Skygazers rejoice as pollution recedes

KOCHI: The coronavirus lockdown and the resulting drop in levels of pollution have come as a blessing for amateur stargazers who are experiencing clearer night skies. On Sunday night astro-enthusiasts in Kerala could witness the passing of the International Space Station (ISS), the largest man-made object in low earth orbit clearly wherever the sky was not cloudy.
“It was quite clear on Sunday. I felt that the duration of the view was longer, and this could be due to less pollution and haze. Every time the ISS passes overhead, we make it a point to view it,” said Rajani T R, an amateur stargazer and teacher with Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Aluva.
Harikumar KS of Breakthrough Science Society (BSS) said stargazers are reporting clearer night skies.
"I could not watch the passing of ISS on Sunday since the sky was cloudy, but many are experiencing clearer skies. Yesterday, the space station was visible at 7.21 pm and many could even photograph it with their mobile phones. Normally, it is impossible to see it clearly because of the haze," said Harikumar.
Francis Kalathungal, vice president, BSS, said though the society has not critically verified if there is anecdotal evidence. "The night skies appear to be more "transparent" now. Star clusters seem to be more vivid.
It may be attributed to two reasons, the downgrade in atmospheric pollution and the widespread summer rains might have washed down the dust particles. However, since there's too much cloud cover, sky watching using telescopes is locked down like any other activity," he said.
BSS is currently engaged in organising online science lectures. On Saturday, they organized a webinar on SARS-Cov-2 pandemic by Subramani M, former professor of Vanderbilt University, US.
“We are planning to organise similar programmes in the district level soon,” said Harikumar.