News from Nepal

Kedar P. Badu, President of the Galileo Astronomical Society of Pokhara, Napal (GASP O), sent the accompanying photographs and informed The Citizen Scientist about a recent meeting in Kathmandu (Fig. 1) to discuss correcting the Bikram Era Calendar that is based on the sidereal year. Kedar writes, "As the calendars have not been corrected for hundreds of years, the error is equal to 24 days accumulated due to the precession of the Earth. For example, the summer solstice according to our BE calendar comes on July 16, which is 24 days after June 21."

Kedar also reports on recent solar observations near local solar noon using a properly filtered telescope (Fig. 2). No sun spots were observed in the photographs.

Figure 3 shows Kedar (at left) and Academician Rishi Shah of the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST).

The GASPO web site describes the organization's various projects, including the recent Venus transit and its work with schools and students.

Forrest M. Mims III