Star gazing initiative now at Civil Court Metro Station.
Star gazing initiative now at Civil Court Metro Station.
Sky observers will be treated to a unique celestial event as the moon will pass in front of the star Antares, resulting in a lunar occultation at 4.46 am in the southeast sky.
The premises of the Pune Metro’s Civil Court station will be used by Jyotirvidya Parisanstha, Poona (JVP), one of the oldest associations for amateur astronomy, to display this occultation, which would be visible between 4.30 and 6.30 am.
In partnership with Pune Metro, JVP has arranged for telescopes and a live screening of the event. This is the metro station’s first celestial activity.
Officials had approached Pune Metro to host the event, saying that the Civil Court metro station in Shivajinagar was ideal because there was no obstruction of any kind, preventing a clear view of the sky.
The JVP vice president stated that these events would previously be conducted at Pune’s Balgandharva Bridge or other bridges. However, nets are now installed on the bridges to deter people from throwing waste into the river. These nets cause obstruction when they mount the telescopes on the bridges’ footpaths. They therefore chose to switch locations. This metro station appears to be ideal. This metro station offers unobstructed views of the sky.
