Fest offers insights into cosmos

AHMEDABAD: The three-day Astronomy Fest 2017 concluded on Sunday with a slew of activities. The festival had started on Friday with the inauguration by Dr Anil Bharadwaj, the director of the Physical Research Laboratory, in the presence of scientists from the PRL, the ISRO, and various state-based universities. Over the three days, experts such as Dr R D Deshpande, Dr Hari Om Vats, Prof Narendra Bhandari, Dr Brij Mohan Thakore, Dr Vishal Joshi, and Dr Kuljeet Manhas explored different topics related to astronomy and earth sciences.
Dhananjay Rawal, the president of the Astronomy Group of Ahmedabad (AGA) that hosted the festival, said that over 700 enthusiasts participated in the event daily. Activities took place from 5 pm to 10 pm. “It was heartening to see the response from children and adults alike to activities ranging from rocket modelling workshop to day and night sky watching,” he said. “We had invited eminent scientists and science communicators for talks.”
Organizers said that in the second edition of the festival, main attractions were the display of meteorites, fossils of dinosaur eggs and bones, daytime astronomy, full-dome film festival, and hands-on activities.