Taking a break from his preparation work for APOGEE, Yug Chawla—the coordinator of the Astro Club—met with the APOGEE English Press to talk about the club’s plans for the fest.  

This year, the club is organising four events: Night’s Watch, 42, Celestial Treasure Hunt, and an Astrophotography Competition. Night’s Watch, which is held on the FD-3 terrace after the inauguration ceremony, uses two telescopes—a Cassegrain reflector telescope and a 125 year-old Galilean telescope donated to the Institute by the Raja of Khetri. To manage the footfall for this event, the organisers simultaneously conduct screenings of popular Sci-Fi movies and documentaries.  

The event 42—a reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—tests one’s astronomy knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. Celestial Treasure Hunt is an event where the participants use clues based on constellations to advance to further levels. 

The club faced a few unique challenges this year, the most worrying of which was that the FD-3 terrace was broken into and the lenses of the Galilean telescope were stolen. As a result, they can only use the Cassegrain telescope for the events planned for APOGEE ‘22. Yug also mentioned that they are considering asking the Institute for funds to buy another telescope. Despite these setbacks, he is optimistic that the events will be successful. 

When asked about his thoughts on this year’s theme, Yug stated that, ‘The club is exploring previously hidden (encrypted) dimensions by organising new events like the Celestial Treasure Hunt instead of its conventional ones.’ He mentioned that he is very excited for the same, and hopes for this event to become a regular occurrence in the event roster for Astro Club.

Speaking about the work done by the club during the semester, Yug mentioned that they encourage research in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and particle physics. They also conduct sessions for observing the night sky, and dabble in both astrophotography and mathematical modelling. 

While concluding his interview, Yug urged every BITSian with a genuine interest in learning about astronomy to attend these events, promising that they will be informative and entertaining.