Thank you God 💐

 To the unknown God

Thank you God 

for being alive, hale and healthy, 

When so many are dead, 

sick and stealthy;

Glad indeed, am blessed with 

thought and vigour,

When so many are 

mind-dead and comatosed.

Thank you God for summer and spring;

Living seasons are thy eternal swing; 

Thank you God for winter and fall, 

All in all, you are a friend of all.

Thank you God for stability and satiety,

As man is with science and society;

Thank you God for cosmic duties,

Nature is full of bountiful beauty.

Thank you God for women and children,

The world is indeed a kindergarten;

Music and melody, 

heal sick and the rowdy,

Here, life itself is a blissful comedy.

Thank you God the sky is blue,

Lest it turn into a crimson red hue;

The water is drinkable, the 

food is palatable;

As your anger is quenchable

with love.

Thank you God 💐 

Father and Son

 Father and Son

I hug my son like a Teddy bear,

I love and like his look and stare;

He is tall and grown but not ripe,

I hug my son like a Teddy bear.

A careful man he ought to be,

In this world fraught with fears and desires;

It is experience that he has to gain,

And see through the words of pain.

In the comfort of his hug and hold,

There is no fear and despair to behold;

I kiss and press his cheek and chest,

And wish him all that life has best.

I hug my son like a Teddy bear,

I love and like his look and stare;

He is tall and grown but not ripe,

I hug my son like a Teddy bear.

A careful man he ought to be,

To learn and relearn through observation;

A careful man he ought to be,

To be silent, soft, love and care;

A careful man he ought to be,

To be strong and soft at the same time;

To be able to attend and respond proper,

I hug my son like a Teddy bear.

I have nothing much to give and share, 

I leave him only love and care;

Assured, he will endure and prosper.

I take with me no fright and fear.

I hug my son like a Teddy bear,

I love and like his look and stare;

He is tall and grown but not ripe,

I hug my son like a Teddy bear.

A careful man he ought to be,

I hug my son like a Teddy bear.

I love and like his look and stare;

I hug my son like a Teddy bear.

   

    - Father.

The following poem is taken 

from the internet. 

The Little Chap Who Follows Me

by Anonymous

Careful man I ought to be; A

A little fellow follows me;

I do not dare to go astray

For fear he'll go the self-same way.

I must not madly step aside,

Where pleasure's paths are smooth and wide,

And join in wine's red revelry—

A little fellow follows me.

I cannot once escape his eyes:

Whate'er he sees me do he tries—

Like me, he says, he's going to be;

The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,

Believes in every word of mine;

The base in me he must not see,

The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,

Through summer's sun and winter's snow,

I'm building for the years to be,

A little fellow follows me.

Careful man I ought to be; A

A little fellow follows me;

I do not dare to go astray

For fear he'll go the self-same way.

I must not madly step aside,

Where pleasure's paths are smooth and wide,

And join in wine's red revelry—

A little fellow follows me.

I cannot once escape his eyes:

Whate'er he sees me do he tries—

Like me, he says, he's going to be;

The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,

Believes in every word of mine;

The base in me he must not see,

The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,

Through summer's sun and winter's snow,

I'm building for the years to be,

A little fellow follows me.

End.

A Near Conjunction

 Venus & Jupiter 

March 1st, 2023, 

Wednesday 7 PM, IST = UT 1.30 PM.

M21, Samsung, V Anand.

Taken near town exit point.

M31, Samsung, A Aravind.

Taken from house terrace.

Taken last week (for comparison) 

In the 10x50 Binoculars with a 5* field of view, it appeared just wider than the apparent diameter of the moon. I can say 2000" of arc. The moon is 1800" of arc (half a degree). 

The phenomenon wasn't at its brightest. I had seen them individually much more brighter. The 'star of bethlaham,' in the east, was supposed to be a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. And now, i doubt it. It could have been a comet or a supernova,  like the 1054 AD, crab supernova whose remnant can still be seen these days as the crab nebula in small telescopes. 

I add, photographs taken today evening. 

March 2nd, 2023, 

Wednesday 7.15 PM, IST = UT 1.45 PM.

M21, Samsung, V Anand.

Taken near town exit point.

M21, Samsung, V Anand.

Taken from house terrace.

I add again yet another photograph.

March 3rd, 2023, 

Thursday 7.15 PM, IST = UT 1.45 PM.

For comparison.

I add the screenshots of conversations from fb, that are self-explanatory.

Thank you, Regards.

Professor Dr V Anand, B.Sc., MDS.

Amateur Astronomer.

Sky At Night

Sky At Night

A Report of Facts & Fiction..!

Venus, Jupiter & the waxing Moon.

My friends had gone before me as always and was getting ready for a busy night session. I reached the dark site, just at sunset. 

After the initial greetings and settling, we noticed till late evening a dozen or so, bright and faint, slow and fast, steadily moving star-like, but untwinkling points of light (satellites) with naked eyes, some followed up in binoculars. 

There has been a recent (unlike a decade ago) increase in the number of these objects. Some looked bright like Jupiter and disappeared suddenly. Some just flared for a few seconds to disappear. Some very  faint and slow moving. Some in polar orbits moving from south to north while others moved from west to east but not exactly east-west but angled. 

As usual, I began looking west starting with the proceeding to set Venus and Jupiter. Moon had separated further and had risen up growing in its phase. The moon's orbit is angulated to the planetary alignment to puzzle any observer let alone a beginner. It's interesting to watch this fact.

Uranus, in Aries (Ram), was not seen, unlike the day before yesterday evening, to confidently assert, due to adjacent position of the cresent moon. Auriga clusters M36, 37, 38, looked faint in binoculars due to the moon light. M41 near Sirius (Siva) and M35 in Gemini, being away from the cresent moon, were better observed. M44 (Beehive), and in the early morning M13 in Herculus, M7, M6 to the east of Shaula (Moola nakshatra), observed. Omega Centauri was easy to spot in binoculars. Sagittarius Milky Way was increasingly better appreciated as it climbed towards the meridian. 

Pleiades and Hyades were traced maximum. 

Faint elusive constellation Monocerous was traced fully, with the help of chart and binoculars. 

As I am interested in the scientific study of religions (theology), different world cultures and the history of astronomy, I state the following ideas, and my understanding of the same - mythologies, stories, allegories and all, with  associated astronomical significance :-

In Hindu puranas (mythology) and religious worship, Lord Siva is worshiped in Linga form as an embodiment of symbolic representation of male and female energies of our dipole universe. Only the formless gets a form - shape - structure & function, with the passage of time. The Shiv Linga and Yoni together represent this dipole function of creation, sustenance and dissolution of this material energy forming into the universe. 

Now, the summer constellation Ophiuchus (serpent bearer), looks like a Tanjore doll north of Scorpious. Ophiuchus body is circled by a giant snake, from its east to its west, called Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, forming its head and tail. On the north east (lop left) of Ophiuchus we also can find Corona Borealis (the crescent moon). 

There has certainly been a sharing of ideas between the Hindus / Indians and Greek astronomers, as there are common representations in the sky only with different names and stories. A cultural give and take seems to have happened, in astronomy, mythology, and the pseudo-science of astrology, between the ancient Indians and the Greeks. 

Herculus, Ursa Major, Minor, Leo, Virgo, Corvus, Orion, Gemini, Crux, Canis Major and Minor were seen. 

Unlike last fortnight yesterday after midnight it became severely cold uncomfortable. We roosted in car. When I woke up at 3am and ventured out, my hands were cold and numb. It was cold outside. I thought, I could have better worn that leather jacket. The humidity was condensing as dew. There was haze, like a flickering-flame of fire, affecting sky  transparency. But seeing was good without turbulence. No boiling. 

Astrophotographer:-

Dr Suresh Mohan.

Visual Observers:-

Mr Vijayakumar, 

Mr Ramesh. 

Dr V Anand. 

Non image-stabilized handheld 10x50 Binoculars on easy chair, Collins gem guide, red filter torch light. Star hopping method. 

Telescopes used:

Suresh: Takhashi FSQ-106EDx4 Quadruplet Refractor, on an astrophysics USA made mach 1 GTO.

Vijayakumar: 10x50 Binoculars.

Dog: Brucelee.

Aphthous Ulcers

"Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis"

Aphthous Ulcers are sore;

I pray it not to bother more,

It is fond of children and teens,

But, may not leave the old by any means !

It is minor and major like us,

And waxing and waning like the moon !

It comes with a warning of pain,

And stays a week to push you to vain.

Do what you may it refuses not to return,

Till it taught you a deadly lesson !

And finally it helped us how to learn; 

And live without anxious concern.

A minor trauma by tooth bite,

Kills our mind-body being so quite.

Prevention is better than cure;

But here we are not so sure.

Tetracycline mouthwash may prempt;

But, Benzydamine may reduce pain;

Topical LA can be used, 

To eat and talk and shout amused.

It educates and prepares us to deal with severely morbid states -

As it strengthens our immunity to fight lethal cancerous ulcer states.

By having learnt to deal with emotional stress.

Avoid Stress and Be Blessed 🙌 

Dr V Anand, B.Sc., MDS.

Oral Medicine Radiologist.

Professor & HoD.,       

Department of Dentistry, 

Meenakshi Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Kanchipuram.

 

 

 

 

              

Siva Rathri with Sivan

           Astronomy with Binoculars              Clusters of the Celestial Sphere   Oh...what a Night show !

Early morning sunrise.

It was a different night. Cold much reduced, but dwe was condensing after mid night. The early evening till midnight was clear without any clouds. But haze in the atmosphere, made me rate it as 05 in the Bortle Scale. 

As with last fortnight, I saw, about to culminate Orion and Auriga. I lay in the reclining chair and used my 10x50 Binoculars to view Andromeda galaxy, in the western sector. It was not a difficult task. 

I could easily pick out M36 the compact bright of the three, just inside the eastern side of the pentagon. M37 a bit bigger and fainter to the outer side and M38 much bigger and fainter just west of M36, but much nearer than 37 is to 36. They formed a small non-equal triangle with M36 at the apex, in my 6 degree field of view. Sweeping down south and east I was able to see M35, at the tip of Gemini. A conspicuous loose cluster, looking like M38 but much brighter and bigger. 

Moving to Sirius and sweeping down south i could easily see M41. 

There were a couple of satellites for early evening, late evening and early morning totalling 10 in all. A couple of satellites crossed my binocular field criss-crossing in two directions, They looked brighter, faster, and nearer. There were a few meteors and high flying birds mimicking satellites.

Constellations Virgo, Lupus, Draco, Ursa minor, Herculus, Corona Borealis, Coma Berenices, Corvus, Ophiuchus, were traced full.

M4 was spotted near Antaras and M33 in Herculus.

Orion the Hunter (Greek mythology) - 

Lord Siva Nataraja  (Hindu mythology).

Modern statue gifted by India at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Dance of Shiva, this gigantic cosmic dance of vibrating molecules and atoms in the soil, air, rocks, water, and in our own bodies - this cosmic dance of energy, the rhythm of it is felt and the sound heard under the starry sky ! 

Colours & Intensity of some Bright Stars

Variable star BU Tauri, in Pleiades observed. I counted 11 stars in the group, with Binoculars. 

With the aid of Stellarium, we could locate Planet Mercury, currently in the constellation of Capricornus. It appeard as a bright steady untwinkling star with a golden hue. It was visible for sometime even when I missed the moon for a while. 

Its given Mag is - 0.29 with RA 20h 48m 50s & Dec -19° 22' 23”. Around 6 AM, planet Mercury appeared above to the north-west of a 2% lit waning cresent moon, being at the 11-o-clock position and the moon at 4-o-clock position in the same binocular field. Moon was stunning to look at nearar to the horizon in the moving partly dark cloud covered eastern horizon. For a few moments it was also seen with the naked eyes, along with the moon. 

Cropped screenshot of moon app showing a reduced to 1% cresent moon, on the same day, at 1.39 PM, Sun, 19th Feb, 2023.

Astrophotographers:-
Dr Suresh. (the equipment belongs to him). 

Visual Observers:-
Dr V Anand, Mr Renganathan, Dr Muralidharan - 10x50 Binoculars on easy chair, Collins gem guide, red filter torch light. Star hopping method. 

Telescopes used:
Dr Sureshmohan, Sudharsan, Syed: Takhashi FSQ-106EDx4 Quadruplet Refractor, on an astrophysics USA made mach 1 GTO.

Food & Hospitality: Dr Suresh, Mr Renganathan.

Dogs: local farm dog Brucelee. 🐕 

Photographs - choosen from the internet.

The Comet Cometh

 Jan, Sat 28 - Sun 29, 2023.

The Comet Cometh.

At last, we got a glimpse of the comet !!

C/2022E3(ZTF)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2022_E3_(ZTF)

(Borrowed from twitter)

I started early evening and went to the dark site immediately after sunset. Astrophotographer Dr Sureshmohan and Wild-life photographer Mr Vijayakumar, had reached the field before and had been busy setting up their equipment and other gadgets. I parked my car at a distance and had set up my binoculars, star charts and chairs for a night long observing session. 

The half-phased moon was high in the meridian. It was in Aries. As the darkness started to set in, the sky became bright with moon light and I could barely see pleiades and hyades that were so conspicuous a fortnight ago, from the same place. (Ref old blog article). 

The evening moon spoiled any chance I had with Andromeda let alone Triangulum. 

This time I saw Clusters that I missed last time. The sky condition was hazy throughout the night. Dew did condense but far less unlike last fortnight. It seemed to be held up as haze obscuring and clouding our perception of even clusters, let alone nebulae and galaxies. 

Late in the evening we were joined by engineer Siva Subramaniyam who brought an 8" dobsonian and Dr Muralidharan with cricketer Arun Karthick for the first time to one of our regular sites. 

This time we were lucky to have seen the comet, but overall it was a disappointing and frustrating night of hazy seeing. It became cold after midnight. I finally roosted in the car only to get up to see the comet as it neared the meridian.

Complete identification became impossible due to hazy sky and lack of sustained observations, with inbetween clarity and loss of clarity, switching on and off, letting us doubt our seeing objects with any degree of certainty. Nevertheless, I heard our friends shout aloud after getting sombrero and crab, etc., but their enthusiasm lasting only for fleeting moments of time with return of frustration due to haze that seemed to be boiling and spoiling our observations. 

The Observational Report. 

Binocular used: Celestron 10x50.

Artificial Satellite.

7.14 to 7.15

Sat crossed alnitak heading straight north visible only in 10x50,

a bit fainter than saiph. I tracked all the way north to 20 degrees above horizon. It became gradually fainter and disappeared.

Clusters seen.

Sword handle in perseus, 

M35 in Gemini,

m34 in Perseus,

M36, 37, 38 in Auriga

M41 in Canis Major.

M44 in Cancer.

M94 in Puppis.

M93.

8" Dobsonian observation.

Comet C/2022E3(ZTF).

The Comet was seen as in the picture here, with only one star below it in the telescope field. It appeared with a sharp point and Coma giving us the impression of a fanning out tail like a conic section, probably influenced by the photos we had seen of it in the fb groups. However, no color could be appreciated. After that, past the late midnight, it was seen near the meridian as it culminated west of Kochab in line with Polaris and the polar pointers of Ursa Major, with binoculars and unaided eye. But, only for fleeting moments of time before we began to doubt our perceptions. But, I am sure it seemed to have appeared in the Binoculars much more of a wide smudge than the sharp and small image it produced in the telescope ! And we couldn't see it !! Haze that kept moving and boiling and spoiling our vision. 

(Photos & Charts, courtesy: the internet)

Planets seen.

Venus, Jupiter, Mars, moon.

Stars seen.

Sirius, Canopus, Acherner, Betelgeuse, Spica, Bellatrix, Saiph, Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka, Sigma Orionis  Aldebaran, Castor, Pollex, Procyon, Adhara, Aludra, Wezen, Alceone, Algenib, Algol, Beta Tauri, Zeta tauri, Merak, Dhube, Mizar, Alcor, Arcturus, Regulus, Spica, Denebola, Porrima, Vindimiatrix, and finally after great hardship and after late midnight, Polaris and Kochab.

Constellations seen.

(Most of the prominent stars were  identified with binoculars). 

Cassiopeia, Taurus, Gemini, Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Puppis, Perseus, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Ursa Major, Corvus.

Star groups near some bright stars.

(Like landmarks, these can be called skymarks ! Let me call them "skymark associations").

> Algenib association.

> Algol association.

> Little Plough of orion.

Skymark associations are not so prominent like the known asterisms but, are nevertheless an easy way to remember the patterns. Experience says, every observational astronomer does remember the stellar patterns, in their own ways. In other words, sky mark associations are non-prominent sparse clustering of stellar patterns, spanning a few degrees in the sky, inside and across constellations. 

Asterism: (n) meaning,

> a prominent pattern / group of stars that is smaller than a constellation.

> a group of three asterisks (⁂) drawing attention to a piece of text.

Astrophotographers:-
Dr Suresh. (the equipment belongs to him). 

Visual Observers:-
Dr V Anand: 10x50 Binoculars on easy chair, Collins gem guide, red filter torch light. Star hopping method. 

Telescopes used:
Suresh: Takhashi FSQ-106EDx4 Quadruplet Refractor, on an astrophysics USA made mach 1 GTO.

Siva Subramaniyam: 8" tejraj dobsonian. 

Vijayakumar: 7x50 olympus binoculars.

Food & Hospitality: Mr Vijayakumar.

Visitors: Dr Muralidharan & Cricketer Arun Karthick.

Dogs: local farm dog kulla. 🐕 Brucelee was not seen this time. 

Post script.

I fouud in the facebook, British Astronomer David Graham has sketched the comet. It looks dramatic. Now, I am sure I saw it with my unaided eye inspite of haze, but only for a few moments.

Details given in fb by David Graham.

"Visual inner coma detail, Saturday morning 28th January 2023. Multiple striations visible in the tail of the comet."

Thank you.

Regards.

Dr V Anand,

Kanchipuram, India.