Astronomy Unplugged, an astronomy popularisation event, was a treat for the attendees curious to map the stars, measure their distances, and uncover the Universe's hidden wonders.
The event explored the marvels of space and the cutting-edge science that brings them to light through various fun activities. Following a brief introduction to the history of modern astronomy, the participants explored constellations using a virtual night sky, learned about practical concepts like measuring cosmic distances and celestial coordinates, participated in a quiz on identifying shapes of galaxies, and discussed the Universe in different colours (multiwavelength astronomy).
The event concluded with a sky-gazing session wherein attendees noted a 1.4 GHz signal from the Milky Way using the in-house radio telescope for the first time. They were awestruck as they saw the Moon and Saturn using the optical Universe.
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Group and student volunteers from Physics and Engineering led the event.
[telescope courtesy: Invincible NGO, Project Orion]