Millions of people across Asia will witness the longest total solar eclipse that will happen this century, as vast swaths of India and China, the entire city of Shanghai and southern Japanese islands are plunged into darkness Wednesday for about five minutes.

Streams of amateur stargazers and scientists are traveling long distances to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event, Associated Press reports.

Astronomers hope the eclipse will unlock clues about the sun, while an astrologer in Myanmar predicts it could usher in chaos. Some in India are advising pregnant relatives to stay indoors to follow a centuries-old tradition of avoiding the sun’s invisible rays.

The eclipse will appear first at dawn in India’s Gulf of Khambhat just north of the metropolis of Mumbai.

It will move east across India, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China before hitting the Pacific. The eclipse will cross some southern Japanese islands and be last visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. Elsewhere, a partial eclipse will be visible in much of Asia.

For astronomers, it will be a chance for a prolonged view of the sun’s corona, a white ring 600,000 miles (1 million kilometers) from the sun’s surface. The previous total eclipse, in August 2008, was two minutes and 27 seconds. This one will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point.

The Indian Space Programme has the primary goal of promoting and establishing a vibrant space science, applications and technology programme to assist in the overall development of the nation. Right from its inception, pursuit of space research is one of the important objectives of the Indian Space Programme. The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) was established near Thiruvananthapuram in 1963 for studying the ionospheric electrojet and related phenomena, which opened up a new chapter in space research activities in the country.

Also, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, launched in 1975, carried scientific experiments to investigate X-ray astronomy, solar neutrons and supra-thermal electron density. Since then, several instruments for scientific research have been flown on board high altitude balloons, sounding rockets and satellites. Several ground based facilities have also been set up for conducting research by scientists from universities and research institutions as part of astrophysical, solar and atmospheric research programmes.

India has a vast experience in developing and launching operational spacecraft systems for survey and management of natural resources, meteorological services and satellite communication. Technologies developed for those spacecraft systems, which are readily available now at ISRO, can be fully exploited for embarking on planetary missions with well thought out scientific objectives. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) of ISRO are capable of undertaking missions to the Moon and other nearby planets. The technical capabilities acquired by India and the enthusiasm of modern Indian scientists in exploring the Moon, prompted ISRO to undertake - Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon. The primary objectives  of the mission are to expand knowledge about the origin and evolution of the Moon, further upgrade India’s technological capabilities and provide challenging opportunities to the young scientists working in planetary sciences.

The idea of an Indian mission to the Moon was initially mooted in a meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1999 that was followed up by discussions in the Astronautical Society of India in 2000. Based on the recommendations made by the learned members of these forums, a National Lunar Mission Task Force was constituted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with leading scientists and  technologists from all over the country for considering and making an assessment of the possible configuration and feasibility of taking up an Indian Mission to the Moon.

A peer group of more than hundred eminent Indian scientists representing various fields of planetary and space sciences, earth sciences, physics, chemistry, astronomy, astrophysics, engineering and communication sciences deliberated on the Study Report of the Task Team in 2003 and unanimously recommended that India should undertake the Mission to the Moon, particularly, in view of the renewed international interest with several exciting lunar missions planned for the new millennium. In addition, such a mission will provide the needed thrust to basic science and engineering research in the country, including new challenges to ISRO to go beyond the geostationary orbit.

The Chandrayaan-1 mission will be an important catalyst for the youngsters to pursue fundamental research. The academia, in particular, the university scientists would find participation in such a project like Chandrayaan-1 intellectually rewarding. Government of India approved ISRO’s proposal for the first Indian Moon Mission, called Chandrayaan-1, in November 2003. 

Our Vedic system recognizes 27 Nakshatra or constellation. (Sometimes 28, if we include Abhijit Nakshatra which is an integral part of Ultarashada).


The Nakshatra system is unique to the Vedic system and gives it much higher level of accuracy.

It is believed that the Nakshatra system was prevalent before the sign system was even recognized.

Each planet, house, sensitive point in zodiac is influenced by the Nakshatra it occupies at a particular time.

We are describing the results of placement of Moon in each Nakshatra (since this is the most important tool in Vedic astrology).
Your birth Nakshatra (Janma Nakshatra) determines your thinking patter, nature as well as basic destiny. It also determines the instincts as well as the subconscious aspects of the personality.

Indian Astrology, called the Jyotish, is universal and timeless. Jyotisha is one of the most time-tested and oldest systems of astrology in the world. In Western countries, it is called Vedic astrology, which refers to Indian or Hindu astrology. Indian Astrology originated from Vedic Scriptures, dating back at least ten to twenty thousand years. The Vedas the oldest books of the world library.

In the Vedic system Moon rules the emotional nature. It is well known that the planets with their large magnetic fields and gravitational interaction with the Earth, affect it physically. The Indian astrology defines the actual traits of an individual, marital compatibility,and the future based on the position of planets at the time and place of birth.

It is highly authentic and its predictions are believed to be the most accurate. Being based on the actual constellations of stars, this is the most widely used system of astrology across the world.

The Meaning Behind Astrology Symbols

by: Morgan Hamilton

Astrology symbols are not the discovery of the century. People knew about the astrology symbols for many years. For many years astrology symbols have been used to stand for the different signs of the zodiac. Once you have learned the meaning behind astrology symbols you realize that they are easy to remember and to recognize. Read the rest of this entry »