Village students observe celestial bodies

A group of 300 underprivileged school children from a Haryana village got an opportunity to observe celestial bodies through a telescope on the occasion of the Childrens' Day, an NGO said here Friday.

Organised by the Bharti Foundation along with an NGO, Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE), the event was held Thursday night at Bhojawas village in Rewari district.

"The students controlled the telescope in real time and understood how to identify stars, planets, moon etc., and in turn learnt about the importance of celestial objects in detail," Amit Verma, chief executive officer of SPACE said.

"Our aim was to educate them about the benefits they receive from space, and to foster enthusiastic education and interest in science," he added.

The students also learnt about the functions, types, and set-ups of the telescope and techniques to observe the sky at night.

In addition, a ten-minute film on 'Life on the International Space Station' was screened for the students.

"SPACE organisation's project is opening a whole new world of science and space for the children in government schools," said Mamta Saikia, vice-president of the Bharti Foundation.