Astro-Night at Mahajana College

Mysuru: The Department of Physics and Department of Geography at SBRR Mahajana First Grade College, Jayalakshmipuram, Mysuru, had organised Astro-Night event recently at its Jagadish Prasad Stadium.

 Vasant Hegde, Vice-Principal, Wisdom PU College, Kuvempunagar, who was the resource person, spoke about planetary alignments and space-related topics. The event also included discussions on cosmology, space exploration and mythology.

The main attraction was the celestial viewing session, where participants observed the Moon. Through the lens of the telescope, participants marvelled at the intricate features of it, unveiling its rugged terrain and ancient craters.

Vasant provided insightful commentary, shedding light on the geological history of Earth’s natural satellite.

The phases of Venus planet were also shown and explained by the speaker. Amidst the twilight, Saturn and its rings were shown for a short time before it set below the horizon.

Looking at Jupiter and 4 of its biggest Moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, was one of the biggest highlight of the event. People also enjoyed seeing Mars, the red planet, which is our neighbour.

As the grand finale, the telescope turned towards the Orion Nebula, a celestial cradle where stars are born.

Attendees were spellbound by the swirling clouds of gas and dust, a testament to the perpetual cycle of creation and destruction in the cosmos. Many attendees, especially children, showed great interest in the observations and asked various questions about space and science.

Dr. B.R. Jayakumari, Principal, SBRR Mahajana First Grade College, Dr. S. Poornima, Head, Department of Physics, Dr. S. Somashekar, Head, Department of Geography, V. Gayathri, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, student coordinators Abhay Muralidhar, S. Shreenidhi, K.S. Samudyatha, N.D. Jeevan and S. Chethan, teaching, non-teaching staff and students along with localites  attended the event.