Seema's blog

 Last days of Prof.P.Devdas “He was active even during the last phase of his life and took part in all seminars on astronomy. In 2006 March Devdas was hospitalized  for 5days . Another motorist had caused serious vehicle accident, while he was going  to a conference. Although he suffered no serious lasting injury,his hearing was impaired He had missed the 2005 Mars opposition and was looking forward to the next, but in fact his final observations  of the Red Planet were made in 2003. When he was 91 years old, a 14-inch telescope on the terrace, a five-inch one in the study, and  copies of Amateur Astronomer’s Handbook and Understanding Earth comprised Devadas’ universe. Helped in his old age by Komala,Devdas died on 18 December 2015 at 92 years of age. Legacy Now his daughter ,Komala Murugesan which was co-auther for some of his papers ably carries forward his work . She not only continued his firm,’Devdas Telescoptics’,but arranges star parties for various orga...

     I first met Shri Devadas with my late father Dr PD Venkatakrishnan, MBBS, DPH, MF Hom (Lond)., in 1986, at   the time of the apparition of comet Halley.  It was a cloudy evening. We waited for long only to end-up viewing the take off and landing of flights at the Chennai airport,  situated in the western direction of his residence.     He told me to observe planet Saturn. It was in the constellation of Scorpious back then, in 1987.  Indeed, planet saturn was a spectacle to observe ! Even today (in the days of space telescopes, spaceprobes, and the internet) nothing can match the beauty of planet saturn when observed through a small telescope.  It is the first direct indicator of the resolving power of a small telescope ! He was an avid self-made Astronomer who made telescopes, grinding glass blanks with his own hands in his backyard, who later established an engineering firm manufacturing small to medium sized telescopes f...

Dr.V.Anand writes a blog "Astrodentist".There he says,  I first met Shri Devadas with my late father Dr PD Venkatakrishnan,  in 1986, at   the time of the apparition of comet Halley. He told me to observe planet Saturn. Indeed, planet saturn was a spectacle to observe ! Even today (in the days of space telescopes, spaceprobes, and the internet) nothing can match the beauty of planet saturn when observed through a small telescope.  It is the first direct indicator of the resolving power of a small telescope ! He was an avid self-made Astronomer who made telescopes,  grinding glass blanks with his own hands in his backyard,  who later established an engineering firm manufacturing small to medium sized telescopes  for the use of the interested common man.  His equatorially mounted sturdy reflector telescopes are there in every nook and corner  of this vast country.  His telescopes are in Surendranagar, Gujarat as well as in  Calcu...

 जगातील एकमेव दुरंगी फुलांच्या शोधात..... अचानकच ठरलं जायचं. नक्की ठिकाण माहिती नव्हतं. गुगल केलं पण .... शेवटी अंधारात तीर मारायचं ठरवलं. एवढं माहिती होतं की गगनबावडा हायवे वरच आहे. राष्ट्रीय महामार्गाच्या विस्तारीकरणा मधे हे झाड तोडल जाणार आहे. बाचुळकर सरांचे शर्थीचे प्रयत्न चालू आहेत त्याला वाचवण्या साठी......... कुडित्रे सोडून पुढे गेल्यावर रस्त्याची काम दिसायला लागली. रस्त्यावर झाडांचं शिरकाण चालूच होतं.  झाडांची दफनभूमीच जणू😰 झाडांची ती निर्जीव शिल्पे पाहून डोळे पाणावले. पण विकास हवा असेल तर त्याला काय पर्याय??  आकाश पूर्ण ढगांनी आच्छादून गेले होते.  एका बाजूला खूपच खराब रस्ता. एवढ्या भक्कम गाडीची पण हाडं खिळखिळी व्हायच्या बेतात ......  शेण गाव यायचं काही चिन्ह नाही .किती लांब ते पण माहित नाही. वाटेत एकेठिकाणी एक गणेशमंदिर लागले.पुढे सुंदर कमळांनी नटलेले गोल तळे.....                                               ...

***रेवती नक्षत्राची पुराणकथा***  रेवतीची कथा महाभारत आणि भागवत पुराण यांसारख्या अनेक पुराणग्रंथांमध्ये दिलेली आहे. विष्णु पुराणात रेवतीची कथा पुढीलप्रमाणे सांगितली आहे, राजा काकुद्मी (कधीकधी काकुडमीन किंवा रेवताचा मुलगा रैवता असेही म्हणतात) हा  कुशस्थलीचा राजा होता. रेवती ही  काकुद्मीची एकुलती एक मुलगी होती. आपल्या लाडक्या आणि हुशार मुलीशी लग्न करण्यासाठी पृथवीवरचा कोणीही मनुष्य लायक नाही, असे वाटून काकुद्मीने रेवतीला ब्रह्मलोकात - ब्रह्मदेवाच्या निवासस्थानी नेले. जेव्हा ते आले तेव्हा ब्रह्मा गंधर्वांचे संगीत ऐकत होते, म्हणून ते कार्यक्रम संपेपर्यंत धीराने थांबले. मग, काकुद्मीने नम्रपणे नमस्कार केला, विनंती केली आणि आपल्या उमेदवारांची निवड यादी सादर केली. ब्रह्मदेव मोठ्याने हसले आणि समजावून सांगितले की वेगवेगळ्या लोकांमधे काळ वेगवेगळ्या प्रकारे चालतो .आणि त्यांना  भेटण्यासाठी त्यांनी ब्रह्मलोकात घालवलेल्या अल्पावधीच्या काळातच पृथ्वीवर 27 चतुर्युग होऊन गेले होते आणि सर्व उमेदवार फार पूर्वीच मरण पावले होते.  ब्रह्मदेव पुढे म्हणाले की काकुद्मी आता एकटाच आहे कारण...

Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac.  It's a vast bulk – and main asterism viewed  as a distant pair of fishes connected by one cord each that join at an apex – is in the Northern celestial hemisphere.  Its name is the Latin plural for fish.. Ancient astronomers counted twelve stars as belonging to Pisces, though one was later incorporated into nearby Grus as Gamma Gruis.Other stars became part of Microscopium.  The two fish of the constellation Pisces are said to be the offspring of the Great Fish.  In Egyptian mythology, this fish saved the life of the Egyptian goddess Isis, so she placed this fish and its descendants into the heavens as constellations of stars. This story is given in detail in the blog of 'Great Fish. ' In Greek mythology, there is a similar tale associated with Pisces.   The Greek myth of the fishes goes back to the end of the Gigantomachy, the decisive battle that fought between the Giants and the Olympian gods for supremacy o...