ISRO loses communication with chandrayaan-1

The Radio communication with Chandrayaan-1 was abruptly lost after friday (28 Aug 2009 ) midnight at 0130 Hrs (IST) on Saturday. ISRO scientists are reviewing the telemetry data received from the spacecraft before losing communication to analyse the health of sub-systems of spacecraft.

AS per earlier news for ISRO, though Chandrayaan-1 has achieved 90 per cent of his task and there is no major worry as such..this is a serious one. and they are working hard to rectify the problem.

About Chandrayaan-1:

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on October 22, 2008 .The Spacecraft has completed 312 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors like Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc., meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

Second time in its life:

This is the second time that chandrayaan is running into trouble. month back it developed a snag when it lost one of its sensors which forced ISRO to push its orbit from 100 kilometers to 200 kilometers from the moon’s surface. The change in orbit meant the data would be of lower quality.

India achieved a milestone in the global space history with the successful launch of Chandrayaan -I, India’s first spacecraft mission to moon, today, on October 22, 2008 at 6.22 am from Sathish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh.

Chandrayaan-1

India's First nuclear atomic power station: kalpakkam at Tamilnadu

The country’s first indigenously built nuclear power reactor Madras Atomic Power Station Unit-1 (MAPS-1), located at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu  will complete 25 years today. MAPS was Synchronised to the grid in the presence of late prime minister Indira Gandhi on July 23, 1983. MAPS comprises two units of 220 MW each of pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR). MAPS-1 was set up at a cost of Rs 2.4 billion ($57 million).

MAPS has supplied more than 45,000 million units (MUs) of electricity at a current tariff of Rs 1.89 per unit and earned a profit of Rs 11.2 billion so far. Tamil Nadu has a share of 330 MW out of the station capacity of 440 MW in addition to the share of other beneficiary states in the southern electricity region.

NPCIL(Nuclear Power Corporation of India LTD) said that in the recent past, MAPS-1 and MAPS-2 have undergone major renovation and modernisation and, safety upgradation and en-mass coolant channels replacements. The statement added that all NPCIL stations, including MAPS, have performed “excellently” in terms of safety, achieving over 280 reactor-years of safe and accident-free operations.

All NPCIL operations stations have secured ISO-14001 certification (Environment Management System). Presently NPCIL has 17 nuclear power units in India with a total installed capacity of 4120 MW in operation and six additional units with a total capacity of 3160 MW under construction.

About Madras Atomic Power Station:
Madras Atomic Power Station located at Kalpakkam about 80 km south of Chennai, India, is a comprehensive nuclear power production, fuel reprocessing, and waste treatment facility that includes plutonium fuel fabrication for fast breeder reactors [FBRs]. It is also India’s first fully indegenously constructed nuclear power station. It has two units of 220 MWe capacity each. The first and second units of the station went critical in 1983 and 1985 respectively. The station has reactors housed in a reactor building with double shell containment ensuring total protection even in the remotest possibility of loss of coolant accident. An Interim Storage Facility [ISF] is also located in Kalpakkam.

Country:India
Owner:Nuclear Power Corporation of India LTD.
Built:1970
Start of commercial operation:January 24, 1984

Reactors:
Reactors active:2(total 440 MW)
Reactors under construction:1(500 MW)

*(OC (W) – 5; BC-A-1; BC-B-1; BC-B (W)-1; PH-1; PH(W)-1;ST-1.)

These vacancies are subject to variation at the time of recruitment based on the necessity.

% of reservation:

• BC-25% + 4% Muslim reservation subject to orders of Government from time to time.

• SC- 15%, ST-6%, PH-3%.

• 33 1/3 % reservation for women is applicable as per rules.

Applicants should obtain the APPLICATION (ICR) FORM from the sales counter of APTRANSCO/Vidyut Soudha/Khairathabad/Hyderabad-500 082 duly remitting of Rs.100/-(Rupees One hundred only) through a crossed Demand Draft drawn on any Nationalised Bank in favour of the Pay Officer / APTRANSCO / Vidyut Soudha / Hyderabad payable at Hyderabad.

By Post: Applicants should send Crossed Demand Draft for Rs.135/(Rupees One hundred and thirty five only) as mentioned above, and address to the CGM(HRD & Training)/APTRANSCO/Vidyut Soudha/Hyderabad (along with a requisition and a self addressed post card for acknowledgement) to obtain the same by Speed post.

a) Sale of ICR applications :: From 05-07-08 to 26-07-08
Timings :: 11AM to 4PM

b) Submission of ICR applications:: From05-07-08 to 04-08-08
Timings :: 11AM to 5PM

In the Notification, APtransco not mentioned eligibility, syllabus and selection process. Hope they will release it in a couple of days. As far as I know, first class engineering graduates in the selected discipline are eligible. Syllabus will be from B.Tech syllabus. Selection process is of twos stages. First one is written exam, in which objective questions we have to answer and selected candidates will be called for Group discussion/Interview.

APTransco Assistant Engineer Notification – July 2008 Download the Notification – PDF ( Size: 64KB )

Detailed notification includes selction process, marks and dates.Download APTransco AEs Detailed Notification 2008

Aptransco Website was changed to http://www.aptransco.gov.in

For more details see it on APtransco Careers page: Notification for AEs in Regular Basis

Update: Transco agreed to remove weightage for Engineering marks was withdrawan. - August 17’2008.

BHEL is country’s premier engineering organization and one of the NAVARATNA PSUs and caters to core sectors of Indian economy viz Power Generation and Transmission, Industry, Transportation, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, having 14 Manufacturing Divisions, 08 Service Divisions, 15 Regional Offices, 04 Power Sector Regional Centres and over 100 Project Sites spread all over the Country. The financial turnover during the year 2007-08 was Rs.21,401 Crores and Current Order Book is of around Rs.90,000 Crores. BHEL plans to be a Rs.45,000 Crores Company by 2011-12 and a Rs.90,000 Crores Company by 2016-17. BHEL is the only PSU among the 12 Indian Companies to figure in “Forbes Asian Fabulous 50” list.

Important Dates:

Commencement of on-line submission of applications: 23rd June, 2008.
Closing of on-line submission of Applications : 10th July, 2008.
Last date of receipt of Ack. Slips at BHEL: 15th July, 2008.

Selection:
Selection Process consists of Written Test and Personal Interview.
The Written Test papers will be objective type in nature and will be bilingual i.e. in Hindi & English.
Eligible candidates will be shortlisted for being invited for written test at their own expense in the ratio of 1:20 to the number of vacancies.

For more Details: http://www.bheletr.co.in/etrlive/jsp/et_eng_index.jsp

BHEL Notification for Engineer Trainees- June 2008: Download Notification English (PDF: 145KB)

List of Navaratna and Miniratna CPSEs ( As per available information May 5′ 2008 )
1.		Bharat Electronics Limited Founded: 1954 Industry:Electronics
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an electronics company with about nine factories in India. It is owned by the Indian Government & primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.BEL is one of the PSUs under Ministry of Defence, Government Of India.
2.		Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Industry: Electrical Power Industry Founded: 1962 Employees: 42,600
BHEL or Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited is a gas and steam turbine manufacturer in India. It is one of India’s nine largest Public Sector Undertakings or PSUs. Founded in the late 1950s, BHEL is today a key player in the power sector through the construction, commissioning and servicing of power plants all over the world. BHEL has around 14 manufacturing divisions, four power sector regional centres, over 100 project sites, eight service centres and 18 regional offices .Over 65 percent of power generated in India comes from BHEL-supplied equipment. Overall it has installed power equipment with a total capacity of over 90,000 MW.
3.		Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Founded: 1976 Industry: Petroleum Products: Oil, LPG
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) – As the name suggests, its interests are in petroleum sector. It is involved in the refining and retailing of petroleum products.Bharat Petroleum is considered to be a pioneer in Indian petroleum industry with various path-breaking initiatives such as Pure for Sure campaign, Petro card, Fleet card etc.
4.		GAIL (India) Limited Industry: Petroleum and Gas Founded: 1984 Employees: 3500
GAIL (India) Limited, is India’s largest natural gas transportation company, integrating all aspects of the natural gas value chain. GAIL is listed by Forbes as one of the world’s 2,000 largest public companies in 2007.The company was previously known as Gas Authority of India Ltd. It is India’s principal gas transmission and marketing company. It was set up by the Government of India in August 1984 to create gas sector infrastructure.
5.		Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Industry: AeroSpace and Defence Employees: 34,000 Founded: 1940 Products: AeroSpace Equipment, Military aircraft and Space Systems
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Ministry of Defence, the company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and related communication equipment, as well as operating airports.
6.		Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Founded: 1976 Industry: Petroleum Products: Oil, LPG Employees: 10,778
HPCL is a Fortune 500 company, with an annual turnover of over Rs 91,448 crores ($20892 Million) (FY 2006-07), 16% Refining & Marketing share in India and a strong market infrastructure.
7.		Indian Oil Corporation Limited Founded: Industry:Petroleum Products: Petril, Diesel, Kerosene, LPG and PetroChemicals Employees: ~36,217
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. is currently India’s largest company by sales with a turnover of Rs. 247,479 crore (US $59.22 billion), and profit of Rs. 6963 crore (US $ 1.67 billion) for fiscal 2007. IndianOil is also the highest ranked Indian company in the prestigious Fortune ‘Global 500′ listing, having moved up 18 places to the 135th position in 2007. It is also the 20th largest petroleum company in the world. IndianOil’s vision is driven by a group of dynamic leaders who have made it a name to reckon with.
8.		Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited Founded:1986 Industry: TeleCommunication
9.		National Aluminium Company Limited Industry: Aluminium Founded:
10.		NMDC Limited Industry:Exploration of wide range of minerals including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, lime stone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, beach sands etc Founded:1958
India’s single largest iron ore producer and exporter, presently producing 27.07 million tons of iron ore from 3 fully mechanised mines viz., Bailadila Deposit-14/11C, Bailadila Deposit-5,10/11A (Chhattisgarh State) and Donimalai Iron Ore Mines (Karnataka State) which are awarded ISO 9001-2000 certification.
11.		NTPC Limited Industry:Electrical Power Generation Founded: 1975
NTPC Limited is the largest power generating company of India. A public sector company, it was incorporated in the year 1975 to accelerate power development in the country as a wholly owned company of the Government of India. At present, Government of India holds 89.5% of the total equity shares of the company and the balance 10.5% is held by FIIs, Domestic Banks, Public and others.
12.		Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited Founded: Industry: Oil and Natural Gas
13.		Power Finance Corporation Limited Industry: Indian Power Sec tor – Financial Institution in power & financial sectors Founded: 1986 Employees: 307
Power Finance Corporation Ltd. (Government of India Undertaking under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, Government of India) was conceived and came into existence in the year 1986 with a view to inter-alia provide a range of fund based and non fund based support to Indian power sector.
14.		Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Industry: Indian Electrical Power Sector – the Central Transmission Utility of India Founded:
Establishment and operation of Regional and National Power Grids to facilitate transfer of electric power within and across the regions with Reliability, Security and Economy, on sound commercial principles.
15.		Rural Electrification Corporation Limited Industry:Rural Electrification Founded:1969
Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), was incorporated on July 25, 1969 under the Companies Act 1956. REC is a wholly owned Government of India Public Sector Enterprise with a net worth of Rs. 5368 Crore. Its main objective is to finance and promote rural electrification projects all over the country. It provides financial assistance to State Electricity Boards, State Government Departments and Rural Electric Cooperatives for rural electrification projects as are sponsored by them.
16.		Steel Authority of India Limited Founded:1954 Industry:Steel and Iron
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is the leading steel-making company in India. It is a fully integrated iron and steel maker, producing both basic and special steels for domestic construction, engineering, power, railway, automotive and defence industries and for sale in export markets.

Miniratna Category – I CPSEs

1. Balmer Lawrie & Co. Limited

2. Bharat Dynamics Limited

3. BEML Limited

4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

5. Bongaigaon Refineries & Petrochemicals Limited

6. Central Warehousing Corporation

7. Central Coalfields Limited

8. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited

9. Coal India Limited

10. Container Corporation of India Limited

11. Dredging Corporation of India Limited

12. Engineers India Limited

13. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited

14. Goa Shipyard Limited

15. Hindustan Latex Limited

16. Hindustan Newsprint Limited

17. Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited

18. India Tourism Development Corporation Limited

19. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited

20. IRCON International Limited

21. Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited

22. Mazagaon Docks Limited

23. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited

24. Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited

25. MMTC Limited

26. MSTC Limited

27. National Fertilizers Limited

28. Neyveli Lignite Corporation

29. NHPC Limited

30. Northern Coalfields Limited

31. Numaligarh Refinery Limited

32. Oil India Limited

33. Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited

34. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited

35. RITES Limited

36. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited

37. Shipping Corporation of India Limited

38. South Eastern Coalfields Limited

39. State Trading Corporation of India Limited

40. Telecommunications Consultants (India) Limited

41. Western Coalfields Limited

Miniratna Category-II CPSEs

42. Educational Consultants (I) Limited

43. Engineering Projects (I) Limited

44. Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited

45. HMT (International) Limited

46. HSCC (India) Limited

47. India Trade Promotion Organization

48. Indian Medicines Pharmaceuticals Corporation Limited

49. Manganese Ore India Limited

50. M E C O N Limited

51. National Film Development Corporation Limited

52. P E C Limited

53. Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited

54. Water & Power Consultancy (India) Limited

Devotees coming to the temple will have to put their thumb on the scanner and the fingerprint will be sent to the central processor of a computer installed at the control room of the temple, which will match the data with the data bank in the main computer.

“The fingerprints and other relevant details of the known anti-national and anti-social elements of the entire country will be fed into the data bank”

The 1,500 Megawatt hydropower project in Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh, supplies electricity to the states of northern India, remained closed for the fifth consecutive day.

Officials said that the permissible limit of silt is 4000 parts per million (ppm), which had exceeded 7, 500 ppm when the plant was shut down.

While the losses on account of the plant shutdown accrue to over some billions of rupees, officials maintain that the plant will resume operations in a couple of days.

“The water level has increased by 20 per cent due to which the silt has increased, therefore as a measure of safety, we have closed the plant so as to save the turbine parts from getting damaged. Though we are incurring losses because of this shutdown, these losses are nothing as compared to what we would incur if the turbines get damaged,” said N. C. Bansal, General Manager of the Nathpa Jhakri power Plant.

The power project located around 145 kilometers from Shimla, produces around 36 million units of electricity per day. The temporary shutdown has resulted in power shortage in many states of north India.

The project supplies electricity to the states of Punjab, Harayana, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.

But, Bangalore-based astrophysicist DR R. Rajamohan, the discoveror of the asteroid 5178, revealed that he never proposed Sainudeen’s name to it. Everyone in the scientific community in India believed that Rajamohan was behind the naming as it is the privilege of the discoverer to name the minor planet.

Dr Rajamohan had discovered six asteroids nearly two decades ago through his optical telescope at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’ Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu.

“It is possible that Pattazhy cashed in on our lapse or disinterest and organised to have the object named after himself, Anyone can name a numbered asteroid after 10 years of discovery if the discoverer fails to name it” said Rajamohan.

“Absolutely unnecessary. Painful. Out of jealousy. The exclusive right for the discoverer to name the planet exists only for the first 10 years. After that, any member of International Astronomical Union can suggest a name. I am still in the dark about the person who had recommended my name for the planet,” was the response of Sainudeen Pattazhy, about the latest controversy over the naming of an asteroid (minor planet) between Mars and Jupiter as 5178 Pattazhy.

According to the Committee for Small Bodies Nomenclature (CSBN) of International Astronomical Union (IAU), the naming of ‘5178 Pattazhy’ was done by the committee on April 13, 2006.

According to the JPL (Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory)website, this is the third asteroid that the retired IIA researcher has discovered. The earlier ones were named after mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujam (No 4130) and physical chemist Dennis C Reuter (4706) and three discoveries (17446, 17564 and 8348) are yet to be named.
As the discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by IAU’s Committee on Small Body Nomenclature. The discoverers can then submit names for them, following IAU’s naming conventions, within 10 years.
Of the 400,000-odd asteroids, 185,685 have been numbered and only 14,438 have been given proper names.

Cartosat-2A and IMS-1 were launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre

at Sriharikota on April 28 when a total of 10 small satellites were successfully put in orbit.

Excited space scientists who accompanied Dr. Nair pointed out the exact spot where they were located. “Here we are,” they told the Prime Minister as he looked at the images and appreciated their clarity.

Dr. Nair and other scientists briefed the Prime Minister on not only the latest success of ISRO but also its future programmes that include manned space flight and the mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1.

For Sainudeen Pattazhy, it is recognition for some pioneering work he has done in the field of environmental research.

“I was so happy when NASA informed me on Wednesday evening that my name has been selected for naming a minor planet. It’s known as 5178 Pattazhy. Actually, Rajamohan had discovered it in 1989. He proposed my name and NASA accepted it,” Pattazhy said.

Pattazhy became popular for his study on the red rain phenomenon in Kerala in recent years.

He could hardly believe his ears when he was told that an asteroid located somewhere between Mars and Jupiter would bear his name – 5178 Pattazhy.

Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California on Wednesday renamed the main-belt asteroid, discovered by Dr R Rajamohan in 1989, as per the nomenclature convention of the International Astronomical Union.

It rained red in Pattazhy in 2001. Now the village near Kollam has a namesake near the red planet in the solar system. Dr Sainudeen Pattazhy, the environmentalist who made his mark with a pioneering study on the red rain phenomenon in Kerala, never knew he would be instrumental in immortalising his birthplace in space.

The professor’s research proved that the red colour of the rains were due to a geological process and had nothing to do with alien life.

Image Courtesy: http://freedomvideo.org/blog/?p=559

On space science, the doctor said: “Even as a child, I was keen on learning about space. But somewhere I turned to zoology and then environmental science. But I would definitely love to see the planet named after me and my village “

The JPL website says: “Indian environmentalist Sainudeen Pattazhy (b. 1962), senior lecturer on zoology at Kollam Sree Narayana College in Kerala, is known for his research on red rain, the control of mosquitoes, the potential health hazards of mobile phone towers and the ecobiology of sacred groves.”

“Regarding red rain, there was an argument that it was alien presence. But that’s just like science fiction. During 2001-02, peculiar geological situation was prevailing in Kerala like caving in of wells and landslides,” he added.

Pattazhy is the first Indian after the legendary scientist Homi J Baba to get his name stamped on a celestial body.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will create a record of sorts when it launches ten satellites, including eight nano satellites from abroad, which will be carried by PSLV-C9 in a single mission on April 28 from the spaceport of Sriharikota.

The cluster of satellites to be lifted included Indian satellite Cartosat-2A weighing 690 kg. The vehicle would also carry eight nano satellites of 16 to 27 kg from Canada, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, an ISRO official told.

Of the eight nano satellites, six form a cluster called NLS-4.

Of the six, one each was from the University of Toronto in Canada, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, and two were from Japan.

The seventh one, named NLS-5, weighed 16 kg and was from the University of Toronto. The eighth, called Rubin-8, was from Germany and it weighed seven kg.

The satellites would be ejected into a 635 km orbit. Cartosat-2A, which is of one metre resolution, would be used for mapping purposes and management of natural resources.

The second Indian satellite of the cluster, weighing 85 kg, was an experimental remote sensing satellite. It would also be used as a platform for trying out advanced technology in the coming launches, the official said.

The launch is scheduled at 9.20 am from ISRO’s launch port Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on April 28.

“All launches are important. But, this is for the first time that ISRO is launching ten satellites together,” he said.

The satellites would be launched by the core-alone 44-m-tall and 230-tonne PSLV, without the strap-on motors.

ISRO officials said it would be an international mission as the sleek PSLV would be placing ten satellites in the intended orbit in one mission. ”It will be a tric

ky mission as the satellites have to be put in the orbit at the right time and in right angle one after another”, they said, adding that the role of the ejection mechanism would be crucial in the mission.

These satellites were built to learn the art of fabricating satellites by academicians and to test nano technologies for use in satellites.

The launch had more commercial value as Antrix Corporation, the financial arm of the ISRO, would be charging money for carrying foreign satellites.

Lets Wish ISRO, a very good luck

:end

Hi all,
I am very happy to launch/introduce Electrical.org.in website for one and everyone related to Electrical India.

Right now, Electrical.org.in covers Industry news related to power and brings latest news with in mins.

For students, freshers it covers material related to their studies, and brings latest notifications and offers.
And social community features are also there.

If you are related to Indian Electrical/Electronics/power sector get registered yourself.

Google has launched its new ‘Google Trends‘ and ‘Hot Trends’ reports on India Labs (labs.google.co.in), giving users a chance to find out on an hourly basis, what India is searching for on Google’s search engine.

NDPL ties up with Delhi College of Engineering
A pilot project to be launched in three months: Would give access to a host of services through existing lines

The North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) and the Ministry of Information Technology are working towards an initiative that will make broadband connections through power lines possible.

“We will send Internet signals through electricity transformer and channelize them through cables running overhead and underground,” said NDPL spokesperson Ajay Maharaj. “Residents would be given a device to plug into power points at home; they will have a broadband connection.”

How it works?
* Internet signals will be transmitted through power transformer
* Will be channelised through overhead and underground power cables
* Signals to be received by device plugged into a power point at home
* Signals to be transmitted to laptop or PC through the device

The minister was addressing an Assocham conference in the capital, when he said that the government is putting its best foot forward in bringing village farmers closer to mobile phones. The objective being mobile connectivity and Internet accessibility would help farmers enhance farm production, and dictate a fair price for their produce from end consumers.

In doing so, the UPA government is attempting to bring mobile phones within closer reach of the aam aadmi.

It is trying to ensure that along with growing Internet facilities, farmers are able to access the latest trends in all aspects of farming, including sowing of seeds, harvesting, use of fertilizers, and so on.

The Ministry of Communication, Information and Broadcasting, and other relevant government departments are working in tandem towards making mobile accessibility available to every farmer, Fernandes said.

Mars, subject of intense attention from scientists searching for possibilities of sustaining life there, is currently visible to the naked eye in the skies immediately after sunset.

According to N Raghunandan Kumar, Founder Secretary, Planetary Society of India, Mars was closest to Earth this year, at a distance of 88 million kms, on December 18.

On December 24 – Sun, Earth and Mars – will be in one straight line and opposite to each other, he said.

Similar incident had occurred in 2005, when the planet was at a distance of 68 million kms and before that in 2003, when the distance of Mars and Earth was just 55 million kms.

This closeness of the red planet offers people in general and scientists and astronomers in particular, a chance to gaze at Mars with the naked eye and gather further information about it, Kumar said.
The planet can be seen in the evening between north east and east direction immediately after sunset on Christmas eve.

When the sun sets mars rises and vice-versa. Hence Mars rises in the east just as the Sun sets in the west. Then after staying up in the sky the entire night Mars sets in the west just as the Sun rises in the east.

Earth makes two trips around the Sun in about the same amount of time that Mars takes to make one trip, so sometimes the two planets are on opposite sides of the Sun, Kumar explained.