East Gaterr with a Star Gazer

As a kid, we have always dreamt of reaching the sky and catching the moon and stars. We were curious to meet the old lady making Vada(i)s there in the moon for who, only she knows. Often, moon is the toy which is shown to a small baby by the mother, to make that stubborn child eat the food. Grown-ups still love to observe the astronomical events through whichever means they could afford. Just observing the space will make our mind just blow and make us fall in love with this marvelous creation.

A Simple Snap of the Moon by Me :)

As a child, we always tried to run along the moon or to hide from it. We got surprised, shocked by a shooting star which appears just for a fraction of second. However hard we try, we always forget to make a wish when a shooting star flies in the sky. While there are many memories to reminisce about the vast space, moons and tiny stars, there are people who are doing serious business by learning, observing and researching about this grand space.

Saturn

Now, while all of the mentioned above are still happening with full curiousity, one of my friend is also observing the space from THANJAVUR. I was thrilled to witness the space closely through him for the first time. The stories and fact he tells about the galaxy makes me want to observe and fall in love with the space and planets more. 

Orion Nebula captured by Madhavan

Madhavan aka Maddy among his friends is a smart IT professional by day and a curous astrophile y night. Like everyone, Madhavan also wanted to run along the moon. Later when he grew up, he developed his childish curiosity into a hobby. He recalls this turning point came when he was listening to one discourse by Sri U.Ve. Krishnan Swamigal about some constellation in 2019. Madhavan recalls that this discourse was a catalyst to boost this tiny spark and made him to delve into the subject seriously. Also when he became part of some amateur astrophile groups in Facebook, he got some clarity on how and where to begin this space journey. After saving a big part of his salary, he bought the 8 inches Dobsonian reflector and made his terrace as his observatory. With the information from his astrophile networks, he observes the events on the sky. He also spends whole night awake just to observe few events that happens in the mid night or early morning. He has a beautiful Instagram handle, where he uploads shots from the space which he clicks with utmost patience. 

Jupiter's Moon - Lo

For the first time, I met him and it was a day before or after a full moon day. That’s when I discovered the bright shining stars are not stars, but they are planets. I learnt about this fact and he showed me the Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Twin stars/binary star system is another interesting star to watch, the name of the star is Albireo which shines in 2 colors. Glad that we got to know each other and I got to witness the magnanimous space from Madhavan’s terrace with facts about what we are observing. I have seen Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the binary stars and a small glimpse of the Andromeda Galaxy.

I am grateful for this astronomical experience that I had with the help of Madhavan. And also, we share one common interest i.e. the love towards the history and evolution of Thanjavur. Madhavan hopes that his interest to observe the space to grow more personally and also he welcomes anybody to get to known about the simple and mind-blowing facts about the space.

This specific hobby of observing space is unique. At least for me, I have come across only Madhavan doing this in Thanjavur. Space, galaxy and universe will be always one exciting subject for a commoner. Looking forward to witness more events that happens in the vast space.

Yours East Gaterr