Introducing Nikaya Observatory

[Amar Sharma]

Hello All, I take immense pride in sharing the following with you, which I had been awaiting since several weeks, however due to unnecessary delays could not. Bangalore has its own latest "backyard observatory" established in vision of reaching astronomy to literally one and all; students, novice individuals, and serious amateur astronomers. About the place: A noble personality, Mr. Mouli Raman, co-founder of OnMobile software is the owner and visionary of the unique place. The state-of-the-art Observatory was erected when he got instigated realizing there is no single facility or observatory in the Country to help propogate the development of astronomy to both novice and advanced astronomers. The Observatory tower (with a motorized dome and several accessories) is part of "Yoga Nikaya" yoga / meditation retreat, a non-profit center (running only on donations) to facilitate access for interested yoga groups. A serene, rejuvenating ambience just 60km from South Bangalore, its a place to be experienced by one! Its also got quite good dark skies to do astronomy, being just 20km from Hosur light pollution! The theme of Nikaya clubbing yoga/meditation and astronomy in one place falls very apt, in the sense of "merging the inner Cosmos with the outside"! :-) A temporary website is up. We await a professional website to be developed. I am creating a separate image gallery for Nikaya, will take few days. http://yoganikaya.org/observatory Note: Anyone and everyone from anywhere is welcome to apply for telescope time, at a basic working cost. Weekdays or weekends doesnt matter - you can access the Observatory facility. Maximum capacity for housing is 40 persons. My aspiration is to make this a leading astronomy center in the Country. Here's inviting one and all to participate in our astronomy programs. Thanking You. Amar A. Sharma. Disclaimer : I am a private employee of the Nikaya Trust... Nikaya and its contents, norms and regulations, are NOT affiliated or influenced by BAS in anyway.

[sathya kumar prasanna]

Amar,

Good Job as usual. :) 

All the Best.

Sathya

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[Balaji Muthusubramanian]

hi amar,

Seriously you rock man... 

I'll definitely visit it when I come to bangalore....

Balaji

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Balaji

Earlier we said twinkle twinkle little stars... Today the kids are saying twinkle twinkle where are the stars...

[Suresh Mohan]

Dear Amar,

          Congratulations l it is truly a great opportunity for young aspirants and seasoned people . People in bangalore are fortunate . My best wishes

Suresh

Sent from my iPhone

[Rasik Mhatre]

Amar,

 

Great news.

 

Regards

 

Rasik Mhatre

F1407 Mantri Tranquil
Sy. No. 7/9/13 Gubbalala
Off Kanakpura Road

Bangalore 560 061

TEL: +91-80-42087005/22573247

CELL: +91-9916135779

SKYPE ID: rasikdon
TRANQUIL CENTREX: *826470

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[Hemant Hariyani]

Amar,

This is great news and great job!!!

Regards

Hemant

[N.Vipin]

Congrats Amer...all the best.

Vipin.N

[Amar Sharma]

Thanks to one and all who posted. Doc : Now atleast it is time that you visit the place and grant your Midas touch, so that this becomes a center for astro-imaging and astro-photography :-) Balaji: Yes, what I wanted to tell was infact this place is also good for Chennai'tes. You dont have to touch Bangalore. Immediately after Hosur bus stand just take a left on Thally Road. And at the 20th kilometer is our observatory! For example, we have had Sarvana Perumal from Chennai ask several times for a star party around Bangalore. So Chennai'tes can also think of accessing it in a drive of 4-5 hours. Mutually beneficial for both cosmopolitians. Next new moon before the season closes, why dont B'lore as well as Chennai amateurs also plan here?! Have created a FaceBook group "Nikaya Observatory" long time back, you may join it. There is so much I want to talk about my dreams for the place and astronomy. Its a far-fetched dream, and would take no less than 5 years to achieve everything mentioned - but you have my word, it WILL happen. The highlights of it go as follows: a) To make it an all-round flourishing astronomy visitor center and exhibition area, working 24x7x365. With both day and night activities. b) Using extensive telescope and CCD time for contributing to advanced amateur astronomy projects c) Acquiring an IAU's MPC code for dedicated minor planet work d) Making it remotely operated and accessible from anywhere on the globe e) International amateur and professional participation, wherein even international amateurs apply for telescope time. Looking forward for your all participation. Thanks, Amar.

[Abhilash P]

Great Job, Amar! truly one-of-a kind! you even have a whole page dedicated to you!!  :)

i might come there after april 4th.... can we get our own equipment??

Abhilash.p

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[Arun Venkataswamy]

On Wed, Mar 21, 2012 at 1:28 AM, Amar Sharma <amar_u...@yahoo.com> wrote:

I take immense pride in sharing the following with you, which I had been awaiting since several weeks, however due to unnecessary delays could not. Bangalore has its own latest "backyard observatory" established in vision of reaching astronomy to literally one and all; students, novice individuals, and serious amateur astronomers.

Awesome! Congratulations.

This is one giant step forward for amateur astronomy and science in general for India. 

Kudos to all involved!

Regards,

Arun

 

[venky]

Amar congrats. What a news. I am looking forward to visiting the place and have a feel of the equipment. Great job. Venkatesh.

[Amar Sharma]

Thanks Arun. Venkatesh, yeah the equipment is awesome indeed, the C-14 Edge HD comes in a classy white OTA colour (not the black). I have not used it much for visual purposes, however at f/11 (4000mm focal length) some celestial objects are at their par excellence. For the first time 2 months ago, at medium magnification, I could see Uranus subtending a disk of certain small angular diameter, rather than just a usual prick of light ! At the same time I witnessed the MOST spectacular Orion Nebula I have ever in my life - it was 3d ! Jupiter always shows a plethora of bands and spots, and even undulations in edges of the bands! On Saturday some of us saw the BESTest clear view of Saturn at high magnification I have seen till date, and a mind-boggling Omega Centauri with ~500-600 stars in the field (!) rivaling our 17.5" telescope's magnified views from Kavalur. Mars surface, day before, was wholly covered - as if screaming with dark patches! These are possible only under best moments of seeing, a parameter which our sites usually suffer and are rarely bestowed with. Galaxies are bad, since they get highly magnified. Globulars are good and resolved due to aperture power. All these observations are made under a 6.0 mag dark sky. However, I feel that the visual views of an Edge HD version is a hype and not reaching its expectations; a normal Celestron gives equally as beautiful views. Its innovation must only be getting a non-coma even field towards the edges.