The Hindu : New Delhi News : A grand spectacle for star-gazers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 20, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

A grand spectacle for star-gazers

Staff Reporter

Lunar Occultation of Antares to take place on Monday night Interested people can also register at the Planetarium by 6 p.m. for a session that will include lectures and activities related to the occultation observations to be followed by moon observations with telescopes

NEW DELHI: Nehru Planetarium's month-long moon carnival is all set for a grand finale this coming week with star-gazers getting the chance to observe the Lunar Occultation of Antares on Monday night.

On the said night, the moon will be passing the star of Antares or Jyestha in the Scorpio constellation, presenting a spectacle that will be accessible to people with the help of simple instruments like the binoculars.

Explaining the concept of lunar occultation, Director of Nehru Planetarium, N. Rathansree, pointed out that a lunar occultation is the passing of the moon in front of any distant celestial object - a planet, a distance star or other solar system objects. Of these, the passage of the moon in front of the naked eye planets or bright stars is an event that is most accessible to people, she revealed.

While noting that the occultation of a star by the moon is a more useful event than that of a planet, Ms. Rathnasree said: "The usefulness lies in the fact that every bit of data related to such events - the exact timing of such an event observed from an exact location on earth, goes into the modelling and determination of the lunar limb profile, the exact contour of valleys and mountains around the visible disk of moon.''

Full moon day

Falling a few days before full moon day, the grand spectacle will see the moon move in front of the Antares star in the Scorpion constellation at 11.02 p.m., with the occulted star reappearing from behind the moon at 22 minutes past midnight, as seen from Delhi.

While the exact timings for the viewing will not vary too much from one location to another, in case people are unable to obtain predictions for their locations, they can start observing the moon from around 10.45 p.m. Viewing the moon through a pair of binoculars may start showing the star Antares in the field of view in a short span of time.

To time the event, one will have to wait for the exact moment when the star moves behind the moon and then wait for the reappearance timed for about one hour and 20 minutes after that.

Interested people can also register at the Planetarium by 6 p.m. for a session that will include lectures and activities related to the occultation observations to be followed by moon observations with telescopes. In the Capital, the disappearance time of the moon is 11.02.37 p.m., while the reappearance is at 00.22.56 a.m.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi