National Workshop on Astronomy & Astrophysics (NWAA2013), Kathmandu, Nepal

26 May 2012

Central Department of Physics, Tribhuvan University is going to organise a national workshop on Astronomy and Astrophysics during  25-28 June, 2013.  International Astronomical Union (IAU) has recommended and approved our proposal to organize this event. The aim of this workshop is to create interests towards A&A research. We intend to cover data reduction and computational aspects of A&A to the undergraduate and graduate students. Official announcement will be launched within december. The workshop certificate will be issued by IAU. For detail: http://astronepal.org

Raj Kiran Koju Got RA Offer!

9 Sept 2012

Mr. Raj Kiran Koju got RA (Research Assistanceship) offer from MU, USA to carry out research work in Astrophysics. Probably, he will work on AGN. He is the first Nepalese ASTROPHYSICS student who got RA offer with presidential fellowhip in the United States. The notable thing about him is that he has scored 92/100 (highest score till date at CDP, TU)  in his masters thesis. He has worked on red giant star and nearby pulsar.

FURTHER STUDY (2012)

9 Sept 2012

Twenty two ASTROPHYSICS students got admission with TA offer from various US Universities this year. CONGRATULATION to you all! Out of 22, there are 9 students who carried out Masters' Thesis under my supervision, are as follows:

1. Rishi Ram Paudel

2. Chinta Mani Aryal

3. Min Prasad Khanal

4. Thir Narayan Gautam

5. Rajesh Kumar Bachchan (Sweden)

6. Riwaj Pokhrel

7. Utsab Shrestha

8. Raj Kiran Koju (Research Assistanceship)

9. Nabin Rijal (Independent Research Work)

Biplav, Sudeep, Utsab, Tek & Amit attended various Astrophysics related program all around the globe

28 July 2012

Biplav Acharya (Vatican Observatory Summer School, Rome), Sudeep Bhattarai (Australia & China), Utsab (India & Germany), Tek Prasad Adhikari (India) and Amit Paudel (ICTP, Trieste, Italy) participated various astrophysics related schools, workshops, conferences and meetings in past 6 months. They all have recently completed their masters thesis in Astrophysics under my supervision.

ROUND TRIP VISIT TO VIETNAM-AUSTRIA-USA (15 July -10 August 2011) BEING A PART OF KECK OBSERVATION

Dr. Binil Aryal contributed a project (National Science Foundation P154327) by taking part in the observation during 21 October - 3 November, 2010 at KECK Observatory, Mauna Kua, Hawaii, USA. Dr. Aryal is a part of collaborative project that focuses on asymmetrical emission from PPN phase of intermediate mass stars.

A BOOK ON 'RELATIVITY' IN NEPALESE LANGUAGE IS IN PROGRESS

A manuscript on RELATIVITY, written by famous writer late Purna Bahadur M.A. is in the process of publication. Nepal Physical Society (NPS) has appointed Dr. Binil Aryal (Editor of NPS) to study the manuscript in detail and discuss with the relatives of late Purna Bd. M.A. for the possible publication. The interesting thing is that the manuscript is not only in the Nepalese language but also carries an excellent poetic description of all aspects of RELATIVITY.

Bilateral Agreement Between CDP, TU, Nepal & Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, PAS, Poland 

18 October 2010

Both parties agree to collaborate in the field of Physics, more specific Astrophysics and Cosmology, and related research work. This includes three following fundamental areas:

(a) collaborative research work between the faculties

(b) exchange visit program between the faculty members

(c) organizing scientific meetings, schools and the conferences

NOTE: This agreement is signed by the Director Prof. Marek Sarna and Prof. Andrzej (coordinator) and, Head Prof. L. N. Jha and Dr. Binil Aryal (coordinator) on the behalf of Polish and Nepalese side.

International Conference on 'Black Hole System' Held in Kathmandu

17 October 2010

An INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE on "Accretion and Outflow in Black Hole Systems" is organized in Raddison Hotel, Lajimpat, Kathmandu, during 10-16 October 2010. The scientific scope of this conference was to understand the process of accretion onto the central black hole and outflows from the system (including the jet formation) in BH binaries, AGNs and GRBs.

More than 130 scientists participated in the conference. Almost all leading scientists who are the pioneers in the field of BLACK HOLE PROBLEMS attended the conference. This was our privileged to welcome such personalities in the nation. Among the participants, there were 45 Europeans, 12 Americans (including 4 NASA Scientists), 15 Indians, 4 Chinese and 7 Japanese. Others were from Chile, Czech Republic, Argentina, Iran, Pakistan, Korea and South Africa. Forty Nepalese M.Sc. (Physics) majoring either Astrophysics or Cosmology attended the conference with 18 posters and one oral presentation.

There were 62 oral and 40 poster presentations all together. In addition to these 39 posters were presented. Nepalese participant contributed with an oral and 18 posters presentation.

We organized two public talks. The first one is delivered by Prof. Giorgio Palumbo, Department of Astronomy, Bologna University, Italy, on 13th Oct 2010. The title of the talk was ‘Unlocking the mysteries of the Universe’. This talk was attended by more than 250 at Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Kamalpokhari. The second talk was delivered by Prof. Ranjeev Misra (IUCAA, Pune, India) at the central department of Physics, TU, Kirtipur. This talk was on ‘Observational Evidence of Black Hole’.

The conference was organized jointly by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), the Osservatorio Astronomico of Roma (INAF/OAR), the Italian Space Agency and its Data Center (ASI/ADSC), the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF/IASF Bologna), the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (Warsaw), and the Central Department of Physics of the Tribhuvan University (Kathmandu).

For details: http://www.iasfbo.inaf.it/events/nepal2010/

UDDHAV LEFT FRANCE FOR Ph.D.

4 September 2010

Mr. Uddhav Chaulagain left Kathmandu for Paris, France in order to begin his Ph.D. in Astrophysics. He has received fellowship for his study. He will do his work in Paris Observatory. The Observatory of Paris, the National Astronomical Observatory, is the oldest operating observatory in the world. On February 3, 1851, Leon Foucault first publicly exhibited his now famous Foucault Pendulum in the Observatoire de Paris. Prince Louis Napoleon, the future Napoleon III, asked for another demonstration on March 26, 1851, to be presented in the Panthéon. This revolutionary demonstration provided the proof, and still does, that the earth does, in fact, spin on its axis.

He is the fourth student from our reserach group, who will do research in Europe for his Ph.D. Thirteen past students of our group are in USA for their further study. Uddhav has carried out his masters dissertation on 'Cynogen in Interstellar Medium'. He has calculated and studied the dust colour temperature profile of the region which we investigated before (Nirmal Jivi Ghimire, our past student, now doing Ph.D. in USA).

SUDEEP VISITED TRIESTE (ITALY) & MUNICH (GERMANY)

12 August 2010

Mr. Sudeep Neupane (Astrophysics major, doing research work on photometry of stars in the open cluster) participated in a summer school on cosmology organised by International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) at Trieste, Italy during 19-30 July. After the school he visited Munich, Germany to participate in a program entitled '13th Global Hands-on Universe Meeting' during 1-7 August, 2010. Global Hands-on Universe (GHOU) is a global project which links together teachers, scientists and educators from high schools, universities, research ceners, and science centers all over the world. 

CONGRATULATION HARI!!!

8 August 2010

Mr. Hari Sharma has been awarded a grant in the framework of the Joint ICTP - University Programme for higher education in physics for 3 years. Recently he has finished his masters thesis on 'galaxy evolution'. 

CONGRATULATION DISOJ, NAURAJ, PRAKASH, BINOD & LEKHNATH!!!

12 July 2010

We are proud to publish this NEWS that five past students from our group, got TA (Teaching Assistanceship) offer from various US Universities. They are:

(1) Disoj Nupane

(2) Nauraj Pokhrel

(3) Prakash Thapa

(4) Binod Rai

(5) Lekh Nath Paudel

Disoj, Nauraj and Prakash (all three from same batch, 2007) has carried out their masters' thesis on Extragalactic Astrophysics where Binod (2008) did a project work on merging binary cluster. Lekh Nath (2009) completed his thesis on vacuum energy.

RISHI LEAVING FOR ROME, ITALY

3 June 2010

Mr. Rishi Paudel has left for Rome, Italy in order to participate in Vatican Observatory Summer School on 'Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics: The Chemistry of the Universe' (for details go to: http://vaticanobservatory.org/VOSS2010/) which is going to be held in vatican Observatory, Gondalfo, Rome, Italy during 30 May–25 June, 2010. In the school he will prersent his masters thesis entitled 'Spatial Orientation of galaxiers in Three Merging Binary Clusters'.

RIWAJ PARTICIPATING CAP2010

8 May 2010

Riwaj Pokhrel has left for South Africa in order to participate in a conference entitled 'Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010 (CAP 2010) — Building on the International Year of Astronomy 2009' (for details go to: http://www.communicatingastronomy.org/cap2010/) which is going to be held in Ritz Hotel, Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa during 15–19 March, 2010. In the conference he will prersent past IAY2009 activities conducted in Nepal and discuss about the future possibilities of Astronomy in Nepal.

OUR RECENT PUBLICATION IN THE BOOK

12 April 2010

Our results on planetary nebula NGC1514, which is recently published in the high ranked Astrophysical Journal MNRAS (Jan, 2010), is going to be cited in a book (in the near future our result is going to be aired in the DISCOVERY channel as a documentary on this very famous blinking eye PN). Please go through the letter (from the author) below and visit the listed cites for the details.

E-MAIL FROM THE BOOK AUTHOR 

Dear Dr. Aryal,

I am writing an observing guide for amateur astronomers that includes planetary nebula NGC 1514. Would you have the time to look over the few paragraphs below to see if what I've written is accurate. It's based largely on your recent publication entitled 'A giant dusty bipolar emission ib the NGC1514' in the Journal Monthly Notices of Royal Astronomical Society, 2010.

Thanks!

Steve O'Meara

********************************************

In a 2010 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 402, pp. 1307-1312). Binil Aryal (Tribhuvan University, Nepal & Innsbruck University, Austria) and his colleagues report their discovery in Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) data of a huge (8.5 light-year) dust emission region around NGC 1514 as well as two giant (7 and 3 light-year) bipolar dust emissions structures centered on the visible nebula and star. The researchers suspect that each of these regions is physically connected to the planetary nebula, noting that the bipolar structures are slightly tilted with respect to each other, possibly due to precession. These structures could be associated with the proto-planetary nebula –– the transition phase between a spherically symmetric Asymptotic Giant Branch star and an aspherical planetary nebulae. The total mass (dust and gas) of all the newly found structures is about 2.2 Suns. “We argue that NGC 1514 and its dusty surroundings represent one of the very few known cases where the preserved history of all main mass-loss phases of a star of intermediate initial mass can be seen,” they say.

**********************************************************

Steve and Donna O'Meara

Volcano Watch International

P. O. Box 218

Volcano, HI 96785

someara@interpac.net

See stories and photos at these sites:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0102_030103_kilauea.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/photogalleries/kilauea/index.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0215_020215_volcanohunter.html

http://www.spiritofaloha.com/features/0702/beauty.html

A NEW COLLABORATION IN THE WAY

Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center of Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland has sent a letter to our department for the future collaborative work. I had several discussions with Prof. Andrez of NC Center on this matter since October 2008. Finally we developed our relationship in a very good shape. Our department has already replied them positively. Please go through the letter below.

Binil

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LETTER FROM N. COPERNICUS ASTRONOMICAL CENTER

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Prof. Lok Narayan Jha (Head)

Central Department of Physics

Tribhuvan University

Kirtipur, Kathmandu

NEPAL

Dear Prof. Lok Narayan Jha,

In my capacity as the director of the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, I would like to express keen interest in signing a bilateral agreement between our Center and your department. In the framework of this agreement we would like to organize exchange visits of scientists working on joint projects as well as joint organization of astrophysical conferences. This would also facilitate applications of Nepali students for graduate studies at the Copernicus Center.

In the past, we have already been involved in joint organizations of astrophysical conferences in Kathmandu, in collaboration with Prof. Devi Dutta Paudyal and Dr. Binil Aryal of your department. The last international conference on “High-energy sources at different time scales”, September 29 - October 3, 2008, Kathmandu, Nepal, was attended by about 25 scientists and graduate students from your department. It was also attended by about 30 astrophysicists from various countries of the world, including Poland.

We are now preparing an astrophysical conference in October 2010, with the tentative title “Physics of black-hole inflows and outflows”. We hope very much Tribhuvan University will participate in this event. We have already invited Dr. Binil Aryal of your department to be a member of both the Scientific and Local Organizing Committees.

I am looking forward to your answer.

Yours sincerely,

Prof. Marek Sarna

Director of N. Copernicus Astronomical Center

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CONFERENCE

Mr. Min Prasad Khanal is leaving Kathamndu for Allhabad, India to participate in a conference on ‘Cosmological Re-ionization’ (Weblink: http://www.hri.res.in/~reion) which is going to be held during 16-21 Feb 2010. Mr. Khanal has studied ‘Cosmology’ as an advance paper in M.Sc. (Physics) second year and has done research work on ‘Dark Energy’ issue under the supervision of Prof. U. Khanal and Dr. B. Aryal.

TALKS

Prof. Uday Raj Khanal delivered a talk on “Dark Energy” at the Central Department of Physics, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur on 10th Feb 2010 in the occasion of National Science Exhibition (7-11 Feb 2010).

Dr. Binil Aryal delivered a talk on “Dark Matter Detection” at the Central Department of Physics, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur on 8th Feb 2010 in the occasion of National Science Exhibition (7-11 Feb 2010).

PRAJWAL DOING Ph.D. IN AUSTRALIA

Mr. Prajwal Kafle got RA from Astronomy & Astrophysics department of Sydney University, Australia in order to carry out research work for his Ph.D. He has worked on galaxy orintation for his masters thesis in the past here in Nepal. His work is published in the Journal MNRAS (for details, go to dissertation section) last year.