The Universal Times - TISB Astro Club

THE UNIVERSAL TIMES Unraveling The Cosmos

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Any dot or mark you see is an entire galaxy, there are around 200,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe. Every galaxy containing billions of stars, each star possibly having an Earth like ours

2024

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

INTRODUCING Astro Club At Astro Club, we don’t simply discuss topics — instead, we approach them as research projects, shaping our members into scientists.

Since the onset of our club, we have welcomed Ms. Sona Shukla, who shared her journey from capturing the stars from her balcony to being featured in BBC Sky. Mr. Vijay Kapoor led a stargazing night for 200 boarders, where we observed the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and more. Our adventures took us to ISRO, where students explored the lab that built the Chandrayaan-3 rover. We didn’t stop there—our interview series connected us with leading minds like Dr. Sara Seager of MIT and Ms. Anupama, former Dean of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).

Whether you're drawn to the science of the stars or just stumbled upon us while looking for the astrology club, we welcome you to dive deep into the mysteries of the cosmos. Our club is not just about observation but that of discovery. It is our way to apply all that we learn in our classrooms and beyond.

Founder: Apoorva Agarwal

2024

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

CONTENTS Trivia Pg. 11

Research Pg. 4 Space News Pg. 10

Time Dilation Pg. 8

Double Slit Experiment Pg. 9

Interview Pg. 13 Space junk Pg. 7

RESEARCH

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

A

H O L E

2024

I N

S P A C E

“Observing longer wavelegths of light reveals the whole picture

This “hole” is observerd about 6 - 11 billion light years away What is the "Hole"? This vast region spans over a billion lightyears and appears undeveloped.

It seems to vanish when observed in longer wavelengths.

Nothingness: There may simply be nothing in that region.

However, this is highly unlikely because of the first principle of Cosmology. The universe is homogeneous! So the likelihood of such a large void is infinitesmal.

Light Blockage: Something could be blocking the light from that area. However, several telescopic images corroborate the void, taken at different times from different parts of the world. So, there is nothing near

us that is blocking that area, and nothing extremely far away because it would need to be too large.

Black Hole: It might be a black hole affecting visibility. Perhaps a huge cluster of MACHO’s or WIMP’s (for dark matter nerds!), but then again, that isn’t known to happen.

Red-shifting (What does that even mean). Let’s have a look further.

SEPTEMBER ISSUE Why does the sun appear red during sunset? It is all about the path light takes through Earth’s atmosphere. When the sun is low on the horizon, its light travels through a thicker atmosphere compared to when directly overhead. Sunlight includes both short-wavelength blue light and long-wavelength red light. Blue light, with its shorter wavelength, gets scattered more by the atmosphere.

Rayleigh Scattering: The sky appears blue due to Rayleigh scattering.

Shorter wavelengths (blue light) scatter more than longer wavelengths (red light) in the atmosphere.

Direct Sunlight: The sun appears white when viewed directly because it emits light across all wavelengths.

Scattering in the atmosphere does not affect direct sunlight.

2024 Interaction with Particles: Light passing through a medium with particles (like clouds or dust) scatters differently based on wavelength.

Shorter wavelengths scatter more intensely due to higher interaction likelihood with particles.

Perception of "Holes" in Space: Regions that look empty in visible light may contain gas or dust that scatters shorter wavelengths.

Observing these areas in longer wavelengths (like infrared) can reveal structures that are not visible in the visible spectrum.

Research Implications: Understanding light interactions is crucial for interpreting astronomical observations.

The scattering effects can provide insights into the composition and structure of space.

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

Forming a Hypothesis Based on this, we think the “hole” in space might be caused by a cloud of gas or dust. This cloud could be scattering the shorter wavelengths of light, which would make the space look empty when viewed in visible light but reveal more when observed with longer wavelengths.

Testing the Hypothesis To test our idea, we conducted a simple experiment. We filled a transparent tank with water and added milk to simulate tiny particles. When we shone light through the tank, the milk particles scattered the light. We saw more red light, which supported our hypothesis about how scattering works.

Conclusion Our research led us to conclude that the “hole” in space is due to a cloud of gas or dust. This cloud scatters shorter wavelengths of light, making the region appear empty in visible light but allowing us to see through it with longer wavelengths. So, the next time you hear about a mysterious void in space, remember—it might just be a cosmic cloud playing with light!

Authors : Arnav Bansal, Yash Ojha, Pranav Girish Karthik

SPACE JUNK 2024

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

E A R T H ’ S

T

P O L L U T E D

O R B I T

he danger of space junk, littering the expanse of space, is growing fast and can severely impact the progression of technology and future space missions.

It sounds ridiculous, 'how can the giant expanse of space be polluted?' but it's a real and pressing problem. Space junk, even in small pieces, poses a big risk to working satellites, as they orbit at high speeds causing serious damage when they collide.

More trash makes it more difficult and expensive to launch new missions. The risk of collisions increases as debris collides with each other, creating more debris (Kessler effect). Space junk stays in orbit for years, making it something we can’t simply ignore.

A gigantic junkyard, swirling with trash from decades of missions Thankfully, scientists are thinking up clever ways to tackle this problem. One idea is to send a spacecraft to push large pieces out of orbit so they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Space tentacles -a European Space Agency project- produced by Swiss Startup ClearSpace, removing an object from orbit

One idea is to send a spacecraft to push large pieces out of orbit so they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. For smaller bits, they're considering sending a sweeper to collect them or spreading metal dust to slow them down. An exciting solution is using lasers to change debris' path, slowing them down so they burn up. NASA thinks lasers could effectively manage space junk, but it would need international support.

This space junk crisis is an interesting problem. By working together and using innovative tech, we can keep space clean and continue exploring the universe beyond.

Author: Divakar Menon

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

TIME D I L A T I O N HOW TIME PASSES DIFFERENTLY

I

magine you and your best friend are playing a game, each wearing a watch. You board a spaceship that travels nearly at the speed of light, while your friend stays on Earth. After your journey, you find that you are younger than your friend, and your watch shows less time has passed.

This happens because traveling at such extreme speeds causes time to slow down for you compared to your friend. Although time feels normal to you, your high velocity actually made time pass more slowly relative to someone stationary on Earth.

Say there are two objects bouncing in two boxes.

The difference is that one box is moving. Therefore, when an object in the moving box bounces, it has to travel diagonally, and thus more distance.

Thus, it makes less bounces in the same time, and for a common goal of, say, 10 bounces, the one moving takes a longer time. Can you figure out why time flows faster for the satellite in figure 2?

Author: Tanishq Agarwal

2024

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT Observations of the World Around Us

Young’s

double-slit

experiment

reveals the dual nature of matter.

When

light

(photons)

passes

through two small slits and hits a screen, it forms alternating light and dark bands. Light bands result from constructive

interference

(wave

crests meeting), while dark bands show

destructive

interference

(crests and troughs canceling out), proving light behaves like a wave:

However,

when

one

slit

is

blocked or a detector is used, photons behave like particles, landing

in

experiment,

one

spot.

This

repeated

with

electrons, suggests that all matter exhibits both wave-like and

particle-like

properties.

This observation changed the way physicists saw the world, since

it

allowed

the

development of Schrodinger’s wave equation, which is used to

describe

everything

we

know about our world.

Author: Sreyas Mundra

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

ASTRONOMICAL E V E N T S

ISRO News

NASA News

“NavIC support to become must for all smartphones” - 20th September The government is set to make NavIC a mandatory system within smartphones.

Navigation with Indian Constellation is a homegrown alternative to systems like GPS. 7 satellites are to be increased to 12 in the upcoming years

“Mini-Moon With Mahabharata Connection Will Not Be Visible To Eyes: ISRO” - 16th September A mini-moon that was discovered, named 2024 PT5, is only 10 metres in diameter and 350,000 times smaller than regular moon, making it undetectable to the naked eye.

“Gaganyaan should proceed with caution, don't want another Boeing incident: ISRO chief” - 20th September ISRO chief has cautioned to prevent another Boeing event occurring with India’s first human-mission. Additionally, he has stressed on the exploration of Venus. The Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) is one of the approved projects with an allocation of Rs. 1,236 crores.

“NASA to Test Telemedicine, Gather Essential Health Data with Polaris Dawn Crew” - 11th September 2024 NASA researchers will reap benefits from “a new fully-commercial human spaceflight mission.” This mission will aid in the understanding the exposure to space conditions while testing telemedicine capabilities.

“NASA Selects Lockheed Martin to Develop Lightning Mapper for NOAA” - 17th September NASA has chosen Lockheed Martin Corp. to create a lightning map (3D mapping of lightning channels) instrument for NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations.

“NASA Data Helps Protect US Embassy Staff from Polluted Air” - 20th September A collaboration with NASA and the US State Department now have a tool to protect American consulates and citizens against polluted air. This is to also raise awareness of air quality issues by engaging with local governments and encourage a global action.

Visible Planets

Visible Constellations

Sep 22 - Jupiter The half-moon on the mornings of September 23 and 24 will move by Jupiter. Jupiter will shine brightly at the center of a triangle formed by the bright stars Capella, Aldebaran and Betelgeuse.

Cassiopeia You can find Cassiopeia in the northeast. It is composed of five bright stars that form a distinct ‘M’ & ‘W’.

All Month - Saturn Saturn will lie low in the east shortly after sunset and be visible all night until dawn. Saturn is rising in the east at sunset and is visible all night.

Afterward, for the rest of 2024, Saturn will remain visible in the evening sky.

Cepheus The house-shaped constellation Cepheus will lie upside down in the northern sky.

It’s between Cassiopeia and Ursa Minor.

Sep 23/24/25/26 - Mars On the mornings of September 25 and 26, the waning crescent moon will lie near Mars and pass the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux. The bright star Procyon in Canis Minor will shine nearby.

Lyra The constellation Lyra will be visible during the month of September. It’s made of a triangle and parallelogram.

Authors: Dishita Panchal & Manya Sharma

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

NAME THAT NEBULA! CAN YOU IDENTIFY THESE FAMOUS NEBULAE FROM THEIR HUBBLE IMAGES?

1.

2.

3.

5.

4.

Check your answers in our next issue!

Credits: Spraha Tirumani Shivshankar

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

Galactic crossword

Credits: Reyansh Goyal

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

Interview Dr. Kalee Tock, a renowned astrophysicist, has dedicated her career to exploring the universe's mysteries, focusing on exoplanet formation and atmospheric evolution.

Using data from telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, her work challenges existing planetary models and expands our understanding of the cosmos.

Dr. Tock, thank you for joining us. Can you start by sharing what inspired your journey into astrophysics?

Kalee Tock: Absolutely, it's a pleasure to be here. My interest in astrophysics started when I was a teenager. I remember looking up at the stars from my backyard, feeling this sense of wonder and curiosity. The vastness of the universe just pulled me in.

There was this moment when I realized that every point of light in the sky has a story – it's not just a static star; it’s a dynamic object with a history and future. I wanted to be part of unraveling those stories.

That's fascinating. Can you talk about your current research?

Kalee Tock: Certainly. I’m currently focusing on the formation of exoplanets and how their atmospheres evolve over time. We're using data from telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope to analyze the chemical composition of these atmospheres.

It’s incredibly exciting because every discovery challenges our understanding of how planets form and what conditions might be needed for life.

What has been the most surprising discovery in your research?

Kalee Tock: One surprising aspect has been finding exoplanets with atmospheres that don't fit any existing models. It forces us to rethink how planets interact with their parent stars and evolve. It’s moments like these that remind us how much we still have to learn, even about seemingly familiar processes.

How do you stay motivated when faced with challenging research questions?

Kalee Tock: Great question. It’s easy to get frustrated when things don’t go as planned, but I remind myself that every setback is a chance to learn. The universe is incredibly complex, and that’s what makes it so captivating. I try to view challenges as puzzles that, once solved, bring us closer to understanding this vast cosmos.

Finally, any advice for aspiring astrophysicists?

Kalee Tock: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. No matter how complex the subject might seem, curiosity is your greatest tool. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, and never lose that sense of wonder. There’s always more to discover, and that’s what makes this field so rewarding.

Credits: Arnav Bansal

SEPTEMBER ISSUE

2024

meet the team behind this month’s issue

A Big Thank You! A heartfelt appreciation to the incredible team behind this month's issue, The Universal Times! Each member has shown immense dedication and passion for astrophysics, and their collective efforts have truly made this edition a special. The creativity, hard work, and teamwork exhibited throughout the process have been nothing short of inspiring. This publication would not have come together without the individual contributions and collaborative spirit of the entire team. We look forward to many more engaging issues to come!

Join Us! Room: 316 Every Tuesday at 2:50 pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION, REACH OUT

aapoorva@tisb.ac.in @astroclub_tisb