Top Ten reasons why you should be at the Milky Way Voyage

1. The 1^st and the largest star party in India. Its a start of a culture. We have waited long for such a professionally oraganised star party.

2. A fleet of Jumbo sized telescopes lined up at the ‘Telescope Grounds’ including several of the largest amateur telescopes in India.

3. Interact with best amateur astronomers from all over India.

4. The best telescope manufacturers and vendors will be present; you can touch, feel and buy all the astronomical equipment.

5. Where else would you get a chance to visually observe through an observatory 22" telescope.

6. Demos on - Observing techniques at the eyepiece; advanced astrophotography from best astrophotographers in India; and, of course, tour the Milky Way with Naked Eye.

7. A chance and a wide receptive audience to showcase your telescope work, your innovation and your astronomy organisation.

8. Get some real work done under the clear and dark skies of Nainital.

9. Want a greater challenge than finishing the Messier Marathon? Join in to complete the Milky Way Voyage - A New Wonder List.

10. We bet you’ve never seen 300 magnificent astronomers with their light machines together on an observing ground around a 40" dome.

I am happy to learn that the Milky Way Voyage (star party) is being organised at ARIES, Nainital on March 7-9, by Mr. Ajay Talwar, Mr. Nilesh Vayada and their team under the umbrella of SPACE. It is a unique science popularisation programme as it involves not only familiarisation of the interesting celestial objects but also plan to train people in observational astronomy using telescopes up to 52-cm in size. I am sure that this type of programme will fulfill long term goal of taking science and technology to the common people. The efforts made by Mr. Talwar and his team are commendable. My best wishes for the success of the Programme.

With regards,

Dear Milky Way Voyagers,

This is a truly wonderful initiative taken by amateur astronomers Ajay Talwar and Nilesh Vayada, in association with the Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (S.P.A.C.E.), to conduct the first ever star-party in India, that they have titled ‘Milky Way Voyage’. This star party is being conducted within the Nainital Observatory campus, with kind permission of the Aryabhatta Research Institute (ARIES), Nainital. This is the best possible location for this initiative - an initiative to help us befriend the stars and the deep sky objects.

We go through our busy lives, sometimes completely unaware of many, very interesting celestial dances in our neighbourhood. Times when two or more bright planets may be visible close to each other or a bright star moves behind the Moon, and so on. The skies in our cities are so filled with light pollution, that it is difficult for children to even have an idea that stars also rise and set, moving from east to west, all through the night. This is the sorry state of affairs where bright planets and stars are concerned. Beyond this "world" of bright stars and planets is the "Universe" filled with beautiful and physically interesting deep sky objects. From a city like Delhi, it seems like asking for the "Moon" - wanting to see the deep sky objects in the sky :-)

In such circumstances, it seems like being provided a fresh breath of air - this opportunity of taking off on a Milky Way Voyage in a light pollution free environment, under the guidance of seasoned amateur astronomers, each bringing their unique expertise to this event. I would urge you to take the maximum advantage of this opportunity. Pick up as many pointers as possible, from the senior amateur astronomers while giving your own enthusiasm for the sky, a full throttle, and enjoy the event.

Let this event be the beginning of an intensity of astronomy related activities that we can share with our own neighbourhood children, onwards to our celebrating the year 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy!

Confederation of Indian Amateur Astronomers

Though India maybe lagging behind some countries in the field of Amateur Telescope Making (ATM), the country is well known for its ambitious people and are now considered to be the best in the field. No wonder even the Director of Caltech Observatories (Keck, Palomar etc.) is Indian - Shri Kulkarni. With the launch of the Moon Mission in April this year, India is on the threashold of the Space Age. Only last year the United Nations declared the Year 2009 as the International Year for Astronomy. The timings for the Milky Way Voyage 2008 could not have been better. Under the able guidance of Ajay Talwar and Nilesh Vayada, a pair of the First Generation ATM, the Milky Way Voyage 2008 serves as an excellent platform for the younger generation astronomers. No doubt this would prove as ‘Standing on the Shoulder of Giants’ experience to every participant.