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It's not just the eclipse that's drawing interest: Rediff.com news
- Centuries ago, Indian astronomer-mathematician Aryabhatta studied planetary movements and stars from Taregna village in Bihar. Today, hundreds of scientists and eclipse chasers from across the world are arriving in this non-descript village to witness the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century on July 22.
- Call it sheer coincidence but it was at this very village, about 35 km from Patna, where the sixth-century Indian scientist used to spend a lot of his time. Amitabh Ghosh, director of Bihar council on science and technology, told rediff.com that it was here that Aryabhatta first revealed that the earth revolves around the sun and developed the concept of zero.
- Local people believe that their village's name was derived from Tare (stars) and Ginna (counting) in Hindi. The village was one of the two main study centres of Aryabhatta; the other being Khagaul near Patna. It was in Khagaul that the word khagolshashtra (astronomy) was coined.
- In a bid to revive Taregna, an ancient seat of astronomical science, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is keen to making the best use of the celestial spectacle. Kumar has directed to make arrangement for scientists and others to watch the event.
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Sunday, July 19, 2009
It's not just the eclipse that's drawing interest: Rediff.com news
