PANAJI
“In human-made calendar we follow strict rules, with Friday always remaining between Thursday and Saturday. But in the universal celestial world, nature need not have to abide by these rules set by the humans. It works on its own principles,” claims Gautam Jalmi, an IT engineer and an astronomy enthusiast from North Goa.
Mentioning that three of the brightest celestial bodies, fellow planets of our Solar system are visible one above another in a straight line, he points out that these three are the largest and the king of all planets, Jupiter; the ringed and most beautiful Saturn, and the brightest among all, the most ferocious Venus. “Further to join the party, Monday will try to find its place amongst all three days,” shares the 33-year-old engineer from Sankhalim.
Starting from December 6, the Earth’s natural satellite Moon enjoys the company of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter on subsequent three days till December 9 in an interesting alignment. “These magical moments are best visible immediately after the Sun sets in the west, towards the horizon. While watching these objects either through a telescope, binoculars or naked eyes, don't forget to notice the brightness of our neighbouring planet Venus. It just passed its brightest illumination phase, glowing at a staggering - 4.5 magnitude. A dark sky here is a must to measure this brightness,” says Jalmi.
“The month of December is always a power-packed one for astronomy and nature lovers. Next week, an arguably best comet, C 2021 / A1 (Comet Leonard) is approaching Earth (and later, towards the Sun) on December 12, which may become a naked eye watchable object. This event is immediately followed by yet another astonishing celestial event, the Geminid meteor shower, where shooting stars are seen crossing the night sky dome at comparatively much higher rate of 120 - 150 meteors per hour at its peak. So, all of you turn your heads up and explore the wonders of the cosmos “ happy dark skies!” concludes Jalmi.
Mentioning that three of the brightest celestial bodies, fellow planets of our Solar system are visible one above another in a straight line, he points out that these three are the largest and the king of all planets, Jupiter; the ringed and most beautiful Saturn, and the brightest among all, the most ferocious Venus. “Further to join the party, Monday will try to find its place amongst all three days,” shares the 33-year-old engineer from Sankhalim.
Starting from December 6, the Earth’s natural satellite Moon enjoys the company of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter on subsequent three days till December 9 in an interesting alignment. “These magical moments are best visible immediately after the Sun sets in the west, towards the horizon. While watching these objects either through a telescope, binoculars or naked eyes, don't forget to notice the brightness of our neighbouring planet Venus. It just passed its brightest illumination phase, glowing at a staggering - 4.5 magnitude. A dark sky here is a must to measure this brightness,” says Jalmi.
“The month of December is always a power-packed one for astronomy and nature lovers. Next week, an arguably best comet, C 2021 / A1 (Comet Leonard) is approaching Earth (and later, towards the Sun) on December 12, which may become a naked eye watchable object. This event is immediately followed by yet another astonishing celestial event, the Geminid meteor shower, where shooting stars are seen crossing the night sky dome at comparatively much higher rate of 120 - 150 meteors per hour at its peak. So, all of you turn your heads up and explore the wonders of the cosmos “ happy dark skies!” concludes Jalmi.
