Sky gazing program

The Department of Physics, St. Xavier’s College organized a sky-gazing event titled “Beyond the Sky” on March 15th 2024 under DBT star college scheme.The event aimed to ignite interest in astronomy and space exploration among students from all streams.

The event commenced with an inaugural function held in the seminar hall. Attendees included students, Professors from the Department of Physics and commerce, parents and the resource person for the day, Dr. Reshma Raut Dessai, an assistant professor at the School of Physical and Applied Sciences, Goa University and a visiting professor at IUCAA,Pune, delivered a captivating talk on humanity’s mission in space, focusing on India’s space exploration efforts and offering insights on pursuing careers in astronomy and cosmology. She also provided valuable career guidance during her talk.

Around 6:30p.m. students were taken to the college terrace where in three different types of telescopes were arranged for observation of celestial objects in the sky. The highlight of the event was a telescope built by a group of students from the Department of Physics as their final year project. This functional telescope, along with two additional telescopes brought by Dr. Reshma, was used for sky gazing. Participants observed various celestial objects, including the Earth’s moon, craters on the moon, Jupiter and its moons, the Orion Nebula and star clusters. Dr. Reshma also provided explanations about these celestial bodies.

The event received positive feedback from participants, with students expressing great interest and enjoyment throughout the evening. Parents were also excited and engaged, appreciating the opportunity to explore the wonders of the cosmos alongside their children. Approximately 100 participants attended the sky gazing event, which concluded around 8:30 p.m.