Astro NITR

Do you ever feel you need more time to finish up? 24 hr is just not enough. Good news! The earth is slowing down and days are getting longer. Scientists analyzed thousands of years of eclipse data and found that the day has been getting longer which was later verified using atomic clock. Analysis of this theory with Astrochronology makes more sense.

Credits:-
Content: Abhiram Biswal

Starting again on a journey around our Star, here we go again on the path travelled by our ancestors. But this time, we are preparing for a new beginning; to do things differently each time on the same path. Trying to improve; become stronger than our past selves, we start yet another new year. COVID-19 left humanity scarred, reminding us how helpless we can be amidst the ruthlessness of the universe. So, ASTRO-NITR wishes you a Happy New Year 2021, where we wish to recover with ignited minds fueled like a rocket that can fly across space and time exploring the unknown that lies ahead! ✨
Credits:-
Design: Jagadish
Content: Riya Titus

The Great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

On the night of December 21, a rare alignment of planets is going to take place after 800 years. Jupiter and Saturn will make a ‘Christmas Star’ that will be visible with naked eyes.

This event is known as the Great conjunction – the close approach of two mighty planets. It happens when Jupiter, Saturn and Earth come in a straight line. With each passing days the two largest planets are moving close to each other. On December 21st,they will be just 0.1degree apart, they come close to each other and almost ‘kiss’ on the day of winter solstice, appearing as a double star.

Jupiter and Saturn shine brightly in the south-west after sunset. The brighter one is Jupiter. The two planets made their closest approach to the earth in July this year. The great conjunction is the cosmic play of the orbital motion and speed. Saturn goes around the sun once in 30 years , on the other hand Jupiter takes only 12 years for one revolution. So every 20 years, they come close to each other as Jupiter laps the ringed beauty.

Last time in 2001, Jupiter and Saturn were too close to the Sun, so they were not visible with naked eyes at the great conjunction. But this year, they are well placed in the sky far from the sun. Last time when the these giants came this close was about 800 years ago , in the year 1226.

In India, today it will be visible from 6:30 pm to 7:30pm.

You can also use space apps like Stellarium universe etc, to locate the planets. In telescope, you can notice the gas giants will appear together along with their moons. Jupiter is brighter than any other star in the night sky. It’s the 2nd brightest planet. Unlike the twinkling stars, Jupiter and Saturn both shine steadily.

Credits:-
Content: Alok Kumar Dhal
Design: Satyaprakash Karsharma

The second week of December heralds the beginning of the strongest meteor shower of the year – the Geminids. It’s a good time to bundle up, go outside and watch one of Mother Nature’s best sky shows!

The Geminids are active every December (December 4 – December 17) with it’s peak on 14 December, when Earth passes through a massive trail of dusty debris shed by a weird, rocky object named 3200 Phaethon. The dust and grit burn up when they run into Earth’s atmosphere in a flurry of “shooting stars.”
Phaethon’s nature is debated. It’s either a near-Earth asteroid or an extinct comet, sometimes called a rock comet. There is another object – an Apollo asteroid named 2005 UD – that is in a dynamically similar orbit to Phaethon, prompting speculation that the two were once part of a larger body that split apart or collided with another asteroid.
Most shower meteors are shed by comets when their orbits take them into the inner Solar System, but the Geminids may be the debris from this long-ago breakup or collision event. When you consider that the Geminid meteor stream has more mass than any other meteor shower, including the Perseids, whatever happened back then must have been pretty spectacular.

So what do potential Geminid watchers need to do this year?

It’s pretty simple, actually. The nearly First Quarter Moon sets around 10:30 p.m. local time, so wait until then to go out – the light from the Moon washes out the fainter meteors, which are more numerous. Find the darkest place you can, and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adapt to the dark. Avoid looking at your cell phone, as it will mess up your night vision. Lie flat on your back(don’t forget to put on winter clothes) and look straight up, taking in as much sky as possible. You will soon start to see Geminid meteors. As the night progresses, the Geminid rate will increase, hitting a theoretical maximum of about 100 per hour around 2 a.m. It is going to be amazing trust me.
Credits:-
Content: Sourav Priyadarsi
Design: Shobhit

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