*Picture by Manoj Prasad
At a time when an Indian Spacecraft is orbiting the Moon,a group of friends sought to watch it on the occasion of the Hindus annual festival-Sharad Purnima,but in vain.
At the orbit, Chandrayaan -2 Mission had caught measurements of a few solar flares. This was on September 30 and October 1. Now, ISRO scientists are on record having made measurements courtesy an instrument designed to help identify elements on the lunar surface.
Back on the earth's surface, it is learnt that these measurements may not be useful in that work, but they can teach scientists something new about the sun and the flares of radiation it emits.
Another experiment was made by a photographer. On Sharad Purnima evening, he used Apple i-Phone camera to spot a clear sky with stars and the shining moon. And inside the farmhouse of Kanshi Kejriwal, located in front of Birsa Munda Zoological Park, Ranchi, a group of friends(who don't want to share their names in public) looked up at the moon.
They said laughingly that they tried to locate the Indian Spacecraft orbiting the moon while sitting on chairs, gulping hot drinks and watching the shining moon. It was their own way to celebrate Sharad Purnima and exchanged of joy.
"Sadly, despite our best efforts, our Apple i-Phone camera failed to locate the Orbiter. We could not see it", said one of them. They knew it was not possible and as such, they were in cheers. It appeared to be a fine way to be happy form of Sharad Purnima festival celebration on the Ashwin month of the Hindu calendar.
As this festival is celebrated on the full moon night to mark the end of the monsoon season,they held discussion on the loss of Moon Mission of ISRO and noted that the Sharad Purnima, whose date varies every year,is also referred to as Kumara Purnima, Kojagiri Purnima, Navanna Purnima, and Kaumudi Purnima.
"We knew we will fail to spot the ISRO's Orbiter,Lander and Rover.But we enjoyed watching the moon surface this time on Sharad Poornima like never before",said one of them.