Get Set, Star-Struck- A magical night under the skies of Pondicherry 

On 22nd March 2025, as the clock ticked 6 pm, the night skies of Pondicherry were ready to whisper a few secrets of space. The astronomy enthusiasts readily gathered at Barkatt Manzil’s Adobe, North Auroville, to listen to those whispers, which were decoded by Prof. Dr. Madivanane.

It was an event called ‘Under the Starlit Sky,’ was organized by the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), Pondicherry Science Forum (PSF), and Deep Sthai Open School. The venue bathed itself in the soft glow of silver moonlight while the arrangements were made to provide a wonderful stargazing experience to the participants. 

The program started with the participants taking a tour in the museum of Digital Society. The participants who gathered there from different parts of the world were seen interacting with each other while exploring the displayed exhibits of the museum.

Then, Dr. Madivanane took the participants on a captivating voyage through the universe. He unlocked the mysteries of stars and guided the participants on what to observe, how to observe, and most importantly, why to observe. He burst some common myths and misconceptions along the way. His session was interactive and the participants also got their doubts cleared.

Finally, after a good meal together, it was time for the actual segment, the stargazing. Dr. Madivanane fixed and arranged the telescope so that the participants could watch Jupiter and Mars through the telescope.

All the people sat together to observe constellations. The crowd, star-struck and silent, found themselves humbled by the immense scale of the universe. Was it the vastness that brought a sense of humility, or the realisation of how small we are in this grand cosmic dance? Well, the reasons are varied, but the adore for the event was similar

–Written by Onteddu Gitanjali

–Edited by Rupam Shukla