Abhinav Times

Astrophotography is photographing objects in the night sky such as the moon, the planets, constellations etc. These objects are pretty dim, except for the moon. This presents certain challenges and therein lies the fun. Advanced amateurs often use digital cameras with manual settings to overcome these challenges. Here I am going to talk about beginners who have only a decent mobile camera to work with. I assume a minimum of 32 megapixel camera with an app allowing for manual settings for exposure, ISO, etc. And yes, this piece is for the completely uninitiated, hence the simple language. The challenges with a mobile camera Objects being dim means that they give very little light compared to daylight. Although our eyes can see them (because by some accounts, our eyes are a few hundred Gigapixel cameras) the camera sensors cannot. This often results in the object being invisible in the photograph. Objects being small makes it difficult for the sensors to pick up the light. Camera senso...

  ~Anvi Patil(X th A Abhinav Vidyalay) In the universe, there is about 25% of dark matter and 70% of dark energy but only 5% of it is visible. What is Dark Matter? It is a non-luminous material, which holds two galaxies. This cannot be called a black hole because it does not bend light. Then the question arrives, as it is non-luminous, how did we detect it? As it is not visible, scientists have found indirect methods to find more about it. One such method is by using the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope . Gamma rays are released when two particles of dark matter collide, Fermi telescope can be used to detect this collision. This topic was discovered by Fritz Zwicky in the 1930s, he discovered that galaxies were rotating at a faster rate than usual. A dark region seen in the foreground of a star field. This dark region could be a dark cloud of gases like hydrogen, left over from the formation of our galaxy Dark matter is called ‘dark’ not because it is ‘black’ but because it does...

  By Toral Parasiya [Xth Abhinav Vidyalay] Pc- Brian Koberlein What is Astronomy? It is a study of the matter outside our Earth’s surface and atmosphere such as planets, stars, comets, galaxies, black holes, etc. It is one of the oldest branches of sciences. It tries to find the answer to our existence in this universe.It is based on proven theories and not on any beliefs or assumptions. Importance of Astronomy It is used to measure the time, navigate the oceans and mark the seasons. Inventions in astronomy have made possible mobile technology, internet, weather systems, etc possible. To answer the big questions like “How was the universe created?”, “Where do we come from?”, etc. To know about the celestial dangers which can destroy humanity on Earth. Why I like Astronomy I still remember I was in 3rd std when we had our first chapter related to astronomy in science textbook which was ‘Our Solar System’, I already loved science as a subject so before the teacher started teaching t...

Shruti Iyer (Std X) & Chitra Adkar (Std IX) How will our universe end? Why can’t we communicate with our fellow extraterrestrials if a Hritik Roshan can befriend Jadoo in Koi Mil Gaya? Our textbooks fabulously elaborate on the enormity of our universe yet such questions remain unanswered. I wish I could wind back time and take you to the Abhinav premises in the first week of November and you would have seen 8, tired, weary faces, dripping with perspiration, yet displaying the vigour to answer such questions with graphs, equations and logical explanation . These 8 faces belonged to some of the most adorable places of India like Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar, Pune Delhi, Allahbad etc. and were representing India in the 11th international astronomy Olympiads which was hosted this year by leading scientific institutions like BARC, TIFR and HBCSE wherein more than 20 countries had been participating. The jury for the Indian team was Mr. Kedar Soni (Astronomer and Director of Abhinav Vidyalay an...