Indian Wildlife Club Ezine

Calendar of the month Desktop calendar for June 2012 RagooRao from Mysore has done some beautiful digital paintings, which we have converted into monthly calendars. Please download these calendars free and use them as your desk top wall paper. By clicking on RagooRao's name, you can read the numerous articles he has written for IndianWildlifeClub.com. He is also a superb nature photographer. To download the calendar suitable for the size of your desktop, please click on the link below. http://www.indianwildlifeclub.com/Calendar/MonthlyCalendar.aspx
Did You Know ? Transit of Venus June 5 : A natural environment wonder is happening on the World Environment Day. -Compiled by Susan Sharma Make sure to see the June 5/6 passage of the planet Venus across the face of the sun: a similar event won't happen again until the year 2117. Catch transit of Venus now, or wait another 100 years. It's so unique that museums and schools around the globe are hosting Venus viewing festivities — all for a chance to see our star sport a fleeting beauty mark. Venus will appear as a small black dot gliding across the disk of the sun. As in a solar eclipse, do not stare directly at the sun; wear special protective glasses. Photo credit: AP \| This June 8, 2004 file photo showing the transit of Venus, which occurs when the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, was taken from Hong Kong. Venus will cross the face of the sun on Tuesday June 5, 2012, a sight that will be visible from parts of Earth. Here is what the Nehru Planetarium in new Delhi has to say about this terrestrial event. "There is worldwide excitement awaiting the Transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun as will be witnessed on the 5th/6th of June 2012. Well ahead of that, in the coming weeks, the planet Venus will be seen with increasing brightness descending rapidly towards the Sun, and later, slowly disappearing in its glare. Everyone would have had seen Venus at its best these days – dominating the western skies with its dazzling brilliance. Something a little strange about it, may or may not have been noticed. This strangeness is a recurring phenomenon with Venus, well known since its first discernment by Galileo, who was the first to turn a telescope towards celestial objects. As Venus becomes brighter, through its appearing nearer and nearer to the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, it becomes thinner and thinner – at its brightest, Venus will be just a thin crescent – something which is discernable only when it is viewed through a telescope. For people interested in the history of astronomy, and in particular from an Indian perspective, it would be quite intriguing to note that there are some possible mentions of phases of Venus in a 17th century treatise on astronomy, in India. This is the Siddhanta Tattva Viveka of Kamalakara, from Varanasi, thought to have been published around 1658. There are several shloka in this treatise where Kamalakara refers to the fact that Venus becomes thinner as it becomes brighter. It would be very fruitful to initiate a closer look at atronomical understanding and observations in the 17th century, from India. (Article by N. Rathnasree, B. S. Shylaja, Geetha Kaidala and Amitabh Mukherjee, submitted to Current Science) To allow citizens of Delhi a view of the crescent Venus, a skywatch is being organized by the Nehru Planetarium, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Some telescopes will be setup at the planetarium on the 4th of May2012, at sunset, and visitors can view not just the planet Venus, but, also Saturn and Mars and the Moon, though these telescopes. There is a peculiar poignancy attached with observing Venus at this time, knowing the it is journeying on its way to transiting in front of the Sun – a rare occurrence which none of us now alive will see again, as its next occurrence will be in the year 2117. The planetarium has prepared a special full dome program about the transit of Venus, which can be seen at 11:30 AM, 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM on this day, to be followed by a discussion session in the planetarium sky theater, about the interesting movements of Venus in the sky and in its orbit, around the Sun. " See also this introductory video uploaded by the Planetarium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDhJcoKNWlA Coral: Rekindling Venus To mark the Transit of Venus, the Australian High Commission, in collaboration with the Nehru Planetarium presents a digital film about the world's oceans by Lynette Wallworth. Titled Coral: Rekindling Venus, it will be shown from 6-18 June 2012 in Delhi. CORAL REKINDLING VENUS is major work for fulldome digital planetariums by acclaimed artist Lynette Wallworth Australian artist Lynette Wallworth has spent five years making this film, containing remarkable footage of the alien world of coral reefs. The film is a timely reminder of the amazing biodiversity we would lose with even a tiny change in sea temperatures. See a trailor of the film at http://youtu.be/cysFRCSM7Nw Read the full details of the program at our events section
Events World Environment Day celebrations in New Delhi and Mumbai New Delhi CORAL: REKINDLING VENUS 3-D FILM SCREENINGS Dates: 6 to 18 June 2012 (except Mondays) Times: 10.30 am on 7, 9, 14 and 15 June 11.30 am, 1.30pm and 5.00 pm on all other days, except Mondays Durations: 10.30am, 11.30am and 1.30pm sessions – 57 mins (planetarium program plus 22 mins of Coral: ReKindling Venus) 5.00pm sessions – 45 mins (full version of Coral: ReKindling Venus) WORKSHOP AND EDUCATION PROGRAM Workshop programs are free of charge but places are limited. All materials for the workshop will be provided. Prior registration is essential. Please book places by logging onto www.india.highcommission.gov.au, via email at: publicaffairs.india@dfat.gov.au or by calling: 011-41494369. Chapaak: art workshops 7 & 14 June 2012 Conducted by: Ms Navroop Romana No. of participants: 20 Create your own 3-D underwater scene and learn about recycling plastic waste (5-8 yrs) 10.30-11.30am Screening 11.30-12.30pm Workshop Create your own coral reef diorama (9-13 yrs) 3.30-4.45pm Workshop 5.00-5.45pm Screening Story Bees: storytelling and creative writing workshops 9 & 15 June 2012 Conducted by: Ms Anisha Bhandari No. of participants: 25 Read and learn about the creatures of the undersea world (5-8 yrs) 3.30-4.30pm Workshop 5.00-5.45pm Screening Write your own poetry inspired by the ocean and illustrate your poems (9-13 yrs) 10.30-11.30am Screening 11.30 -12.30pm Workshop A sky-watch primer: the art and science of the skies 8, 12, 13 and 16 June 2012 Conducted by: Dr Rathnasree Nandivada, Director, Nehru Planetarium No. of participants: 30 Learn about astronomy and star gazing (12-16 yrs) 10.00-11.30am Workshop 11.30-12.30pm Screening High Commission address: 1/50 G Shantipath, Chanakyapuri - Telephone: 4139 9900 - Fax: 4149 4490 Mumbai BNHS World Environment Day Exhibition 2011 Watch the Video of BNHS exhibition on "Forests at Your Service" World Environment Day 2011 It's coming again at Churchgate Station from 5-7 June 2012. Exhibition on "Green Economy". Details contact Bombay Natural History Society” to following address: “Bombay Natural History Society, Conservation Education Center, Near Film City, Goregaon (East), Mumbai- 400065. Telephone: 9594929107 / 9594929107. Email:cecbnhs@bnhs.org thlephone: 9594929107 / 9594929107.

Calendar of the month

Desktop calendar for June 2012

RagooRao from Mysore has done some beautiful digital paintings, which we have converted into monthly calendars. Please download these calendars free and use them as your desk top wall paper.

By clicking on RagooRao's name, you can read the numerous articles he has written for IndianWildlifeClub.com. He is also a superb nature photographer.

To download the calendar suitable for the size of your desktop, please click on the link below.

http://www.indianwildlifeclub.com/Calendar/MonthlyCalendar.aspx

Did You Know ?

Transit of Venus

June 5 : A natural environment wonder is happening on the World Environment Day.

-Compiled by Susan Sharma

Make sure to see the June 5/6 passage of the planet Venus across the face of the sun: a similar event won't happen again until the year 2117. Catch transit of Venus now, or wait another 100 years.

It's so unique that museums and schools around the globe are hosting Venus viewing festivities — all for a chance to see our star sport a fleeting beauty mark. Venus will appear as a small black dot gliding across the disk of the sun. As in a solar eclipse, do not stare directly at the sun; wear special protective glasses.

Photo credit: AP | This June 8, 2004 file photo showing the transit of Venus, which occurs when the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, was taken from Hong Kong. Venus will cross the face of the sun on Tuesday June 5, 2012, a sight that will be visible from parts of Earth.

Here is what the Nehru Planetarium in new Delhi has to say about this terrestrial event.

"There is worldwide excitement awaiting the Transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun as will be witnessed on the 5th/6th of June 2012. Well ahead of that, in the coming weeks, the planet Venus will be seen with increasing brightness descending rapidly towards the Sun, and later, slowly disappearing in its glare. Everyone would have had seen Venus at its best these days – dominating the western skies with its dazzling brilliance.

Something a little strange about it, may or may not have been noticed. This strangeness is a recurring phenomenon with Venus, well known since its first discernment by Galileo, who was the first to turn a telescope towards celestial objects. As Venus becomes brighter, through its appearing nearer and nearer to the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, it becomes thinner and thinner – at its brightest, Venus will be just a thin crescent – something which is discernable only when it is viewed through a telescope.

For people interested in the history of astronomy, and in particular from an Indian perspective, it would be quite intriguing to note that there are some possible mentions of phases of Venus in a 17th century treatise on astronomy, in India. This is the Siddhanta Tattva Viveka of Kamalakara, from Varanasi, thought to have been published around 1658. There are several shloka in this treatise where Kamalakara refers to the fact that Venus becomes thinner as it becomes brighter. It would be very fruitful to initiate a closer look at atronomical understanding and observations in the 17th century, from India. (Article by N. Rathnasree, B. S. Shylaja, Geetha Kaidala and Amitabh Mukherjee, submitted to Current Science)

To allow citizens of Delhi a view of the crescent Venus, a skywatch is being organized by the Nehru Planetarium, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Some telescopes will be setup at the planetarium on the 4th of May2012, at sunset, and visitors can view not just the planet Venus, but, also Saturn and Mars and the Moon, though these telescopes.

There is a peculiar poignancy attached with observing Venus at this time, knowing the it is journeying on its way to transiting in front of the Sun – a rare occurrence which none of us now alive will see again, as its next occurrence will be in the year 2117.

The planetarium has prepared a special full dome program about the transit of Venus, which can be seen at 11:30 AM, 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM on this day, to be followed by a discussion session in the planetarium sky theater, about the interesting movements of Venus in the sky and in its orbit, around the Sun. "

See also this introductory video uploaded by the Planetarium

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDhJcoKNWlA

Coral: Rekindling Venus

To mark the Transit of Venus, the Australian High Commission, in collaboration with the Nehru Planetarium presents a digital film about the world's oceans by Lynette Wallworth. Titled Coral: Rekindling Venus, it will be shown from 6-18 June 2012 in Delhi. CORAL REKINDLING VENUS is major work for fulldome digital planetariums by acclaimed artist Lynette Wallworth

Australian artist Lynette Wallworth has spent five years making this film, containing remarkable footage of the alien world of coral reefs. The film is a timely reminder of the amazing biodiversity we would lose with even a tiny change in sea temperatures.

See a trailor of the film at

http://youtu.be/cysFRCSM7Nw

Read the full details of the program at our events section

Events

World Environment Day celebrations in New Delhi and Mumbai

New Delhi
CORAL: REKINDLING VENUS 3-D FILM SCREENINGS

Dates:
6 to 18 June 2012 (except Mondays)

Times:
10.30 am on 7, 9, 14 and 15 June
11.30 am, 1.30pm and 5.00 pm on all other days, except Mondays

Durations:
10.30am, 11.30am and 1.30pm sessions – 57 mins (planetarium program plus 22 mins of Coral: ReKindling Venus)
5.00pm sessions – 45 mins (full version of Coral: ReKindling Venus)

WORKSHOP AND EDUCATION PROGRAM

Workshop programs are free of charge but places are limited. All materials for the workshop will be provided.

Prior registration is essential. Please book places by logging onto www.india.highcommission.gov.au, via email at:

publicaffairs.india@dfat.gov.au or by calling: 011-41494369.

Chapaak: art workshops

7 & 14 June 2012
Conducted by: Ms Navroop Romana
No. of participants: 20

Create your own 3-D underwater scene and learn about recycling plastic waste (5-8 yrs)
10.30-11.30am Screening
11.30-12.30pm Workshop

Create your own coral reef diorama (9-13 yrs)
3.30-4.45pm Workshop
5.00-5.45pm Screening

Story Bees: storytelling and creative writing workshops

9 & 15 June 2012
Conducted by: Ms Anisha Bhandari
No. of participants: 25

Read and learn about the creatures of the undersea world (5-8 yrs)
3.30-4.30pm Workshop
5.00-5.45pm Screening

Write your own poetry inspired by the ocean and illustrate your poems (9-13 yrs)
10.30-11.30am Screening
11.30 -12.30pm Workshop

A sky-watch primer: the art and science of the skies

8, 12, 13 and 16 June 2012
Conducted by: Dr Rathnasree Nandivada, Director, Nehru Planetarium
No. of participants: 30

Learn about astronomy and star gazing (12-16 yrs)

10.00-11.30am Workshop
11.30-12.30pm Screening

High Commission address: 1/50 G Shantipath, Chanakyapuri - Telephone: 4139 9900 - Fax: 4149 4490

Mumbai

BNHS World Environment Day Exhibition 2011

Watch the Video of BNHS exhibition on "Forests at Your Service" World Environment Day 2011

It's coming again at Churchgate Station from 5-7 June 2012. Exhibition on "Green Economy".

Details contact
Bombay Natural History Society” to following address: “Bombay Natural History Society, Conservation Education Center, Near Film City, Goregaon (East), Mumbai- 400065. Telephone: 9594929107 / 9594929107.
Email:cecbnhs@bnhs.org

thlephone: 9594929107 / 9594929107.

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