New Delhi: On a foggy evening in New Delhi, with the AQI touching 365, 20 students stayed back after classes for a special celestial treat. As members of their schools’ astronomy club, these 12 to 15-year-olds witnessed the rare ‘parade’ of five planets visible from Earth currently, Delhi’s weather conditions notwithstanding.
Sitting neatly in a row, dressed in blue and grey uniforms and blazers, the students waited patiently in a field as dusk gave way to night, eagerly looking up for the first signs of stars. While they had read up about the planetary parade phenomenon – where multiple planets form a single line – in advance, they were also acutely aware of Delhi’s chronic air pollution.
“I just really pray today the skies are clear and I get to see Saturn’s rings – it is my favourite planet,” said 11-year-old Prisha.
One of the 24 annual sessions organised by the astronomy club of Amity International School Saket, the event promised sightings of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus, and Uranus too, if they were lucky. Given the significance of this rare planetary alignment, the school invited 10 more students from Amity’s Pushp Vihar branch to participate.
With this viewing, they joined other astronomy enthusiasts around the country who are getting together to witness a celestial phenomenon that became visible on 21 January and will continue till early March. Although for Amity students, such stargazing exercises have become quite the norm.
“Our astronomy club regularly has these viewings for students as young as nine to as old as 15 so it is not like they haven’t seen most of the planets already,” said school principal Divya Bhatia who was also present at the event. “The special part today is the promise of seeing all these planets together.”
Amity Saket is one of the few schools in the city that collaborate with science education organisation Space India to run their astronomy club. Formed in 2004, the club’s objective was to ensure that students got adequate practical exposure to astronomy and celestial science, which regular school syllabi didn’t prioritise.
“We then thought why not bring in the experts themselves – to not just teach but show the students the wonders of the universe?” said Bhatia.
Of planets and rockets
As night fell, students began milling about the telescopes, helping adjust lenses and eagerly asking questions about which planet they would see first. This wasn’t their first time staying past school hours to stargaze, and their familiarity with the process made it evident.
“Ma’am, I think we should start with Venus and then Jupiter,” said 13-year-old Vivan Tageja while excitedly waving his phone toward the sky. Like his classmates, Vivan had already downloaded the Stellarium app, which provided a real-time map of the celestial position of these planets.
As Space India’s Simran Kaur adjusted the telescope toward Venus, the children jostled around each other to get the first look. Some of the parents who had accompanied younger students craned their necks too. It was, after all, a global celebration.
Along with telescopes for the viewing, Space India also brought along a couple of water-powered rockets for the children to study and launch. Using plastic bottles and a water pump, Kaur’s team demonstrated the basic principles of rocket propulsion.
“Of course, it is beautiful and rare and the students should have fun witnessing it, but at the end of the day, we also want them to go home having learnt something,” said Kaur before turning toward the students and quizzing them about the significance of planetary parades.
As students observed Venus’ phases, Saturn’s rings, and Jupiter’s moons, they also learned about NASA’s 1970s mission where it used the planetary parade phenomenon to launch spacecraft that could explore multiple planets together. Kaur, a Space India science educator who has been associated with Amity School Saket for a few years now, said she wanted to ensure their learning was as holistic as possible.
A teacher’s son, who had accompanied his mother for the viewing, cautiously approached the telescope after all other students had finished watching. It was centred on Saturn.
“I see a very small yellow thing,” he told Kaur after peeping through the opening.
“That small thing is actually a very big planet, bigger than even the Earth you’re standing on!” she responded.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)