Around 8 a.m. on Sunday June 22, 2014, near the Schmidt Memorial on the Elliots beach, many people gathered for watching the Sun. The day was special. It was the International Sun – Day.
The Tamilnadu Astronomical Society (TAS) had organised the viewing on the Sun – day, an event celebrated across 20 countries on the first Sunday after the summer solstice.
The volunteers of TAS used three telescopes to view the sun and each one had its own specific feature – one was a reflective telescope, the other one had a hydrogen filter (image was red in color showing the presence of Hydrogen in sun) and the third telescope had a normal filter.
“Now that the sun is in the solar maximum phase, solar prominences are more common. The increased magnetic activity in the Sun during the 11-year solar maximum results in a large number of solar prominences, where sparks appear to emanate from its side also the sun is already 4.5 billion years old and has used up nearly half of the hydrogen in it’s core, the sun will continue to burn for another 5 billion or so and then helium will become it’s primary fuel.The sun will expand about a 100 times its current size and swallow the earth and other planets,” D. Vijayakumar, president of the society, explained.
He was actively explaining all the queries posed by the viewers especially children. He encouraged children to develop interest in astronomy.
TAS has been working towards educating the public on the wonders of the sky for eight years now. The society also conducts frequent astronomical sidewalk events in many parts of Chennai.
One can follow the event in http://www.facebook.com/groups/taschennai
Contact mail id: taschennai2012@gmail.com
TAS can be reached at monile phone no. 9382870662