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Welcome to Sitara Tales
Scroll down to learn the origin story of Sitara Tales
Image Source: NASA APOD, Sergei Makurin, Access here
Sitara Tales
Sitara ~ Sanskrit for star
Grasping the ultimate purpose/reason for being of the Universe is knowledge beyond our reaches. Science, analysis and collaboration in today's global world is by far our most compelling tool. With these, we have gone beyond the outer edges of the Solar System, delved into the Cosmic Microwave Background in an attempt to comprehend the past, and have peeked into the quantum workings of the universe simultaneously.
Sitara Tales is a collection of pieces that present some chosen phenomena of our universe, and my mind, written over the past decade as I took a step to quench my thirst in understanding the mechanisms of our Universe.
Scroll below for quick links to featured articles, creative pieces and images or browse through the menu bar. (Please note that this website is made for desktop/monitor use, primarily - some features may not be fully functional on a phone)
~ Anwesha
Photograph of the Month
July 2024: Celestial Seas
Lately, I've found myself entranced more than usual, by my admiration for the seas. While reducing radio astronomy data and sifting through catalogs of cataclysmic variable stars, I play deep sea films in the background in an attempt to blend my two loves - the seas and the skies. So, it is only appropriate that this month's photograph reflects this. This image of the Caribbean Sea was taken from the International Space Station. The deeper blues mark deeper depths while turquoise shades dominate shallower waters.
Earthly waters are thought to have celestial origins, with a popular theory postulating collisions of comets and asteroids with prehistoric Earth setting the first seeds of water, and hence life. Studies show that the make-up of asteroids match closely with the chemical signatures of the oceans. This further cements the need for further sampling of asteroids and comets with missions such as the Rosetta Probe and OSIRIS-REx.
Read more about the celestial connection of Earth's seas here.
Featured Talk
Unpredictable, Shy and Mysterious Stars
Do we live in a simulation?
Excellent question. I wish I had a definite answer. Short answer: there is no way we can verify this as of now. Long answer: read on! I spoke to two of my professors, both theoretical physicists (shout-out to Prof. Mike Gunn and Prof. Martin Long) about an answer to this question over the last few months and in a nutshell, they both had the same thing to say - we might very well be living in a simulation but we cannot know this for a fact because the process of knowing this would imply breaking the simulation and stepping out of it.
Browse through my virtual bookshelf and read some reviews on the several books I'verecently read. If you give them a read, let me know what you think! I'd love to start a conversation.
Peter Scott-Morgan
This is my favourite book of all time. Few books have the charm of bringing tears to your eyes, make your heart full with the tales of love they paint, and challenge your mind to think outside the box with science and technology - robotics and AI in particular - all within 300 pages. In 2017, Peter found himself struggling to shake water off his leg, by the sea. What seemed like a one-off incident set him down a path of a year of diagnostics while he gradually inched closer to being severely disabled. Peter was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. Continue
Learn more about the Scott-Morgan Foundation and how you can make a difference.
The Sitara Tale is on a temporary hiatus...
Background: Mt. Kilimanjaro at night. Source.