Campaign on Comet Ison

A group of science enthusiasts in the City is all set to dispel superstitions about cosmic objects and has taken up the task of spreading awareness on comets, sky watching and astronomy in general.

The team will specifically provide information about Comet Ison that will be visible to the naked eye in the later part of this year. The comet is expected to pass as close as a million kilometres from the Sun by November 28.

Ahead of the rare event, astrophysicists, schoolteachers and science enthusiasts have come together to educate students and the public.

“We will spread the information to schools in surrounding localities. We will reach as many government schools as possible. We will also organise events in our localities so that the public at large will come to know about it,” said Jeeva J, a teacher at a community centre in
Wilson Garden.

Prajval Shastri, a professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, said that the aim of the campaign is also to bring science closer to people and to enable people to experience the rare event without fear.  

The resource persons took part in a workshop organised by the Indian Institute of Science as part of a national campaign on the comet trail. Similar workshops will be organised in other parts of the country.

“The comet will be visible across the globe for a couple of weeks from November 28. Scientists are at this point still working to determine when the comet can be seen in our solar system again. The comet was spotted only a few months ago and much is yet to be researched,” said H S Jayakumar, co-ordinator of the national workshop.