The Hindu : New Delhi News : Popularising solar eclipse

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Tuesday, Apr 21, 2009
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New Delhi

Popularising solar eclipse

Madhur Tankha

NEW DELHI: To popularise the total solar eclipse that crosses the country on July 22, Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum is giving sky-watchers an opportunity to win fame as well as handsome cash prizes for designing an eclipse souvenir.

Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum, the eclipse arm of the non-government organisation Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE), has announced that the eclipse souvenir will be displayed in all banners, websites, communication and national promotions of TSE-2009 by SPACE.

The eclipse art will be printed on eclipse souvenirs and distributed all over the country with credit due to the creator.

Selected entries will be displayed in a gallery on the website www.eclipsechasers.org

Century’s longest

According to SPACE president C.B. Devgun, the purpose behind the whole exercise is to promote and popularise the total solar eclipse. “This will be the longest eclipse of this Century. And we at SPACE want to create curiosity in the minds of amateur astronomers towards this celestial event,” he said.

Mr. Devgun says participants will have to use eclipse as the central theme in designing the souvenir. “They can use the sunset hues present around the horizon during an eclipse. They must also bear in mind that there must be an Indian-ness in the design of the souvenir, for example using historical Indian monuments like Mahabodhi temple, Sher Shah Suri’s mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar or the Charminar….,” he added.

Participants can also use any humorous or witty texts and even make a caricature. They can be at their creative best.

To help them, the organiser have prepared a gallery of few photographs which can be browsed at www.eclipsechasers.org/contestgallery.html

Prerequisite

Though the competition is open to all and entry is free, the essential prerequisite of competing is that the participant must come out with original work. Entries can be submitted on an actual T-shirt, cap, coffee mug or in digital form in a CD. However, the eclipse art must not exploit or offend anyone’s sex, race, religion, morality or culture.

While submitting an entry, participants can use any paint medium like acrylic paint, water colours or get a T-Shirt digitally printed.

Participants can enter as many entries as they want and the deadline for submissions is May 30. The contest result will be announced on June 20.

Entries can also be sent by e-mail at sunita.m@stepl.org or eca@eclipsechasers.org

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