Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) visit

Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune was set up in 1988 by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as an autonomous centre of excellence to help initiate and nurture, research and developmental activities in Astronomy and Astrophysics in the university sector.

IUCAA aims to be a centre of excellence within the university sector for teaching, research and development in astronomy and astrophysics. 

IUCAA takes its research to the masses through an Open Day on February 28 every year. This day is also popularly recognized as National Science Day (NSD). Anyone can visit the campus to attend and participate in popular science exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, screening of scientific films, Q&A sessions, etc. 

Public visits to the main campus are conducted only on Saturdays at 11 am (other than on National Science Day). This includes an introduction to IUCAA, a visit inside the main campus, a look at the salient areas, description of astronomy through related exhibits. small Q&A  session at the end of the visit.

Visit at IUCAA helped students and volunteers get in touch with the latest technology and have the expertise views and knowledge to smoothly integrate new technology solutions with their existing knowledge. 

Students and Volunteers were introduced to different aspects of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Students and Volunteers were shown different projects involving LIGO, MODEL of IUCAA, TARAMANDAL, etc. 

Aeronautics and space exploration (AXSX) was assigned to Mayuri Patwardhan from IUCAA for the smooth conduction of the visit. 

She explained various aspects of the IUCAA from its establishment to its current standing as one of India’s pioneer institutes in astronomy and astrophysics.

She also highlighted some of the important projects undergoing in IUCAA including projects related to Black Holes, the Detection of Gravitational waves, LIGO etc. 

She also told Students and Volunteers about upcoming activities of IUCAA and astronomical events. During the visit, Students and volunteers were keen towards understanding astronomical happenings and inspired by meeting with Aryabhatta, Sir Issac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Albert Einstein (Statues) whose mere presence as a statue made the IUCAA holistic place for scientists and Engineers.

The IUCAA building is One of the noted works of Charles Correa. The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) was an attempt to express a contemporary notion of the universe. Frequent use of black stone reflects outer space. A ‘kund’ is used as a metaphor for the expanding universe.

IUCAA) campus situated in 3 individual plots of land, the 3 distinct sections are Akashganga (Milkyway) housing complex, Andromeda (Devyani) institutional complex and  Aditi (auditorium).

IUCAA set up the Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika (Exploratorium), a science popularization initiative, with a grant from the Pu La Deshpande foundation. The centre is open to all school students.

Students can learn basic science concepts using things around them. This lab is located just opposite the IUCAA building in the Pune University Campus. The Science Toy Lab focuses on building toys to help children understand the science they learn; but more importantly, all the toys were made from very simple day-to-day life items, costing many times lesser than typical laboratory items. Anyone can watch videos and read books at https://www.arvindguptatoys.com

This courtyard is called the black hole, It has 4 scientist sculptures (Newton, Einstein, Aryabhatta, Galileo) in the courtyard

Foucault Pendulum which oscillates along the axis of the earth.

The hemispherical dome depicts the positions of bright stars as observed from Pune at 8.30 pm on December 29 1988, the day when the IUCAA foundation stone was laid.

The term ‘Roche-lobe’ describes a distinctively shaped region surrounding a star in a binary system. 

In all orbiting systems, there is a location called the Inner Lagrange Point (also called the L1 point), which is the place where the gravitational pull of the two objects is exactly equal. The L1 point is on a mathematical surface called the Roche Lobe.

Saplings were grafted out of Sir Isaac Newton’s legendary apple tree and planted in Pune’s sprawling Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) campus.

LIGO-India is a planned Gravitational-Wave Observatory that will be located in India as part of the worldwide network. India’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) will be set up at Aundha Nagnath, Hingoli District in Maharashtra.

Mayuri Patwardhan explains the meaning of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) to Students

The visit proved to be very fruitful for all Students and volunteers. The astronomy club Students and volunteers were accompanied by Co-ordinator Mr. Harshal Deshmukh and Kailas Belekar, shashikant Gawari, Madhavi Murarkar, Vishal Tathe.

For more information on how to arrange IUCAA Visit contact us.