A NIGHT THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER ‘CURIOUS LITTLE MINDS AND MYSTERIOUS COSMOS’…
Since the beginning of time and human expedition called life, curious brains and instincts always wondered what lies beyond the grasp of our little blue home, EARTH. Let it be Eratosthenes, Ptolemy, Galileo or Newton, the human curiosity has led our race to a point in time where not only we see the skies but also are able to stare in the eyes of the universe and say,
‘You are no longer a mystery to me; I am a part of you and let me see’
It is our obligation to the initiative of our ancestors, that we carry on the legacy and continue our search and exploration of the known universe with ever advancing technologies and increased thirst for the cosmic knowledge.
On 4th November 2011, a group of 60 curious little minds, from St. Mary’s School, Dwarka geared up for the exciting journey of Night Sky Observation to understand and look at the mighty universe, accompanied by their school teachers and ZLIFE Educators. Our journey started from the school in Dwarka at around 1600 hrs, from where we boarded the Buses to accelerate our Endeavour towards our camp, ‘THE MUSTANG’ in the breezy and lively Aravalli hills in outskirts of New Delhi. Children were excited and so was I. A student came to me and asked me why we need to go to the camp, why can’t we just set our telescopes in our school, we can save allot of fuel and might help reducing the pollution. A very simple yet honest approach towards the safety of our otherwise endangered environment. I took a moment and replied, ‘To view the sky at night in such a way that we see the stars and other heavenly bodies perfectly, we need a place free from earthly illumination. In Delhi we have light coming out of vehicles, homes and mainly the street lights, this light when hit the ground gets reflected towards the sky, partially paralyzing and obstructing the light coming from the universe. The camp where we are going is free of this illumination hence we will be able to see the skies in the full light.’ He understood instantly and sat next to me with excitement in his eyes, probably in his heart too. We took a short stoppage at fun and food village to pick up some 15 students who were the part of our little amateur astronomy enthusiasts. 1730 hrs we met our ZLIFE CAMP colleague at the rendezvous point, 200 meters away from the camp. We marched towards the main gates of the camp in a well disciplined manner. We were excited!
THE CAMP was surrounded by the beautiful mountain range and lively ambience that we hardly get acquainted to, in Delhi. There was a rocky walk towards the camp and in front of the main gate was a beautiful temple of Lord Shiva. We stood at the main gates and took our time to nurture our eyes with the beauty of the surrounding temple, mountains, cool fresh air, pumping oxygen right into our already excited hearts and brains. A student shouted ‘wow Sir’ this place is beautiful’ and inside my mind I said ‘Son, wait till you see the camp from inside’. Main gates opened and students get the first look inside the camp. It was an outstanding view of nature at its best with a hint of human technological advancement. there is a large lounge area and several adventure sport build ups like rock climbing wall and obstacle courses. accompanying the landscape, is a huge play ground which can be used for many outdoor games. there were camps/tents pinned to the ground covered with luscious greenery and sorrounded by beautiful hedges and flower beds. we went inside the premises and soon students were then briefed about the camp and the safety measures (as the lights will be minimum as the dawn approaches till the illumination of dusk'.
After the briefing, kids and the respective teachers were guided towards their respective camps (each camp contained 5 bedding areas) where they changed into comfortable outfits and freshen up. till 1900 hrs, students were allowed to get acquainted to the sorroundings and let themselves free in the nature's arms.
At 1900 hrs, the NIGHT SKY OBSERVATION session started with curious students as the listners and excited educators as the speakers.
Orientation session started at 1915 hrs. children were told about the basics of night sky observations and the best possible ways to make it a success. they were taught about the things like Light Pollution, Horizon, Geographical Directions, Celestial Sphere, Motion of Stars, Motion of Planets, Sun on Ecliptic, Position of Stars from different locations, Constellations and local Coordinates.
Excitement of the kids took a new turn when they were told that within a few minues after the orientation session, they are about to see the moon and the planet Jupiter through a nice 6'' Newtonian reflector telescope available at the ZLIFE facility.
At around 1945 hrs, students were briefed about the telescope and later they observed the moon and Jupiter one by one. they were given a log sheet in which they were to draw all the celestial bodies they were about to see, it was the part of inter clup competition.
At around 2030 hrs, kids were taken into the lounge area for the dinner. but before the dinner they played several fun pill games.The dinner arrived, time to dig in. there was a nice salad, with toppings, Shahi Paneer, Dal, yogurt and mouth watering dessert. food was appreciated by all whether the educators, students or even the teachers.
The excursion continued after the dinner followed by a much needed break. at around 1030hrs, Educators gathered the students and briefed them about the PLANISPHERE and various exciting facts about the earth and the universe.
Students were told about the inventory required (torches covered with red celophane papers) a couple of weeks ago and now was the time for them to get their inventory set and understand the basic use and concept of using the mentioned items.
Finally the time came when we were about to go outside under the eyes of god and to stare at the countless stars making distinguished constellations and and several nebulae and star clusters. although the sky was not very clear due to the smog, but it was good enough for our adventure. students were ready with their props (planisphere and the torches).
After a break at around 0100hrs, we took the kids out in the ground where they were acquainted with the atmospheric conditions and the way to locate themselvs using the POLARIS. they were shown the constellations of the winter sky like ORION, CASSIOPEIA, LEO, GEMINI, TRIANGULAM, CANIS MAJOR, CANIS MINOR, etc. they were briefed about the myth and the history of the constellations, their stars and the facts about the stars. later with the telescope they saw the ORION NEBULA and with the help of binoculars, PLEIDES, the seven sisters cluster.
Instead of being sleepy at around 3:00AM in the mornings, many were still ready to continue thier adventure with brief pauses and tea/ coffee breaks.
SKETCH WHAT YOU SAW' competition sheet was getting filled up by them with all the objects they saw today. excitement? the atmosphere was full of it..
At around 4:00am in the morning, kids submitted their previous assignments and gave nice and well prepared presentations on the topic ELECTRO MAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
Later we showed them their way around a software named 'STELLARIUM' which help astronomers to locate the stars and other heavenly bodies in the night sky at any particular date and time.
Now the exhausion and tiredness was taking its virtue upon the little brains and fortunately we were done with our session..
At around 0500hrs kids went for their cat nap in their respective and cozy tents.
The relief because of a good session, was their on the faces of teachers and respective staff of ZLIFE
MISSION ACOMPLISHED..
0600 hrs, children were up and about. freshened up and all packed, they were ready to bid AU REVOIR to their beloved camp mustang.
After a nice breakfast, we bid our good bye to the camp at 0630 hrs and boarded our buses to head back to our cozy homes, some were sleeping and some were sharing their views about the adventure we had last night.
Although the camping experience is cold and hostile for many fragile beings, yet last night a ray of happiness and warmth of excitement kept the sorroundings lively.
We learned, we saw and we admired...... our Night Sky Observation at ZLIFE's CAMP MUSTANG.
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