Summary
Highlights
The event begins with an introduction of guests, including Soma Chowdhury (Headmistress of Nabagram Vidyapith) and Dr. Pinaki Bhattacharya (Headmaster of Nabagram High School). Dr. Gautam Chattopadhyay, Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is introduced as the key speaker for the lecture on space exploration. The program formally commences with an Upanishad prayer and a song.
The Principal of the college, Dr. Srikant Samanta, and the President of the College Governing Body, Sri Apurva Majumdar, are acknowledged. Dr. Gautam Chattopadhyay is welcomed as a native son of Nabagram, with family ties to the college. A ceremony to felicitate the distinguished guests is held. The principal speaks about the history of the Hiralal Pal Memorial Lecture, which began in 2024, honoring Hiralal Paul's significant contributions to education and the establishment of the college in 1952, as well as other educational institutions.
Dr. Chattopadhyay's educational background, including his degrees in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, are highlighted. His research focuses on microwave, millimeter-wave, and terahertz receiving systems. He expresses his joy at returning to his hometown of Nabagram and the familiar college grounds. He then begins his lecture, showing an image from the Voyager spacecraft and discussing the search for life on Mars, whether it currently exists or ever did.
Dr. Chattopadhyay talks about the Milky Way galaxy, which contains 400 billion stars, and the search for exoplanets that could potentially harbor life. He introduces a new type of small satellite designed to measure the composition of comets, indicating their role in bringing water to celestial bodies. He also discusses asteroid impacts, emphasizing that commonly seen 'falling stars' are harmless small asteroids, unlike large ones that could cause catastrophic events like the extinction of dinosaurs. He explains NASA's DART mission, which successfully altered an asteroid's orbit to demonstrate planetary defense capabilities.
The audience engages with questions about the origin of water, whether large-scale impacts can generate usable energy, and the frequency of asteroid collisions. Dr. Chattopadhyay clarifies that most small celestial objects are harmless. He explains that current technology focuses on observation and redirection rather than energy capture from impacts. He also addresses a question about the 'best possible world' theory, stating that Earth remains the most habitable planet known.
Questions are raised about dark matter, its concept, and its role in the universe's expansion, to which Dr. Chattopadhyay provides explanations based on gravitational calculations. He also discusses solar storms, explaining that while they are constant occurrences, massive ones can have significant effects. The session concludes with a question about the existence of God, which Dr. Chattopadhyay respectfully declines to answer definitively. The event ends with a vote of thanks to all participants and organizers.