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Tuesday, December 25, 2012



Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him,
Born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo! he abhors not the Virgin's womb:
Very God,
Begotten, not created; Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God
In the highest; Refrain

See how the shepherds,
Summoned to his cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither
Bend our joyful footsteps; Refrain

Child, for us sinners
Poor and in the manger,
We would embrace thee, with love and awe;
Who would not live thee,
Loving us so dearly? Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing; Refrain

When Death Smiled

When Death Smiled

               
 “It was a time when only the dead smiled, happy in their peace..”
AnnaAkhmatova
It was a cold winter morning.  My fingers were numb from the morning walk.  I lighted the stove for the warmth, then prepared hot tea to refresh and gear up for the daily chore. As I sipped I glanced at the wall clock. The time too seemed to slow down.  In summers the time seems to race.
I peeped into her room, she lay asleep. With no tea or breakfast she lay as though in hibernation.
Now it was noon, I felt uneasy I reached her bed to wake her up but to no avail. I gently caressed her hair, “mother wake up!”  My repeated call sent some signal.  She responded she opened her eyes with difficulty. The light in her eyes was receding.  I managed to straighten her to sitting position, offered tea. The frail body could feel some strength. With the help of maid we managed to give her a bath, cleansing was a must.  Her silver fluffy hairs were neatly combed.  They whispered the story of her hard life she had to endure.  All alone, after her husband’s who was an Inspector in the Police Force was shot dead by dacoits, she brought up her five kids. It was a herculean task to make the both ends meet.
With mere primary education she could not get any kind of job. The eldest son who was in teens ,managed to work hard  for a living for the family, also resumed his studied in the night College. Many a time they had to skip meals .During illness a family friend who was a doctor used to come as an angel to cure them.   Mother narrated her story on some occasions, I  could not hold my tears….she paused and then said ,”you  wanted to know therefore, I have opened my heart to you.  I  pray almighty not to give this severe punishment to anyone.  It’s painful very painful life, to lead the family without any Sources.” No compensation or any monetary help was granted to the widows in some cases.
We both had come closer since then.  The harsh truth of her life disclosed spelt one thing sure, come what may I must hereafter take her utmost care.  But the story does not seem to end here.  One does not know how the end comes.  How much you have to wait for the heavens call…
How strange is the destiny at the end?  You desperately want to leave this world but…
I was awakened by her groans.  I managed to feed her a morsel.  “Death does not come” she cried.  I wiped her tears and laid her to bed. Sleep Mother it’s nearly midnight… Ok I must go… her words incoherent.  That night was terribly cool.  I put the room heater. She felt better. I tried to sleep.  But sleep had vanished the doors of my heart had opened sounded the heartthrob. Wisdom dawns unto you. I prayed God for her.
At dawn I checked in to see her.  Her face glowed with a faint smile.
She has slept peacefully I thought. I drew closer to her cause that smile had terrified me! I summoned our doctor, who pronounced her dead.
Tears rolled down my cheeks, my  voice chocked   I cried, “Mother ! Oh Mother.”
Words echoed: “When her long life has reached her final day: Men and we must grieve when even the shade Of that which once was great has passed away.”…William Wordsworth
By Prajakta Dighe

Friday, December 7, 2012



Search for Life In The Universe.
“We cannot be the only instance of a race we just can’t be.” Sir Patrick Moore.
Sir Patrick Moore almost 90 one of the leading  American Astronomers  has spent decades observing the Solar System.  Lately he had spoken about the the life in the Universe. ” I do think life is out there.”  He said that there are 100,000millions stars in our galaxy (  Milky Way) and many other galaxies too have incredible amount of stars.  We cannot be the only instance of race we just can’t be and there are far more intelligent than we are.  We can’t get to them but they might get to us” he added.   In an interview he spoke to Jonathan O’ Callaghan about Saturn’s moon Titan & Lapetus Jupiter’s moon Europa and Callisto.
NASA Explores the Red Planet…..Just a year ago NASA Mars Rover Curiosity began its flight to Mars.  It landed on 6th August 2012 on Mars. The researchers are busy studying the planet using the different science instruments. Collecting soil rocks studyingdust storms climate environment etc. One questions could Mars have once harbored Life?
Since last fifty /sixty years we have been serching for Life in the Universe.  NASA’s Search for Extra Terristrial Intelligence
(SETI)  A moderate but wide ranging exploratory program is described which would use existing radio telescopes and advanced electronic  systems with the objective of trying to detect the presence of just one signal generated by another intelligent species.
SETI’s programmme is a 10 year plan which will search for microwave signals from Extra Terrestrial Intelligence spanning the multidimentional search space programme. The entire sky will be searchd in two polarisation between 1.2 and 10 GHz. more than700 solar type stars etc will be searched….
The  SETI@home is a software downloaded from the internet on PC’s .on the screen saver, analyses the data from nearly 3 millions of PC users around the world.  It is one the largest project in the historyof the world.
“We humans are intellectually curious nomads ”..Neil deGrasse Tyson .We search for life of any form elswhere..Our future generation will also keep on searching.
Retrospection : In the good old days:  Aristotle, Ptolemy and the Roman Catholic Church,  the people all believed for centuries that the Earth was the centre of Universe. During the 3rd century BC a Greek philosopher named Aristarchus proposed the Sun Centered Universe.  An Italian Monk Giordanu Bruno proposed in Public that there are many planets in the Universe that harbor life.  He was burned at stake.  Times have changed a lot since then .  People had started to learn and discover.  A Polish Astronomer Nicholas Copernicus in mid 1500 put forward the Sun Centered Universe!  Soon it was realised that the Earth is not in the center of the Solar System .The Solar System is not in the center of Milky Way Galaxy, and Milky Way Galaxy is not in the center of the Universe.
The Chemistry of Life :  Are We chemically  special ? The basic elements present  in our planet are Carbon Hydrogen Helium Nitrogen and Oxygen.  Helium is inert.  The other four elements  most abundant and chemically active are common elements in the Universe.They are essential for  Life on Earth too..That is why we have reason to believe life out there, we are not alone.
The Wow Signal: The Search for Extra Terristrial Intelligence.- Jerry R Ehman while working on SETI project in the year 1977 dated 15th August detected a radio signal .The signal bore expected hallmarks of potential non-terrestrial and non-Solar System origin. It lasted for the full 72-second duration that Big Ear Radio Telescope of Ohio State University observed, but it has not been detected again. It is called the Wow signal.
The Aliens might contact us again this time we are prepared technologically to receive their signals.  It is observed that it is far too costly to send signals to the interstellar regions than to receive them.
Compiled by :   Prajakta Dighe
My above article got published in the Hitavada dt 9/12/12
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YANNI LIVE AT EL MORRO.)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Second President of India.
"Reading a book gives us the habit of solitary reflection and true enjoyment."
                          THE SUPER EARTH(Gliese 581g)
 It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning and that all that is and has been is but twilight of the dawn, it is possible to believe that human mind has ever accomplished, is but the dream before the awakening.  Out of our...lineage , minds will spring, that will reach back to us in our littleness , to know us better than we know ourselves.  A day will come, one day in the unending succession of days when beings, being who are latent in our thoughts and hidden in our loins, shall stand upon this Earth as one stands upon a foot stool, and shall laugh and reach out their hands amids the Stars........H.G. Wells "The Discovery of the Future".....(1902)
The Exoplanet Gliese 581g was discovered by Steven Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, and Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution lead the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey..  A planet outside our Solar System Gliese581g is nearly 20 light years away from  a red dwarf Star in the constellaion 'Libra'.  Red dwarfs are 50 Times dimmer than our Sun.  The planet Gliese581g is closer to its Sun still remains in the habitable zone also known as Goldilock zone. (not too hot not too cold right temperature and has liquid to sustain life.).  It takes just 37days(earth) to complete its rotation round its Sun. "This really is the first Goldilocks planet," said co-discoverer R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
  Vogt and Butler used ground-based telescopes to track the star's precise movements over 11 years and watch for wobbles that indicate planets are circling it. The newly discovered planet is actually the sixth found circling Gliese 581. Two looked promising for habitability for a while, another turned out to be too hot and the fifth is likely too cold. This sixth one bracketed right in the sweet spot in between, Vogt said.
With the star designated "a," its sixth planet is called Gliese 581g.
"It's not a very interesting name and it's a beautiful planet," Vogt said. Unofficially, he's named it after his wife: "I call it Zarmina's World."
The Gliese581g planet is tidally locked to the Star.  Meaning one side always basks in daylight and the other side in perpetual darkness.   Like our moon it same side is always facing our earth.  The Scientist further predict that the most habitable zone of Gliese581g will be the line between the shadow and light.(Known as the Terminator).
Gliese 581g mass is 3.1 to 4.3 times that of Earths .  It is considered as Super Earth.“It’s really hard to detect a planet like this,” Vogt said. “Every time we measure the radial velocity, that’s an evening on the telescope, and it took more than 200 observations with a precision of about 1.6 meters per second to detect this planet.”
 The discovery of a potentially habitable planet like Gliese 581 g so early in the search might mean that habitable planets are more widely distributed than had been previously believed. According to Vogt, the discovery "implies an interesting lower limit on the fraction of stars that have at least one potentially habitable planet as there are only ~116 known solar-type or later stars out to the 6.3 parsec distance of Gliese 581."This finding foreshadows what Vogt calls a new, second Age of Discovery in exoplanetology:(wikipedia)
Due to its proximity to Earth and potential in habitable zone.-  Search for extra terristrial Life of any form is being explored by NASA.and ESA in following years.  Scientist have further predicted that there are more than 10% such planets(habitable zone) in our Galaxy itself.

GLIESE 581g FACT FILE
·        Diameter - 1.2 to 1.4 times that of the Earth
·        Mass -  3.1 and 4.3 times that of the Earth
·        Average surface temperature - between -24F and 10F (-31C and -12C)
·        Distance from the Earth - 20 light years or 118,000,000,000,000 miles
·        Time needed to travel to Gliese 581g in a rocket travelling one tenth the speed of light, or 19,000 miles per second - 200 years
·        One of six planets to orbit the star Gliese 581
·        Length of year - 37 Earth days
·        Gravity - similar or slightly higher than Earth
·        Distance from its sun - around six million miles
·        The planet orbits a red dwarf which is 50 times cooler and a third the size of our Sun
·        Composition - rocky with liquid water and atmosphere .                                          
My above article got published in The Hitavada on 23/9/2012.
           -   Prajakta Dighe                         



Wednesday, August 29, 2012

ॐ OM is Brahman.

OM is All.

One who meditates on OM attains to Brahman.

~ Taittiriya Upanishad

Sunday, August 26, 2012


Magnificient TITAN

Heaven wheels above you displaying to you her eternal glories and still your eyes are on the ground.______ Dante

Titan is the second largest moon of Saturn.  (Ganymede of Jupiter being the largest).  Titan was discovered by a Dutch Astronomer Christiaan Huygens in the 1655 march 25.  He named it Saturni Luna.  Later John Herschel son of William Herschel(German born British Astronomer) named it Titan. Titan was a race of powerful deities descendants of Gaia and Uranus that ruled during the legendary Golden age.    There are nearly 60  or more moons of Saturn.  Some are very small and are still being studied.     The largest among them is'Titan' it is larger than planet Mercury.  The NASA's Cassinis mission has unfolded its charecteristics.. It is very dense, covered with heavy clouds.  It is surrounded by an orange haze , differes from the rest of the Saturn’s moons.  Titans dense atmosphere creates Green House Effect.  The heat that comes from Sun through dim sunlight gets trapped inside.  The scientists have found Titan very interesting as it may share some similarities to an early Earth. 
The Cassini - Huygens probe sent information about Titans atmosphere.  ..Its atmosphere is active and complex, mainly composed of Nitrogen(95%) and Methane (5%).  Elements like Carbon Oxygen Hydrogen are also found which are essential for life.  Sand dunes made of hydrocarbons and liquid methane lakes are largely found.  Earths atmosphere is made up of mostly Nitrogen and small amount of Oxygen (essential for human life).  This similarity makes the scientist believe that Titan may harbor some kind of Life.They believe that lifeforms on Titans could have evolved to use methane in the way that lifeforms on Earth use water, and can survive in much cooler temperature than those on Earth. The lifeforms on Earth cannot survive on Titan. Titan has very weak gravity.  If humans land there it will be possible for them to fly in its atmosphere.  Methane is non poisonous but flammable. There is an abundance of Methane lake in the southern pole.  Liquid methane evapourates and there is methane rain occasionally.  Titan is covered with thick layers of ice.  Its surface temperature is -290F(-179 degrees C).  Its surface pressure is slightly lighter than Earth.There is no magnetic field .    Titans diameter is (50%) larger than Earths Moon and is larger than planet Mercury but its mass is half than of Mercury.

Titan orbits Saturn  in neary 16 days.  It takes 16 days to spin around its axis.  Its rotation is called Synchronous- meaning that the same side of it always faces the Saturn.
It is indeed a marvellous and interesting moon  in the Solar System for the Scientist to Explore further..

Published in The Hitavada dt.26/8/2012

Friday, July 13, 2012

How you can talk with God?


                                   How you can talk with God?
It was late evening, I peeped through my window.  The sky had turned scarlet .  The birds had flown in  to their nests.  This hour was very special.  I lit the evening lamp.  The perfume of the insence sticks engulfed the house.  The noisy day was somewhat quiet now.  My evening prayes had commensed.  After the prayers I loved to stay in this quiet mood.  Years back, i recalled a lovely story I had read.  It was about a rich woman she asks he Master(spiritual) that inspite of having all the comforts  wealth a good loving husband, children house everything in life, she feels empty and something missing in her life. What& Why?   To this the spiritual Master replies …"A part of our mind remains empty even if all the riches happiness of this world we get.  We must fill this gap by prayers to Almighty.  Daily this prayers has to be exercised."  Further, he explained her how to practice meditation. The woman obeyed him.  She sat on a sofa in her room closed her eyes and sat for meditation as instructed by the Master, daily..for considerable span.  After  some time she visited the spiritual Master and thanked him .  She no more had that feeling of emptiness. Moreover , peace prevailed. The real meaning of Life had unfolded to her!
"This is how we talk with the Almighty",said the Master.   "Daily giving few minutes of silent  communion .  In the beginning with a short praise ,  reciting his name etc few minutes of deep breathing then keeping silence in body and mind.  This quietude leads us to peace and then his love starts pouring wisdom dawns, your heart is full of his grace which overflows in the form of tears at times." He explained.
The saints say you cry for the worldly things all your life have you wept for the Almighty , who has created you and this beautiful creation the Universe.  Have we thanked him?
Once Swamy Vivekananda had asked Shri Ramakrishna, have you seen God ?
“Yes”, replied the Master,. “I see him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense.” "The magic touch of the Master that day immediately brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was astounded to find that really there was nothing in the universe but God! ... everything I saw appeared to be Brahman. ”...Swamy Vivekananda
Ask and it shall be given to you
Knock and it shall open to you
Seek and it shall be reaveled to you
Words of the Lord ringing in my ears…
One touch one glance of the Master changes the whole life…I pondered
I had sat in this mood for quite some time.
' For oft on my couch I lie,
In vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon my Inward Eye in the Bliss of Solitude'....William Wordsworth





Thursday, July 5, 2012

Nick Collins
What is the Higgs boson and the Higgs field?
The Higgs field has been described as a kind of cosmic "treacle" spread through the universe.
According to Prof Higgs's 1964 theory, the field interacts with the tiny particles that make up atoms, and weighs them down so that they do not simply whizz around space at the speed of light.
But in the half-century following the theory, produced independently by the six scientists within a few months of each other, nobody has been able to prove that the Higgs Field really exists.

·        
Prof Higgs predicted that the field would have a signature particle, a massive boson.
What would the world be like without the Higgs boson?
According to the Standard Model theory, it would not be recognisable. Without something to give mass to the basic building blocks of matter, everything would behave as light does, floating freely and not combining with other particles. Ordinary matter, as we know it, would not exist.
How long has the search gone on?
Scientists have been looking for the Higgs since the 1960s, but the search began in earnest more than 20 years ago with early experiments at Cern in Europe and Fermilab in the US.
Does finding the Higgs boson mark the end of the search?
It's just the end of the beginning. Confirming the existence of the Higgs would only be the start of a new era of particle physics as scientists focus on understanding how it works and look for unexpected phenomena.
How do you find a Higgs boson?
To find the particle and characterise it, scientists must first try to create it by smashing beams of protons together inside the Large Hadron Collider at close to the speed of light and analysing the debris.
By doing so they will essentially be recreating a very small model of the state of the Universe as it was in the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang.
Some of the fragments released by the collision should in theory be Higgs Bosons, although they will instantly deteriorate into even smaller, more stable subatomic particles.
Like other heavy particles, the Higgs decays into lighter particles, which then decay into even lighter ones. The process can follow a certain number of paths, which depend on the particle's mass.
Physicists compare the decay paths they observe after a particle collision to predicted decay paths simulated with computers. When a match is found, it suggests that the observed particle is the one being searched for.
How is the Higgs boson related to the Big Bang?
About 13.7 billion years ago, the Big Bang gave birth to the universe and caused an outburst of massless particles and radiation energy. Scientists think that fractions of a second later, part of the radiation energy congealed into the Higgs field.
When the universe began to cool, particles acquired mass from the Higgs field, slowed down and began to bunch up to form composite particles and, eventually, atoms.
Conditions present a billionth of a second after the Big Bang are recreated in the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator near Geneva.
How did the Higgs boson get the nickname "the God particle"?
A Nobel laureate physicist from Fermilab called Leon Lederman wrote a book in the early 1990s about the search for the Higgs boson. His publishers coined the name as a marketable title for the book, but it's disliked by many scientists.


Incredible in my lifetime... Higgs hails the 'proof' of his particle
Published: Thursday, Jul 5, 2012, 15:01 IST
By Nick Collins | Agency: The Daily Telegraph
When Peter Higgs first proposed that an invisible field strewn across space gave mass to the building blocks of the universe, the theory was ridiculed by some of the most respected minds of the time.
His first paper was rejected by a journal, while other scientists accused him and his colleagues of failing to grasp the basic principles of physics.
Despite the slights, Prof Higgs - at the time a 34-year-old physicist at Edinburgh University - was convinced his idea was right, although he never envisaged being able to prove it.
Yesterday (Wednesday), 48 years on, his radical concept was finally proved correct by a team of physicists at the Cern laboratory using a £6 billion piece of equipment designed to uncover the secrets of the universe.
Announcing the latest results from the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, scientists confirmed they had discovered a new particle bearing the hallmarks of a Higgs Boson.
The Higgs Boson helps to explain how fundamental particles gain their mass; a property which allows them to bind together and form stars and planets rather than whizzing around the universe at the speed of light.
Prof Higgs, 83, who travelled to Switzerland to witness the announcement, was visibly moved as the presentation was rounded off to tumultuous applause from the excited audience, some of whom had waited overnight to secure their seats. He said: "I am astounded at the amazing speed with which these results have emerged. They are a testament to the expertise of the researchers and the elaborate technologies in place. I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge."
Prof Higgs has repeatedly resisted requests for interviews and comments, insisting that the limelight should be taken by the scientists who have proved that his theory is correct.
He has long been uncomfortable even having his name attached to the particle, which is seen as the missing cornerstone of the Standard Model of physics.
The son of a BBC sound engineer from Newcastle, he was raised in Bristol and excelled at Cotham Grammar School.
During a school assembly he saw the name of a former pupil, the great quantum physicist P.A.M. Dirac, on an honours board and decided to read about his work. Quickly hooked, he read everything he could find on the subject.
He went on to King's College, London, where he graduated with a first-class honours in 1950. He was denied a lectureship at the university, however, so became a researcher at Edinburgh University.
His "eureka" moment reportedly came in a flash of inspiration during a walking trip to the Cairngorms. When one of his initial papers was rejected, he insisted the journal had not understood him.
Upon publication in 1964, he and his colleagues were ridiculed as young pretenders and urged to abandon their research or risk "professional suicide".
Prof Gerry Guralnik, a US researcher who published a paper on the subject with colleagues within months of Higgs, recalled a galling encounter with Werner Heisenberg, the German physicist who gave his name to the famous "uncertainty principle" of quantum mechanics. He said: "A lot of famous people told us that we were wrong. Heisenberg told me I did not understand the rules of physics, which is pretty scary if you are 26 and are worried about getting a job."
Yesterday, the scientific community was united in its praise for Prof Higgs, with some calling for him to be given a knighthood. Prof Stephen Hawking said Prof Higgs deserved a Nobel Prize for his work, but admitted the discovery of the new particle had come at a cost. He said: "I had a bet with Gordon Kane of Michigan University that the Higgs particle wouldn't be found. It seems I have just lost $100."


Monday, June 25, 2012

A Glimpse of The Major




A Glimpse of The Major

Those days I was serving in a private company.  My father had come to see us.  He had retired from his Defense Services.  He retired as a Major.  He was well built handsome  came from a village.  With his hard work  and sharpness he  was promoted as 2nd  lieutenant in the Army.  He was married to a beautiful lady(my mother) from the same village.  
We were, huge family of three brothers and five sister was like the Sound of Music..
Do Re Mi Fa So La Te Do……..
As the years passed, we grew up did our schooling and then College.  All of us got settled and married.
That day, I was thrilled that father would come and see my posh office.  I introduced him to my Boss.  My boss granted me leave and so I spent the hours with my father visiting the shops and purchasing things…
Later we sat in a café for coffee…we chatted. His sparkling eyes wore a tired look.- we returned home.
I had realized father was aging.  At night massaged his feet with oil.  My hands felt the scars, bullets had pierced during war.  Memories kindled I could vishualise the harsh yesteryears. Fighting and braving the attacks of the enemy.  He had narrated us his encounters in the harsh snowladen mountains
I remember his bottle green uniform, decked up with medels.. we kids used to take pride in polishing them.  He had risen from 2nd lieutenant to Major.    Father was stationed to different places.  He could get leave for a couple of days to visit his family.  Life was very hard.    During war (with China in 1962) he was posted to remote place(NEFA Border).
We families of our Regiment were stationed at Srinagar. It was like a big community living together.  Our happiness and sorrow shared together.
I recall the  Sirens, the troops petrolling in the streets.  Our mother was a brave lady taking care of her small childrens.
At night there was total blackout.  The darkness and marauding planes would frighten us.     The day, too did not feel secure .  The news from the border was the topic in every mouth.  Where air raids from the enemy had taken place?  How many jawans and officers were killed!  How did the enemy get to know the strategy of Commanding Officer with his troops stationed …His area was bombarded!  The slain body was brought home to pay the respect from his near and dear ones.(A close friend of my father.) Last rights were performed.  The Gun Salute reverberated the sky. 
The pangs of war victims are still there..vivid
No news we received of our father. 
Wives of the Officers of our Regiment would gather .  Together with the families of the Jawans, kintted sweaters, glovers socks mufflers for the jawans .  Food items too were packed and sent at the border.  The winter was  unbearable. They(Jawans) were short of armaments etc. entailing large scale combat at the altitude of 4,250meters(14,000 ft).  The worst conditions they encountered. 
Days passed ,  and one day on the 20th Nov1962 the ceasefire was declared by the enemy.  It withdrew its forces from the disputed area.  At last the war was over..
The day dawned when Father knocked our door.  Our joys knew no bounds.  Mother and we thanked the Almighty for his return from the battle.




Sunday, June 17, 2012

WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Women have made contributions and sacrifices in the field of Science and Technology from ancient times.
The ancient Greece was the seat of intellectuals.  Around 300 B.C Alexander the Great founded    the city Alexandria                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
He invited worldwide cultures and scholers for the pursuit of knowledge.  The greatest marvel of Alexandria  was its Library.  Hypatia daughter of Theon was a scholar and director of the Library.  She was very beautiful and intelligent. She was a Mathematician and an Astronomer. From some historical information it is learnt that she was brutally murdered .  The Arabs conquered and destroyed all her works.  The little information of her writings and works in known from the works of others who quoted  her and wrote to her contemporaries.

Amongst the ancient known  scientist was an Egyptian Merit Ptah , chief physician.  Agarmades, Theano .  Theano was possibly wife of Pythagoras.  She was a mathematician and physician.  There were a record  number female scientist all over the world in those days too. 
During 16th century, most famous in Germany was Astronomer Maria Winkelman. Maria discovered comet and made some original contributions in Astronomy.  She was married to Prussian foremost Astronomer Gottfried Kirch and worked under him as Assistant Astronomer.   Even though she was highly qualified and experienced she was denied post in Berlin Academy when her husband died.  Maira faced a lot of obstacles in her profession.   
No woman was invited to either The Royal Society of London nor the French Academy of Sciences untill the 20th century. Two English women Caroline Herschel and Margaret Cavendish added to the scientist of that time.    Carolyn Herschel had discovered eight comets between the years 1786-1797
 Marie Sklodowska Curie discovered the mysterious element radium. It opened the door to deep changes in the way scientists think about matter and energy. She also led the way to a new era for medical knowledge and the treatment of diseases. She was the first women scientist to be awarded two Noble Prize one in Physics(1903) and the other in Chemistry(1911) . 
Women Scientist in INDIA:  During the time of Marie Curie Indian women scientist too had made a mark in their field. 
A Book titled ‘Lilavatis Daughters: Women Scientist in India’ written about scientists, a hundred of them, their biographies etc is published by Scientist Rohini Godbole and Ram Ramaswamy .  It is an attempt to enthuse girls in schools and colleges to hear or read about the work the women scientist are doing and take up research as their career.  To name a few:
Anna Mani (1918-2001) Anna Mani, the distinguished Indian meteorologist, was the former Deputy Director General of the Indian Meteorological Department. She made significant contributions in the field of meteorological instrumentation and pioneered research in the areas of solar radiation, ozone and wind energy measurements.
Janaki Ammal:E K Janaki Ammal was a renowned botanist cytologist who made significant contributions in evolution, phytogeography and ethnobotany.
Kamal Ranadive (1917-2001)Ph.D. (1949, Bombay), FNA. This recipient of the Padmabhushan established the first tissue culture laboratory in India at the Indian Cancer Research Centre (presently Cancer Research Institute). She got Watumal Foundation Award for her work in the field of leprosy. She founded the Indian Women Scientist Association (IWSA).


Rohini Godbole:Ph.D. (1979, Stony Brook), FASc, FNA, FNASc, FTWAS, recipient of Sheel Memorial Lecture award (NASI), the distinguished Alumni award of IIT (Bombay), Meghnad Saha gold medal of Asiatic Society, J.C. Bose Fellowship of DST, Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Visiting Fellowship (INSA), INSA Satyendranath Bose Medal, etc., Chairs Academy Panel for Women in Science (WiS), Member Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet. Her area of specialization is theoretical high energy physics. Email: rohini@cts.iisc.ernet.in
Neelima Gupte
Ph.D. (1983, Stony Brook). She is a theoretical physicist and Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. She has been a member of the Editorial Board of Pramana and is a recipient of the Stree Shakti Science Sanmaan. Her areas of specialization are nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics.
Pushpa Khare:Ph.D. (1978, Bombay), she is Professor at the Physics Department, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. Her areas of interest are astrophysics and cosmology. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at University of South Carolina, and a visiting scientist at the University of Chicago, Max Planck Institute, Munich and Osaka University  
Mangala Narlikar: (nee Sadashiv Rajwade) Wife of the renowned Scientist Jayant Narlikar
Ph.D. (1982, Bombay), works on number theory and mathematics education.                               
The Council of the Indian Academy of Sciences had in January 2003 constituted a committee on "Women in Science" to look into the issues of women scientists. This led to the formation of a Panel for "Women in Science" (WiS), in January 2005, to study the issues of women scientists and to suggest measures for obtaining suitable solutions. The Panel is currently chaired by            Prof. Rohini M Godbole. The Panel has undertaken several initiatives  towards fulfilling its objectives. 
The Women in Planetary Science:   Since the invention of Hubble Telescope the study of the stars , galaxies etc and the Cosmos is fast growing.  Women in the Planetary field have opted for research on various fields such as the study of atmosphere soil of different Planets and their moons,also Search for Extra Terristrial Intelligence(SETI) founded by Astronomer Carl Sagan.
Deputy Administrator of NASA :Lori Garver addressing the girls scouts encouraging them for perusal of the education in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM).  She said the new generation needed to build courage perseverance and endurance to travel into our Solar System and explore the Universe.
Indian Women in Planetary Field:  Dr. Renu Malhotra , Anita Cochran.

Renu Malhotra earned her M.S. in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi in 1983, and her Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in 1988. She did post-doctoral research at Cornell (1989) and at Caltech (1989-1991), and worked as a staff scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston (1991-2000).   She has been the recipient of honors and awards from the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, The University of Arizona, and the IIT-Delhi.

Anita Cochran: Anita Cochran is Assistant Director of the McDonald Observatory and a senior research scientist at The University of Texas at Austin.

                                                 Kalpana Chawla:
Hypetia
The brave and
 brilliant NASA woman of Indian origin Kalpana Chawla was an American Astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist who died aboard Space Shuttle Columbia during mission STS107 .  Our meteorological satellites are named after her an Asteroid 51826 kalpanachawla is also named after her.
(The above details is produced with the help of the Internet)
Going through the achievements of these Women our soul gets enlightened a new spirit dawns, it boots our energy and hidden talents which lie latent in us.  A New direction in us is bound to unfold!

Herschel


Madame Curie

Madame Curie
Kalpana Chawla


By Prajakta Dighe

Monday, May 28, 2012




Serene Scene
Even in a peaceful looking scene such as this one of Saturn and its moon Tethys, the Cassini spacecraft reveals clues about how Saturn is ever-changing. Saturn's northern hemisphere still shows the scars of the huge storm that raged through much of 2011 (see PIA14905). And, day by day, the shadows cast by the rings on the planet's southern hemisphere are growing wider as the seasons progress toward northern summer. See PIA11667 and PIA09793 to learn about the changing seasons and the shadows cast by the rings.

Tethys (660 miles, or 1,062 kilometers across) appears above the rings to the left of the center of the image.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 10, 2012 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.4 million miles (2.3 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 39 degrees. Image scale on Saturn is 84 miles (136 kilometers) per pixel.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Thursday, May 24, 2012

AMAZING VESTA


AMAZING VESTA

Years back in 1998 hollywood science fiction movie ‘Armageddon’ was released. It was about a giant asteroid in space which was in collision

course with our planet Earth. In the movie the crew of astronauts and Oil drillers planted nuclear warheads on the impending asteroid and blew it! The space mission NASA has announced recently, its space mission,

about landing its astronauts on asteroid VESTA before 2030. The findings from NASA are reported in the Science Magazine.

Since its formation,4.5 billion years ago, Earth

has been hit many times with asteroids and

comets whose orbits brings them into the inner

solar system. These objects collectively known

as Near Earth Objects (NEOs) still pose danger

to Earth today. Massive damage can occur by

their collisions. We have come to know that

Dinosaurs were wiped out; they became extinct

due to such collision. Their fossils are the record

of their existence on earth.

In1994 the comet Shoemaker-Levy broke in fragments and crashed into the atmosphere of planet Jupiter.

If these fragments had hit Earth instead, we would have suffered global catastrophe!

Most of the asteroids and comets pose no danger to our planet. But in Every thousand or so of those objects, there is one with an orbit which crosses that of the Earth raising possibility of future collision.

NASA is planning to send humans further than they have ever been before. It would take astronauts far beyond the current limit of human endeavour-the moon which is about 385,000km from Earth,

One of the astronauts is Maj. Tim Peake, a former British Army Helicopter Test pilot- an astronaut with European Space Agency. Peake and five other Astronauts will be sent to an underwater base off the cost of Florida next month where they will spend 12 days 20 meters beneath the surface of the Atlantic to simulate working in the low gravity environment of an Asteroid.NASAs Extreme Environment Mission Operation(NEEMO): During the training the astronauts will stay in a capsule (12 meters by 6 meters) where they will live eat sleep as part of training.

Spacecraft Dawn was sent in space in the year 2007. Its circling VESTA since 2011. It has sent some 20,000 images and spectra data is collected from different wavelengths of radiations.

VESTA was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on 29th march 1807. It is named after the goddess of home and hearth from Roman Mythology.

Asteroid VESTA is the second largest in the asteroid belt between planet Mars and Jupiter. Its mean diameter is 525 kilometers (326 mi)

VESTA resembles a small planet. It is 4.5 billion year

old has a rare iron core and crust and mantle formation similar to the Earth. It is rich in metals and minerals like iron and magnesium.

VESTA has large mountains-the largest is more than twice the size of Mount Everest. The Crater centered near its south pole is 505 km in Diameter named as RheaSilvia.

Dr.Raymond of Dawn Mission says “ VESTA is special because it has survived the intense collisional environments of the asteroid belt- for billions of years, allowing us to interrogate a key witness to the events at the very beginning of the Solar System.”

By Prajakta Dighe.

My above article got published in The Hitavada dated 3/6/2012


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Friday, April 27, 2012

Black holes the prima donnas of Space Opera

Black Holes: The Prima Donnas of Space Opera!

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All the world is a stage
And all the men and women mearly players
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts.
(William Shakespeare)

The whole Universe is a stageall the planets stars are like the actors they too
have their exists andentrances..they form they disintegrate and reform.
There are unaccountable universes in the Cosmos
The huge collections of suns planets moon asteroids and physical debris of
all sorts we designate as galaxies. The galaxies are moving apart further
with great speed. The center of the galaxies is dark and possesses relentless
gravitational pull. They are called Black Holes. We cannot see balck holes
but we can determine them from material falling into them.
The term black hole is ofrecent origin it was coined in 1969 by an
American scientist JohnWheeler. From where do these black holesemerge?
To understand , we must first see the life cycle of a star.
A star is formed when large amount of gas(hydrogen) starts to collapse
on itself due to gravity. As it contracts the atoms of the gas collide with
eachother. Heat is generated. The atoms coalease to form Helium then
Oxygen Carbon Iron etc etc elements are formed. Huge amount of energy
and heat is released during the nuclear reactions, explosions taking place
inside the star –is what makes the star shine.
The star remains stable for millions of years. It is a bit like a
Balloon. There is balance between the pressure of the air inside which is
trying to make the balloon expand and the tension of the rubber which
is trying to make he balloon smaller. The heat from the nuclear reaction
balancing the gravitational attraction.
When all the nuclear fuel is used up the star cools down and so it contracts.
What might happen to it then was first understood at the end of 1920.

Subramanyn Chandrashekhar: In 1928 an Indian graduate set sail for
England to study at Cambridge,with the British Scientist Sir Arthur
Eddington an expert in general relativity.
S. Chandrashekahar framed that when a cold star(dying star) who's mass is more
than one and a half time the mass of the sun( this mass is known
Chandrashekhar Limit.) it would not be able to support itself against
its own gravity, it would collapse and form a stellar remnant(Neutron Star)
or a Black hole.
The boundry of the black hole is called the event horizon. The
point of no return. The light too cannot escape. Black holes of
Stellar mass are expected to form when very massive stars collapse
at the end of their lifecycle.
Eddington did not approve that a star shrinking to zero as per Chandrashekar. A lot of controversy sparked amongs the scientist.
Later in the year 1983 Chandrashekar was awarded Nobel Prize
for his work on the limiting mass of cold stars
There is a strong evidence of a black hole of more than four million solar masses at the center of our galaxy-Milky Way.
Endless process of destruction and regeneration is going on and on inside the black holes they indeed are the prima donna of Space Opera …..

Another and another cup to drown,
The memory of this Impertinence!
(Omar Khayyam)

By
Prajakta Dighe
My above article got published in The Hitavada dated 6/5/2012