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(The glorious sight of The Great Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction 2020)
The planets were easily sighted with
the unaided eye by looking toward
the southwest just after sunset. The club also took part in the Samanta Chandrashekhar Challenge, a collaborative effort of institutions
like Public Outreach Committee ASI, Nehru Planetarium Delhi, HBCSE, IUCAA SciPOP, IIA etc. Here with the help of Cross Staff, called Manayantra, the changing angle between Jupiter
and Saturn was measured for about a fortnight. The line fit of observations done by us when extrapolated for December 21, 2020 (The Great Conjunction Day) came out to be, ~0.07 degrees in comparison to the theoretical value of 0.1 degrees. It establishes
the fact of a high precision of the calculations of early Indian astronomers and their traditional devices even in the modern-day digital age.
The amazing sky show of the Great Conjunction of the two gaseous giants, Jupiter and Saturn, in the evening skies has left the entire globe enchanted
and look up for many such astounding events in the coming years.
SCIENCE CROSSWORD
Across
1. Movement of the Earth around the Sun (10) 5. Outermost surface of the Earth (5)
7. An example of symbiotic relationship
between algae and fungi (6)
8. Universal solvent (5)
10. Movement of seeds away from parent plant (9)
12. Seventh planet from the Sun (6)
13. Germinated outgrowth of seed (6)
14. Reproductive part of a plant (6)
Down
1. Bacteria found in leguminous plants (9) 2. A regular path on which one object in
space revolves around another one (5)
3. The bird which lays round eggs (3)
4. Silk is a type of fibre (7)
6. The longest bone of human body (5)
1. Sticky yellow layer formed on teeth by germs (6) 11. The solid form of water that crystallizes in the
atmosphere (4)
Navita Johri, Fortune Enclave, Bhopal (M.P.)
Send us the correct answers of the quiz at
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The author is Coordinator, Ignited Minds VIPNET Club Farrukhabad, (VP-UP-0103). Email:Ignitedminds0001@gmail.com
January 2021
skies in the south-west horizon has
kept the enthusiasts engaged as it is after 397 years (July 17, 1623) the approach has been such close with both planets coming near to the order of 6.1 arcminutes (~0.1 degrees) and they promise to be not so close before March 15, 2080. The intermittent conjunctions of 2040 and 2060 shall not be so close line-ups with both planets remaining at a distance of 72.8 and 67.5 arcminutes, respectively, despite lining up close in a conjunction.
The Ignited Minds VIPNET Club Farrukhabad (VP-UP0103) took it as an opportunity to make this celestial show a memorable one with regular observation and photography of the approaching Jupiter and Saturn.
curiosity@vigyanprasar.gov.in to win exciting prizes.