TRIAL RUN:#1

FIRST SECRET CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD

03/09/19

Time machines are overrated.

After all, who needs a time machine when we can exploit the finite speed of light? Our vision of the dotted black fabric of the night sky is a product of some hundreds of years old light reaching our retina. Light from the most distant stars takes a few hundred light-years to reach the Earth. This causes a type of time delay effect. For example, if you look at Sirius today, the brightest star in our night sky, you will see it as it was 8.6 years ago.

 If you want to think of this phenomenon in another way, here is some food for thought. If an alien on an exoplanet 65 million light-years away looks at the Earth, they would theoretically be able to see the dinosaurs. In reality, humanity would be flourishing on Earth, with their skyscrapers and innumerable inventions. If those aliens do decide to visit the Earth one day, they would be met with a cruel surprise. Additionally, our universe is so large that light from some of its corners hasn't even reached the Earth yet.

When you gaze at the night sky, you look into the past. 

And facts like these, this is where we derive joy from astronomy. Our first trial session was a success. We managed to look at the crescent moon. It was a wonderful sight that transported us back in time to when the first astronomers looked through their telescopes and realized that there indeed is not a rabbit on the moon.

In reality, the rabbit on the moon is a collection of craters.

 We began our first trial session with the viewing of terrestrial objects from the 4th floor of our school secondary block. 

We managed to focus on a bougainvillea, a poster and a clothing line, all from a building so far away. It seems impossible, doesn't it? The telescope's knack for details is something to die for.

 When night finally fell, we managed to locate the crescent moon- a hanging sliver of white luminescence against the burst of evening colors. 

How did we manage to focus on the moon?

We needed to get the direction and focus just right. It required a lot of trial, error and squinting. The telescope was amazing. It had us in utter amazement for the first few seconds during which we managed to perfectly focus on the moon. The adjustments in small-scale lengths with big uncertainties were made with precision. Although the moon kept moving through the night sky, we managed to adjust our telescope accordingly to view it.

What were the difficulties that we faced?

We had to adjust the focus of the telescope constantly. This problem was prevalent throughout our exploration but again, our teacher’s encouragement boosted our determination. The adjustments were to be delicately poised. At one point, we continuously adjusted the telescope to follow the moon's movement through the sky.

Our first trial session was extremely enjoyable. We were introduced to the educational, historic and spiritual value of astronomy. We finally understood the thirst with which Newton poked his eyeball to view the full continuous spectrum of colors and the vigor with which Galileo discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter. More to come.

~Tarunyaa and Sushanth,

IB Year 1