canis MinorZenith - Cancer, Gemini

Moon Phases, November 2013New Moon – November 3, 12:50First Quarter – November 10, 5:57Full Moon – November 17, 15:16Last Quarter – November 25, 19:28

Follow our page to stay updated about Sky This Month

COVER STORY - WILL COMET ISON KEEP ITS PROMISE?By Biman Basu I Author, Science Communicator and Consultant

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Within weeks after a new comet was discovered in September last year by Russian astronomers VitaliNevski and ArtyomNovichonok on CCD images made with a 0.4-m telescope of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia, astronomers declared that it was going to become the ‘comet of the century’. The comet, named Comet ISON (C/2012 S1), is now racing towards the Sun for its perihelion on 28 November and all eyes are now turned towards it in anticipation of a spectacular show during November end or early December. But will it really live up to our expectations? Many astronomers are not convinced that it will. To find out why this uncertainty, it is necessary to know about comets in general.

DIRTY SNOWBALLS

A comet is an icy body made up of dust, ice, carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane and other constituents and are often described as ‘dirty snowballs’. Some researchers think comets might have originally brought some of the water and organic molecules to Earth that led to the appearance of life on our planet.

Most comets come from far reaches of the solar system – a region known as the Oortcloud, far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Some comets originate in a region known as the ‘Kuiper Belt’ that lies beyond the orbit of the gas giant Neptune. Occasionally a comet streaks through the inner solar system; some do so regularly, some only once every few centuries. Some comets, known as periodic comets, appear regularly after certain intervals, while others known as non-periodic comets appear only once, never to return again.

As a comet gets closer to the Sun, it warms up and the ice on the surface of the nucleus begins turning into gas, forming a cloud known as the ‘coma’. Radiation pressure from the Sun pushes dust particles away from the coma, forming the characteristic ‘tail’ of a comet. Some comets also sport an ion tail formed by ions created by the action of charged particles from the Sun on the comet’s gases. Since comet tails are shaped by the solar wind, they always point away from the Sun irrespective of whether the comet is moving towards or away from the Sun.

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Comets become visible when they pass close to the Sun when their comas and tails reflect sunlight or even glow because of energy they absorb from the Sun. They brighten up as they move closer to the Sun and fade away as they move further away from the Sun. However, most comets are too small or too faint to be seen without a telescope.

Comet Halley (1P/Halley) is a famous periodic comet that has been seen several times in recorded history, the last being during 1985-86. In the past century, a score of comets brighter than Comet Halley have been discovered. Yet, most comets appear without warning and are not seen again. Many are periodic comets like Comet Halley, which returns every 76 years or so. But the cycle of most periodic comets are extremely long (thousands or even scores or hundreds of thousand years). For example, the bright Comet Bennett (C/1969 Y1) that lit up the morning skies in 1970 will return in 17 centuries, and the spectacular Comet West (C/1975 V1) will reappear in about 500,000 years. Among the comets that can easily be seen with the unaided eye, Comet Halley is the only one that returns in a single lifetime. More than 200 comets whose periods are between 3 and 200 years are known, but they are or have become too faint to be readily seen without the aid of telescopes.

APPEARANCE AND BEHAVIOUR

The physical appearances and behaviors of comets are as varied as the appearances and behaviors of people; no two are alike. The brightness and visibility of a comet depend upon the amount of material it contains, which often determines the extent of the tail it sports, and the closeness of its approach to both the Sun and Earth. In some comets the tail may be almost non-existent while others may sprout extensive tails.

How bright a comet becomes depends on several factors. Among them is the size and composition its nucleus. This part of a comet, usually only a few kilometers across, is gradually warmed by the Sun’s heat as the comet approaches the Sun and expels gas and dust into space, often in distinct jets. A comet’s activity increases rapidly as it draws closer to the Sun; the brightness typically varies (roughly) as the inverse fourth power of its solar distance.

The brightness and apparent size also depend the comet’s distance from Earth. A comet of average size can appear stupendously large and bright if it passes very close to Earth. A case in point is Comet Hyakutake (C/1995 Y1) that appeared in 1996. Coming to within 15 million kilometers of Earth, it reached zero magnitude and was accompanied by a tail stretching out nearly 100° as seen from Earth.

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One of the most legendary letdowns in the history of astronomy happened exactly 40 years ago, in 1973, when the world awaited the arrival of comet Kohoutek (C/1973 E1), discovered by Czech amateur astronomer Luboš Kohoutek early that year. Once the orbit was plotted, astronomers knew that the comet was a first time visitor to the inner solar system and expected it to brighten up sharply after perihelion. But Kohoutek was a dud, never rising to the expected brightness, though it became a modest naked-eye object. Some astronomers feel Comet ISON may also behave in a similar manner. What is more, ISON will pass much closer to the Sun than Kohoutek did and so astronomers may even be able to see its layers come apart like peeling open an onion, using powerful and diverse collection of space and ground based telescopes available today.

But if Hyakutake had approached no closer than Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1), which was 196 million kilometers from Earth, it would have appeared no brighter than magnitude +6; that is, as bright as the faintest star visible to the naked eye. Conversely, if Hale-Bopp had passed Earth as closely as Hyakutake, it would have blazed at magnitude –6 (3 times brighter than Venus) with a tail stretching across the entire sky!

Comet ISON is classified as a Sun-grazing comet, which means it will pass very close to the Sun. As it gets nearer the Sun it is speeding up and will make its closest approach to the Sun, or perihelion, on 28 November 2013 at a distance of only 0.01244 AU (1.2 million km) from the surface of the Sun. In fact, at that distance it will actually pass through the Sun’s outer atmosphere and its surface temperature may exceed that of molten iron (1,538°C). The doubts about the comet’s future arise from this close encounter. If ISON manages to stay in one piece after perihelion, it could put on a memorable sky show around that time. It may emerge as an easy-to-spot, bright early morning object in the eastern sky. Alternatively the comet’s nucleus may disintegrate into a cloud of rubble and ice. In this worst possible case, the comet will rapidly become a dim and fuzzy blob to observers – far from becoming the comet of the century.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this photo of Comet ISON on 9 October 2013, when the comet was inside Mars’ orbit and about 285 million kilometres from Earth. The nucleus of ISON appears to be intact. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)]

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COMET ISON VISIBILITY

Currently, Comet ISON is brightening up as it nears its late November perihelion and is expected to reach unaided eye visibility about three weeks before the 28 November perihelion date. During the month, ISON will pass very close to the bright star Spica (mag. +1.4) and the planet Saturn (mag. +0.7), both in the constellation Virgo and will be visible just before sunrise in the eastern sky. These two bright objects might help in finding the comet.

There has been some mention that Comet ISON could become a daylight object, briefly. However, at perihelion Comet ISON will appear too close to the Sun in the sky (only 4.4° north of the Sun on 28 November). Although the comet will be bright, it is likely that only experts, who know how to look near the Sun while blocking the Sun’s glare, may be able to it. Amateurs should take care to avoid looking directly at the Sun while looking for the comet.

December is likely to be the best month to see Comet ISON, assuming it survives its close pass near the Sun intact. The comet will be visible both in the evening sky after sunset and in the morning sky before sunrise. The best views could be between 10 and 14 December, when the comet will be best seen just before dawn after the Moon sets.

Comet ISON 16 -26 Nov

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But at that time it may be that little or perhaps nothing of the head will remain and only the huge tail will loom in the eastern sky. During December, the comet will also be visible in the evening. After sunset, just look to the west, or the north-west, and the comet can be seen shining above the horizon in that direction. As ISON’s distance from the Sun increases, it will grow dimmer.

If it survives perihelion, Comet ISON may still be visible in January 2014, and if visible, it will be only 2° from Polaris on 8 January. Interestingly, on the night of 14-15 January 2014, after the comet itself has passed, its debris might produce a meteor shower, or at least some beautiful night-shining or noctilucent clouds as Earth sweeps through the comet’s orbit. But it is still too early to predict how Comet ISON will behave after perihelion. We can only keep our fingers crossed and be prepared to see the comet during late November and early December.

Comet ISON 1-17 Dec

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ASTROINQUISITES Q. Why should we observe comet ISON?

ANSWER: This year, amateur and professional astronomers worldwide are eagerly anticipating comet ISON. Everyone is getting ready with their binoculars and telescopes to observe it. But, have you ever thought why everyone is so excited about it?

So, let’s find out what’s the magic behind comet ISON.

I. ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST COMETS: From the recent studies done on comet ISON, it is hoped that it will be one of the brightest comet of the century. Comet ISON certainly has the potential to reach significant brightness similar to that of the "Great Comet of 1680", which was visible even in daytime and developed a spectacularly long tail. But, astronomers always had a tough time when it comes to predicting comet behavior. Many "Comet of the century" candidates eventually turned out to be great disappointments.

II. ONE TIME COMET: It is estimated that Comet ISON will be seen for the first and the last time this year. It will cross the solar system in 2014 and will never come back as it doesn’t revolve around the Sun periodically (in scientific terms, it is a long period comet). So, this is our first and the last chance to observe it and we are lucky to get such opportunity.

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III. OBSERVED BY SPACE MISSIONS ON MARS: ISON was the first comet in human history to be observed from more than one planet, on 1 October 2013, the comet passed about 0.072 AU (10.8 million km) from Mars. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter made some images with its HiRISE instrument starting on 29 September 2013.

IV. It is going very near to the Sun: Like every other comet ever observed, Comet ISON is speeding up as it gets nearer the Sun. Comet ISON will make its closest approach to the Sun, or perihelion, on 28 November 2013 at a distance of only 1.2 million km (about 750 000 miles) from the surface of the Sun. This orbit will actually take the comet through the Sun’s outer atmosphere and its surface temperature may exceed that of molten iron (1538 °C). If the comet survives this very close encounter, it may emerge as an easily spotted early morning object.

So, Get Ready To Observe The “Comet Of The Century”!

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ASTRONOMY AT HOME Comet Making

This time we are going to make a Comet. But before that we must know what a Comet is?

A Comet is an icy small Solar system body that, when passing close to the Sun, heats up and begins to outgas, displaying a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. A Comet is also known as a “Dirty Snowball” or in Hindi we call it a “Keechad ka lodoo”.

The solid, core structure of a comet is known as the nucleus. Cometary nuclei are composed of an amalgamation of rock, dust, water ice, and frozen gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia. It also consist a very important nutrient for a body to develop i.e. proteins.

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Now, let’s start with our Comet. First of all arrange the following material

2 cups Mud3 cups waterDoctor/Laboratory gloves2 bottle caps Soya Sauce1 bottle cap Ammonia/Colin3 cups Dry Ice

PROCEDURE:

Before you start making the comet, you need to wear the doctor/laboratory glovesas it will be required while handling the dry ice.

STEP 1 - Add 2 cups of Mud to a Zip lock bag and add 3 cups of Water to make thick slurry. Mud is added to stimulate dust component in the comet.

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STEP 2 - Add 1 bottle cap of Ammonia to the slurry. Liquid ammonia is added for simulating the Ammonia Ice in the comet. You can also use Colin or any other surface cleaning liquid as they contain ammonia

STEP 3 - Proceed further by adding two bottle caps of Soya Sauce and mix the slurry to make it homogenous. The Soya Sauce is a good source of Proteins hence amino acids.

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STEP 4 - Make a neck by holding the bag at the point where slurry occupies volume leaving no space for air.

STEP 5 - Put 2 cups of powdered Dry Ice in the cone formed above. It is added to simulate carbon-dioxide ice in the comet.

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STEP 6 - Release the neck and while holding the bag from the base make a cup shape to give structure to the comet

STEP 7 - Add more dry ice or water if needed. Also, empty the bag of its Constituents and let the comet mature

PRECAUTIONS:•MAKE SURE TO WEAR THE GLOVES AT ALL TIMES WHILE HANDLING THE MATERIAL BEFORE AND AFTER THE COMET IS MADE AS DRY ICE CAN CAUSE SEVERE BURNS•POWDER THE DRY ICE JUST BEFORE THE COMET HAS TO BE MADE•DRY ICE IS AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT -60 DEGREES AND INSTANTLY FREEZES THE SLURRY THAT IS WHY IT SHOULD BE PUT IN THE END•DRY ICE & AMMONIA HANDLING SHOULD BE STRICTLY UNDER ADULT SUPERVISION

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We have been expanding very rapidly, and offer scope for rapid growth. We value entrepreneurial attitude and a result oriented approach. Above all, we are passionate and sincere about improving the science education scenario in India and the world. If you are interested in a satisfying career helping define what learning can be, then do apply to us. CURRENT CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Operations Manager - Travel : 1 PositionDepartment : AstrotourismLocation : New Delhi Educator : 3 PositionDepartment : EducationLocation : Chandigarh Educator : 3 PositionDepartment : EducationLocation : West Delhi Assistant Manager - BDM : 2 PositionDepartment : Marketing Location : PAN India

Executive/ Sr. Executive - Client Relationship : 4 PositionDepartment : Sales & Marketing Location : Gurgaon & South Delhi PR Executive : 1 PositionDepartment : Marketing Location : New Delhi Web Designer : 1 PositionDepartment : IT Location : New Delhi

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK OF COMPANY WEBSITE TO SEE THE JOB DETAILS:

SPACE INDIACompany Website

S P A C E G R O U P

WEBSITESwww.space-india.com www.space-india.org

www.universeintheschool.com www.spacearcade.in www.leoplanetaria.com

www.eclipsechasers.in www.astronomica.in

Follow Us On

Twitter Id: org_space LinkedIn Id: SPACE India

EMAIL US AT: getintouch@space-india.com WZ-19 ASALATPUR, A3 BLOCK JANAK PURI,

NEW DELHI-110058PH: +91-11-45086320, 25522193