India is a land of great diversity. This diversity is seen not only in its culture but also in the advancements that the country has made in the field of science and mathematics. Our textbooks and journals often attribute groundbreaking scientific ideas to foreign 'geniuses,' while many of these discoveries actually have their origins here in India. As a result, we are neglecting the Indian roots and contributions that formed the foundations of most of those theories. The term 'foreign' is inappropriate in the context of science, as scientific discoveries, regardless of where they originate, have a global impact and contribute to the collective knowledge of humanity, without assigning exclusive credit to any one country or individual. The purpose of this blog is to highlight the significant advancements in science and mathematics made in India, which have often been overshadowed or credited to other countries or scientists. In this blog we will be discussing about the
M oons have been a source of wonder and awe to philosophers, scientists and the common man alike from time immemorial. Generally, we use the word 'Moon' to address our natural satellite. In astronomy, however 'moon' is considered a generic term for any celestial object moving around the parent planet. Does that mean that asteroids, meteors etc can also be classified as moons? No. Asteroids are smaller bodies in comparison to moons. They thus lack the mass and gravity to pull their surfaces to a spherical shape. Moreover, asteroids originate from the asteroid belt while moons do not. Though this gives credible information that moons cannot be asteroids, the vice-versa is true. The moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos are asteroids! They originated from the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter but still are considered as moons. Figure 1: Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars are asteroids!