Stargazing

Thanks Aadil

I have used a telescope at Kufri near Shimla. It was very dark, but the dew kept fogging the corrector plate of my telescope. Uttaranchal seems promising but probably after the monsoons. I am sure Ladakh with its altitude will be great. I hope the airport staff do not trouble me too much with my equipment.

Milan

Interesting thread.... A question... Has anyone tried to use one of the Jantar Mantar observatories for their intended purpose? Will have to take an accurate watch next time and try to figure it out.. With all the light pollution sun and moon are probably the only things that will be visible, at least in Delhi.

Getting back to celestial navigation, I once tried a zero altitude sight (sun set) when the horizon was especially clear.
Compared results to Sat-Nav (before GPS) on the bridge and my mid ocean LOP was only 6 miles off.

The little GPS receivers are certainly a wonder of technology, and there have been times when I wished I'd brought one to India after wandering into terra incognita...

W22

Folks... it seems we already have a sub forum for Astronomy... looking at the rate this thread is progressing.

We could ask nadreg for a separate heading

Milan, I have been to a plateau called Suryamaal [alt 2400 feet] some 4 hours drive from Mumbai, and the sky was very dark. Just a few patches of light seen very near the horizon. I saw a comet [forget the name][schumaker levy?] on a new moon day and could see the tail some 35 arc degrees long !!
,
,

They're supposed to be incredibly accurate.

http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/dream/dec99/article1.htm

I knew this would come in handy one day

SOme details of the Jantar Mantar there, too.

Hi Avid trekker,

If you saw the comet last winter, it would have be comet McNaught. It was apparently quite a spectacular show and one of the finest for many years.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/...naught_prt.htm

I missed it completely.

A subforum would be nice, provided it does not take away from the central purpose of this site. Something like astro tours and travels

Good article Capt Mahajan. I guess, Hanle in Ladakh gives India a great advantage, quite similar to the observatories in the Andean plateau. Unfortunately being near the border, I cannot see it emerging as a major observatory.

Milan

I recently visited the one in Varanasi on the banks of the Ganga river and they have the instruments in the open on a terrace of the Mahal (Palace)where anyone can go and use them (in the daytime only!!!). Also beautiful to see the ceilings painted and the carvings on the wooden windows and balconies. Lots of monkeys playing around on the instruments so be careful as they are known to attack if you move into their territory!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

I was told by someone who recently took a flight to Leh that you are not allowed any hand baggage, if this is true then you better be careful if you place your telescope in the checked baggage. Ladakh should possibly be dry as it is above the moisture probably. Check with the weather on Wunderground for the humidity there.

Cheers,
Aadil.

Yeah Aadil

I am aware of this strange rule about handbaggage. That is why I am carring a small refractor, it being much sturdier than a reflector or a catadioptric. No hassle of collimating it at the site, or of cooling down times as well. I checked out the wunderground site (thanks for the link), and it says that humidity in areas around leh is about 50% which I think is quite low. So hoping for clear and dew free observing.

Milan

Great stuff, Capt. Some interesting observations on the value of cultural interaction too, if I may say so.

Oh yes. That, IMHO, has always been India's historical strength . Absorb all influences, change them and yourselves but remain Indian.

Mathematical and such influences have been absorbed from far and wide.

Still happening today. Once again, the world is coming to India for economic reasons, but bringing other stuff too.

Including (sorry, can't resist) Walmart

Heheh, quite. Mall shopping will never be the same

Femall shopping may be affected too...

It was the winter of 1996 / 97. I seem to recall Schumacher Levy, tho my memory could be misplaced. I missed the comet McNaught completely...
We have lotsa subforums, and they add to the general flavour... not to worry about "tours" they are all over the site

Personally i have witnessed TSE "tours" only... have yet to see a general sky gazing approach to "astro tours and travels" in India at least. Our own IMer aadil was / is [?] the main person at Amateur Astronomers Assn (mumbai) and the "tours" were mostly TSE tours. (please correct me if i am seriously wrong, aadil) The AAA regularly used to sky gaze every Sat night from Wangni (outside mumbai) but that's not a "tour" in the sense we discuss here.

Hi AvidTrekker

If it was 96-97 the comet was Hale-Bopp, the only one I have ever seen with a naked eye.
Here is a link to it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale-Bopp

Rajasthan would be another good site for amateur astronomers, but I have heard that they have too touristy an approach now a days. I felt it when I last went there in 1993. And that was nearly 14 years ago!

Milan