Astronomy Outreach at Shree Niketan Patasala, Vengambakkam

Last weekend, the Chennai Astronomy Club conducted an astronomy workshop for around 260 students at Shree Niketan Patasala in Vengambakkam.

We began with an interactive session on the Sun, discussing its size, structure, temperature, sunspots and its importance to life on Earth. We also explored how the Sun compares with other stars and addressed some common questions and misconceptions.

To help the students understand the enormous distances within our solar system, we then conducted a Solar System scale walk. Each group represented a planet and stood at a scaled distance from the Sun, giving the students a clearer sense of just how vast and mostly empty the Solar System is.

The students were then taken outdoors for safe solar observation. Three telescopes fitted with white-light solar filters were used to show the visible surface of the Sun, while a dedicated hydrogen-alpha telescope offered a different view, revealing features in the Sun’s atmosphere.

The students were full of questions throughout the programme, making it an energetic and engaging morning of learning and observation.