DKPA : Glimpses of Astronomy on Indian Stamps

Man on the Moon ...

The successful firing of the Satellite launch vehicles has highlighted India’s Space programme. The first vehicle SLV-3 was launched from Sriharikota on July 18, 1981. The Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE) was launched from French Guyana on June 19, 1981. The satellites are monitored from Earth Stations including the one at Arvi in Pune established on February 26, 1971. Satellites have been used for metrology and TV broadcasts. USA launched the American satellite ATS-6 in May 1974. This was placed over Africa to enable India’s Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) which began transmission on August 1, 1975. For the first time television was brought to the Indian villages via this satellite. These events are highlights of India’s space programme and have been commemorated by the issue of postage stamps.

APPLE

The most fascinating phenomenon in the sky is the waxing and waning of the moon. This has defined the Hindu calendar from the Vedic times. The Muslim calendar also follows the lunar cycle. The Muslim Era is computed from the year of emigration Hegira; that is, from the year Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina in AD 622. The second caliph, Umar I, set the first day of the month Muharram as the beginning of the year on July 16, 622 AD. In the Hegira calendar alternate months have 30 and 29 days except of the 12^th month which has a different rule. In a thirty-year cycle the 12^th month has 30 days for first 11 years and 29 days in the rest 19 years. The 14^th century of the Hegira Calendar was commemorated on November 3, 1980.

Another fascinating member of the family of our solar system is the comet. Edmund Halley computed the orbit of a comet and predicted that it would return in 1758. This happened as predicted and the comet was named as Halley’s comet. The comet has a period of 76 years and it was first sighted in 240 BC. The comet has a speed of 128000 km/h and passed by the earth in November 1985 and April 1986. It was observed by two soviet space crafts Vega 1 and Vega2. The 19^th general assembly of the International Astronomical Union was held in New Delhi on 28 November 1985. The Halley’s comet was a topic of discussion during the meeting. The IAU stamp issued to mark the occasion has the alley’s comet depicted on it.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", the famous words of Niel Armstrong echoed from Moon on July 20, 1969. The plaque left behind by Apollo 11 mission on the dusty face of the moon bears a silent witness to man’s achievement. The plaque reads, "Here Men from The Planet Earth First Set Foot upon The Moon, July 1969 AD We Came in Peace for All Mankind". This moment is imprinted permanently on India postage stamp issued on November 19, 1969 commemorating the event.

WB Yeats, Irish poet and playright had this to say about stamps; "Designs in connection with postage stamps and coinage may be described, I think, as the silent ambassadors on national taste." Indian stamps depict this national taste colourfully. It is a pleasure to go out on a clear summer night and look up at the stars and listen to the stories they tell. On cold cloudy nights the stamps too tell the story, but do we care to listen?