SWAN
  • Home
  • About
    • Achievements
    • Activities
  • Outreach
    • Past Events
    • Workshops
    • Academics
  • Gallery
    • Pictures
    • Videos
    • SWAN TV
  • Astro Blog
  • Astrophotography
  • Contact Us
    • Membership >
      • Information
      • Online Form
      • Terms of Membership

Past Events

NAVONEEL 2019

2/18/2019

 
NAVONEEL is an all round astronomy exhibition and festival. Hosted biennially, this event sees a participation from hundreds of school and college students with over ten thousand visitors from all around the country.
This year NAVONEEL was organized between 14th and 17th February and saw huge participation from  people and students from all around Bengal.
NAVONEEL 2019 WEBPAGE

A SPECTRAcular Workshop with 300 students

5/29/2018

 
SWAN successfully organised an academic outreach event on Tuesday, 29th of May  at Hindi Balika Vidyapith. In this event around 290 students and few faculty members made their own Spectroscope 'SWANSCOPE Spectra' under the guidance of SWAN.
The session started with, audio-visually demonstrations about the Day Time Astronomy  & Working principle of a spectroscope, after that a hands-on workshop on SWANscope- SPECTRA making. SWANscope- SPECTRA is a spectroscope, through templates prepared by SWAN. After the spectroscope making workshop, the participants were taken for the closing session to the field, where they experienced Live Solar viewing through the Coronado SolarMax-60, after which the event was wrapped-up at 3:30pm.
The participants were highly excited and happy to see the sun flares through the telescope.
The school authority was highly cooperative and helped in the smooth running of the program.

Academic Excursion at NHPC Teesta Low Dam Project- III

5/6/2018

 
With support from National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), we conducted an academic excursion to the giant 'Teesta Low Dam Project III' (TLDP- III) at Rambi, North Bengal, on 6th May, 2018 with a team of 100 heads, including students, teachers, professors and SWAN members.
 
Top NHPC engineers, officials and environmentalists accompanied the excursion team to demonstrate the scientific and operational aspects of the hydro power generation unit of Government of India worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore.
 
The team was awestruck learning about the huge dams made to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 9.5, the amazing ‘Fish Ladder’, the huge spillway gates, the turbines as big as a four storey building, and the stored water of 33 meters height! The impact on the environment and the necessary rehabilitation measures were also discussed.
 
We are also thankful to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for their extreme cooperation and selfless help.
 We are thankful to NHPC for sharing the photographs of the event as photography by visitors is restricted at the facility due to security purposes. 
Find more photos here.
Picture
Picture

Super-Blue-Blood-Lunar Eclipse outreach- January 31, 2018

2/5/2018

 
Picture
Picture
It was a huge success for SWAN team in shooting and observing the Super-Blue-Blood-Lunar Eclipse on 31st January, 2018.

Making it available for visitors to observe the eclipse through SWAN's telescopes, a participation of over 2500 people was seen in one evening at our observation location- Ram Krishna Ashram, Sahudangi.

We are thankful to all the visitors, photo enthusiasts and media personnel who supported us in this venture.

SWAN Jalpaiguri team was also in action with multiple telescopes, on Screen projection etc.

Nature Study Camp Tour, 2017

12/29/2017

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Just completed our annual December end Nature Study Camp tour. A hectic journey of over 700 km in a vehicle loaded with instruments including Telescopes, Projector, Screen, Power back up, small audio system, tents, study material and all other essentials to show Sky to over 1000 kids at different nature Study Camps organized by non-profit voluntary organizations at different off location in Himalayan terrain and foothills. 
We spend one day at each camp showing the kids there sky, talking to them of sky, giving their in-born interest on space an extra impetus to look up to the sky with better methodology and in organized manner. We have been doing this for at least for last 15 years. 
But 2017 trip was special as we could run two parallel teams to run simultaneously. Both put together, we have covered 6 camps with total over 1000 kids. Including camp organizers, officials, and local villagers there, we could show Moon to around 1200 persons in total through our telescopes.
Indeed dog tired we all are indeed physically. But highly charged and rejuvenated from inside. Thanks to all those camp organizers for inviting us and giving us an opportunity to take all these kids to a journey to the sky. We will get tired once again, exactly in this same way, next year.

For more photographs, please visit- ​https://flic.kr/s/aHskrwzFXk

Astronomy Outreach at Darjeeling Public School- 2017

12/26/2017

 
SWAN had organised an astronomy outreach at Darjeeling Public School, Fulbari. Approximately over 200 enthusiastic students, teachers and staff members of the school participated actively. On Screen presentations, Astronomy quiz, star gazing under the starry sky and Lunar observation through an 8" Cassegrain telescope made the event a great success.

For more photos please visit- ​https://flic.kr/s/aHskrwzFXF
Picture
Picture

Southern Solstice, 2017

12/21/2017

 
Picture
Picture
The shortest day of the year (21st December known as Southern Solstice) was as usual packed with lots of fun with kids. Enjoyed a lot today at a special Solar Observation session jointly organised by North Bengal Science Centre and SWAN. Everyone there including all kids and all visitors to the centre got the opportunity to see Sun along with it's flares and Sun spots through SWAN'S new Hydrogen Alpha Telescope, Coronado Solarmax II 60.
​A great experience indeed with many other activities related to astronomy including a open to all kind of Astronomy Quiz.

Outreach at Heritage Academy, Naxalbari

12/3/2017

 
Picture
SWAN's outreach event dated, 1st December, 2017, held at Heritage Academy, Naxalbari was altogether a unique experience with all the students boosted up with utmost enthusiasm and curiosity. 
The event started at 5 pm and was successfully packed up at around 8:45pm with the audience head count of more than 400 who witnessed Sky Modelling Sessions, Onscreen Presentations and a Live Lunar Observation Session. 
A heartfelt thanks to all the students, their parents and the school administrators for being such a good audience and host for the event.

Astrophotography Workshop, 2017.

11/15/2017

 
Picture
Picture
​The much awaited, non-profit academic initiative of SWAN in association with SPS, was conducted in the pristine premises of Satkura Trisrota Mandir (one of the Mahapiths in India), a remote area near Indo-Bangladesh border on 11th of November, which provided a panaromic view of the sky. The event, probably, is the very first of its kind in the entire Eastern India and proved to be an extraordinary experience for all the participants. As the participants had to be given a brief idea about the destination and the workshop, an informative theory class was conducted on the 10th to give an abstract idea of the proceedings of the D-Day.
The workshop started with shooting the Milky-Way and simultaneously a small team of 2, conducted a brief sky-modelling session followed by a sky-watching session for the people of the village. More than 300 heads took part in the 2-houred sessions and enjoyed viewing the Pleiades- A cluster of stars. After the Milky way shoot, the participants continued with shooting star-trails. After the Moon came up late at night, a brief Lunar Watching session was conducted where the participants observed the Moon through a Celestron 8” SCT and snapped the beauty with the Nikons and Canons.

Outreach at Motidhar Tea Estate, 2017.

11/9/2017

 
Picture
Reaching the less privileged poor souls at the Motidhar Tea Estate, we organised live lunar viewing through a Celestron 8" Cassegrain telescope followed by on- screen presentations and a quiz.
​This stunning eye, this astonishing feel, this first time in life experience, these are the priceless returns we receive from those rural folks during all our public outreach events in deep interior areas. 

Electrical workshop for SWAN juniors.

10/23/2017

 
Picture
Picture
As our member Arpita reports about our Electrical workshop...
It was an awesome evening with few of our juniors at our Electrical Hand on Experience workshop organised by SWAN. There we learned together as a team about pressure,voltage, fuse, mcb etc. Apart from this we got to try out our hands in making a small extension socket board. Learning was a fun but at the same time our juniors realized that practicals and real life hand on task is a much more difficult thing than the syllabus based theories in our books. Hope so that this learning and experience will be utilised by our juniors in their near future and help them be more realistic and hardworking. 

Outreach by SWAN juniors

9/24/2017

 
SWAN junior members organised a small Lunar observation outreach followed by on- screen presentations and a quiz competition. It was the first time that the SWAN junior team conducted an outdoor session. The event was great success and the response from the viewers were mixed with awe and happiness.
Picture
Picture

'Bengal Floods' Relief Camp, 2017

8/28/2017

 
Picture
Picture
SWAN took an initiative to provide relief to the flood victims at Berubari, Manikganj, a remote area near Indo-Bangladesh border, by organizing a free medical camp last Sunday, on 27th August.
We provided medical help to nearly 600 people belonging to more than 400 families by distributing medicines free of cost and with the with the enthusiastic involvement of all our doctors. We also distributed drinking water purifying chemicals for a month's usage to each family affected by the flood.
We are very thankful for the tireless support of the local authority at Berubari. We are also very thankful to Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) for their support in making this camp successful.

For more photographs, please visit- https://flic.kr/s/aHsm7QPSu

The Great American Eclipse- 21st Aug, 2017

8/22/2017

 
Picture
Our member, Kamalaksha Das was in Georgia on behalf of SWAN to observe the Great American Eclipse on 21st Aug, 2017 and came up with a nice output in his first attempt at astrophotography.
This being his first Total Solar Eclipse experience, he was awestruck by the incredible beauty of the feel to be in the shadow of the Moon.

Twin Iridium Flares

4/29/2017

 
Sky doesn't always disappoint. Sometimes it does just the opposite. Amid near zero possibility, sky became clear and we got to see the TWIN IRIDIUM FLARE. Two simultaneous flares at the same time, same location from two different satellites of the same orbit is too rare a event. Rather only one of its kind.
More importantly, both the sats are now near uncontrolled ones as reported. Both of them gave their respective flares almost 10 sec ahead of the time, mathematically calculated based upon their official TLE.
Picture

A day for the underprivileged

4/14/2017

 
Picture
​Celebrating the birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the great Indian visionary whose contribution for the upliftment of the backward classes in India is incomparable, SWAN, in association with North Bengal Science Centre, had organized a Science Outreach session for the underprivileged students of a local school. The students visited the Science Museum, attended science shows and presentation sessions and participated in a quiz competition.

Astronomy outreach at SSB Paramilitary Force Camp

1/13/2017

 
Picture
Swan had organized an astronomy outreach exhibition at a fair organized by the Sashastra Seema Bal. School students, staff and soldiers of the paramilitary force participated in the exhibition.

NAVONEEL- 2016

11/7/2016

 
Picture
Picture
Navoneel is a biennial Astronomy fest organized by SWAN and is one is of its kind in West Bengal, if not India. Organized in the month of November 3rd to 6th, this 4th episode of NAVONEEL saw a footfall of over 12,000 and made its mark in astronomy outreach in India. The four day fest comprised of an astrophotography exhibition, astronomy workshops, open discussion sessions, quiz competitions and was concluded with LIVE moon observation through several telescopes on the final day. Also, school teams from twelve schools and colleges competed each other in the inter institute Demonstration Competition.

Astronomy Outreach at North Bengal Petroleum Dealers’ Association

7/25/2016

 
Picture
Picture
An astronomy outreach was organized for the members of North Bengal Petroleum Dealers’ Association.

Daytime Astronomy and Solar Observation camp at Army Public School, Bengdubi

4/22/2016

 
Picture
Picture
​SWAN had organized a Daytime Astronomy and Solar Observation camp at Army Public School, Bengdubi on 22nd April, 2016. The event comprised of indoor presentations on Basic Astronomy and Planetary motion. An outdoor workshop on Safe Solar Observation and building simple Sun Projectors with materials available  in every household was organized too. Touching over 500 students, teachers and staff members of the school, SWAN showed the Sun to every individual through an 8” Cassegrain Telescope.
<<Previous

    Events

    Here you can find our events 

    Categories

    All
    Events Of 2012
    Public Outreach
    Recent Events
    School Events

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
    • Achievements
    • Activities
  • Outreach
    • Past Events
    • Workshops
    • Academics
  • Gallery
    • Pictures
    • Videos
    • SWAN TV
  • Astro Blog
  • Astrophotography
  • Contact Us
    • Membership >
      • Information
      • Online Form
      • Terms of Membership