Astronuts
Astronomy Club | IIITD
Astronomy Club | IIITD
Astronuts is the astronomy club of IIIT Delhi. Our aim is to enrich the astronomy culture on our campus and provide a home to all fellow students who love the space and the stars.
Astronuts conducts its own version of the space race using a space sim called Orbiter. We introduce the participants to
the fundamentals of Orbital mechanics and space simulator. We then provide a list of task that every participant must
complete to finish the space race. The first one to finish all the tasks wins!
In the space race, you experience the thrill of the 1960s space race while getting an intuitive understanding of orbital
mechanics. We use a free space simulator called Orbiter2016 to do the space race. Participants are provided with a list
of missions, like achieving orbit and dock with ISS. The first person to complete all the missions wins the race and gets
the glory of being the ‘first person to reach space.
The joy of creating sharp high quality images of the cosmos is unparalleled for any space lover. Astrophotography
is a broad domain that includes clicking raw images and editing them to perfection, both of which require practice
and dedication to master.
Astronuts conducted an astrophotography competition for Cadence ‘21, which turned out to be a huge success. The event
started with a rather detailed workshop on how to get started with astrophotography for beginners. The participants
were then given three raw images to edit, and the best submissions were awarded. It was a pleasure to see all the
participants create such beautiful photographs and their enthusiastic participation during the session was very
fulfilling.
If there is anything interesting in the sky, we organise a session for it. Be it an iridium flare, a satellite pass, a comet or the full moon. We all meet up at the roof with our telescope and spend the evening looking at the night sky and chit-chatting about the cosmos.
A telescope is easily one of the most significant tools in astronomy. It is the gateway to the cosmos for all of us astronomers. We teach our members all we know about telescopes and how we spend several nights together honing our skills and locating the faintest of celestial objects.
"The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -
there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, or falling from
a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries."
- Carl Sagan, Astronomer
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