22 February,2010 10:20 AM IST | | Shree Lahiri
Astro Trekkers are a bunch of astronomy enthusiasts who organise stargazing sessions that they call Star Parties
They live, breathe and swear by astronomy. They are a bunch of 20-somethings, and for them the sky, the stars, the planets and other celestial bodies are everything. And they have been at it for five years.
They are a group of college students from the city who came together to form a forum to share their common interest in stargazing and astronomy. They call themselves the Astro Trekkers.
Ritesh Ksheersagar (19), a founder member of Astro Trekkers, is a second-year college student.u00a0 He said, "We started this group after we finished Class 10 in 2005. All of us were already interested in astronomy, and we used to look out for seminars happening in the city, which we used to attend without fail."
He recalled that while he was in school, they were taken to the Pune University for a seminar organised by the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). "The seminar was on cosmic rays," said Ritesh.
The other founder members are Shrikrishna Kulkarni, Adwait Kulkarni, Ankit Bhandari, Gaurav Shete, Anurag Khaire, Sagar Deshpande and Zeeba Baig, who looks after publicity for the group.
"The main objective was to spread awareness about astronomy," said Ritesh.u00a0 "People still think there are nine planets. They don't know Pluto is no longer considered a planet!"
This group started the innovative Star Parties to create awareness about solar eclipses and other such activities. Ritesh said, "The idea behind it is to understand and enjoy the night sky and initially we had them (Star Parties) on the rooftops of our societies. Star Parties are organised in rural areas or the interiors, anywhere where there's no light pollution."
He said a recent Astro Trekkers-organised Star Party was on January 9, in a village called Pachane, about 10 km from Hinjewadi. "We took over 150 participants there, all of them enthusiasts from 8-year-olds to those over 40," said Ritesh.
The Astro Trekkers now are a team of 15 members.u00a0 "We share a common interest in astronomy. After we formed Astro Trekkers, we bought two telescopes and started off with the activities. And I must say, we are getting good response," said Ritesh.u00a0 "We also discussed the solar eclipse which happened on January 15 and the lunar eclipse witnessed on the last day of 2009," he said. They are planning another star party at Pachane, in May.
Shrikrishna, another founder member, is in his second year of mechanical engineering. "I remember initially we had to go door-to-door talking to people about our star parties, and the response we got was overwhelming," he signed off.
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Those interested in astronomy, or who want to attend a Star Party, can contactu00a0
Ritesh Ksheersagar
on 9096296174.
