Blogs

Atmospheric Retrieval of Exoplanets

Article by Arnav Karipae

Posted on September 8, 2024

Abstract Exoplanet research is currently going through a renaissance. The planets existing outside of our Solar system are the exoplanets. In scientific news, you often hear that ”water” has been found in so and so ”X” planet. There are signs of methane in an Earth-like planet showing signs of life.... [Read More]

Tags: exoplanets spectroscopy

Adaptive Optics

Article by Abhinav Singhal

Posted on December 9, 2023

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique of precisely deforming a mirror in order to compensate for light distortion. It is used in astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of atmospheric distortion, in microscopy, optical fabrication and in retinal imaging systems to reduce optical aberrations. Adaptive optics... [Read More]

Tags: optics

Chandrayaan 3 - India's Renewed Pursuit of Lunar Exploration

Article by Amar Sathwik, Samhitha Keluth, Yeleena

Posted on July 17, 2023

Throughout history, humanity has been captivated by the moon, one of the most enchanting celestial objects in the universe. Intrigued by the enigmatic white orb hanging in the sky, we embarked on space missions driven by our innate curiosity to unravel its mysteries. The Soviet Union’s Luna 2 spacecraft was... [Read More]

Tags: isro chandrayaan pragyan moon vikram

Astronomy aboard Artemis

Article by Shraman Das

Posted on August 29, 2022

Artemis 1 will be the first ever integrated test mission of NASA’s deep space exploration systems which would include the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. It will lay the foundation for human deep space exploration by studying the flight of the spacecraft through deep space for... [Read More]

Tags: artemis SLS moon rocket nasa

First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

Article by Ashmit Bathla

Posted on July 25, 2022

On the 25th of December 2021, The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) set sail from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) launch site at Kourou in French Guiana, beginning a historic program that took nearly 20 years of immense hard work and ambition to complete and 10 billion dollars worth of... [Read More]

Tags: jwst first-images nasa esa csa

India's Technological Advancements in Astronomy

Article by Ishita Vyavahare

Posted on January 26, 2022

Freshly mutilated by the partition, plundered by colonial rule, with more than half our people dependent on their harvest and even more living below the poverty line; despite fitting the status quo of the Third World country, India dared to establish ISRO and decided to go to space very well... [Read More]

Tags: india rocket SKA space isro iitk

History of Astronomy

Article by Mohammad Saad

Posted on December 26, 2021

One often masters a science but forgets to appreciate how a theory of today has travelled through times and developed due to contributions from great minds across all time periods. What I discuss ahead is how Astronomy took the form it has today: a historical account of the science of... [Read More]

Tags: history astronomy

Starship - A New Beginning For Humanity

Article by Yashika and Shashank

Posted on August 15, 2021

Welcome to the 21st-century space race, one that could potentially lead to 10-minute space vacations, orbiting space hotels, and humans on Mars. Now, instead of warring superpowers battling for dominance in orbit, private companies are competing to make space travel easier and more affordable. In recent days, SpaceX has been... [Read More]

Tags: spacex rocket elon-musk space nasa

How Phosphine in Venus may be hinting towards a possible Life?

Article by Gurbaaz Singh Nandra

Posted on September 16, 2020

Before you even start wondering what is phosphine or what the heck does it have to do with life on Venus, just sit and relax and let me take you along the journey. [Read More]

Tags: alien-life astronomy phosphine space venus

Biggest Blackhole Collision Yet

Article by Ajay Kumar

Posted on September 8, 2020

This ‘out of the world’ event ,announced on 2 September 2020 in Physical Review Letters, is by far the biggest event ever detected via gravitational waves.The collision released about eight times the energy in our sun in just a fraction of second! [Read More]

Tags: collision blackhole gravitational-waves

RAD Project Handbook

Article by Mubashshir Uddin

Posted on September 3, 2020

A comprehensive compilation, of the birth and various mysteries of our cosmos. We at Astro-Club IITK did through research and scrambled into various texts – mainly “The Physical Universe“- by Frank Shu. To be able to delve into this amazing subject without the consideration’s on where to start, we have... [Read More]

Tags: project cosmology handbook documentation

Why the 30M Telescope is so controversial?

Article by Varun Muralidharan

Posted on September 3, 2020

The peak of Mauna Kea has been a go to place for astronomers around the world with more than a dozen telescopes. The 30m telescope (TMT) was supposed to the latest addition to the line-up of telescopes in Hawaii. With an estimated cost of over a billion dollars it would... [Read More]

Tags: controversy telescope

Black Hole Information Paradox

Article by Mubashshir Uddin

Posted on September 2, 2020

People often portray Black-holes as giant vacuum cleaners that destroy all that wearies too close. Though that statement itself is only an exaggeration, you certainly won’t be surprised to know the truth is even more unshakable. Here we address the first fear of the wandering mind which has just come... [Read More]

Tags: paradox blackhole