CosmicVarta is a team effort where we all come together to discuss astronomy and related tools and ideas. Come join us on this journey!

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Astronomy is truly a global subject. The boundaries between nations, people and ethnicities do not exist for astronomers. Astronomers and astrophysicists strive to study the cosmos in the hope of understanding and realizing our place in the Universe. Thus it is the responsibility of astronomers to convey what is found in our studies to the general public.

Many news platforms and science popularization websites do a wonderful job of letting the public know about the final results from a few studies that are carried out in certain reputed astronomy institutes. But a vast majority of exciting research that is done in many universities and institutes throughout India never come outside of the scientific community.

Professional astronomers give a detailed description of all their studies including how it was conducted and how they came to conclusions about astronomical objects from their studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals. But these articles are written in a highly scientific language and it is full of jargon. This makes the content incomprehensible to not only the interested reader but also to novice students who are not dealing with the subject on a day-to-day basis.

But we want every interested individual to have a glimpse of the exciting life of astronomers. To do so we have started this platform to connect all astronomers and astrophysicists in India with the general public. Here, researchers will explain the work that goes on in their laboratories or in their research area (not just the results but how the conclusion was reached, what happens with all the data that is obtained from satellites and telescopes, why do we build bigger and better instruments et cetera) in a non-technical language. While we can make videos and explain what we do, we need to acknowledge that not everyone is comfortable in front of the camera, but what every PhD student/researcher is comfortable with is writing. Thus, through CosmicVarta, we intend to present the content published in scientific journals in a simplified yet detailed way so that people from every background can grasp the essence of the results. Articles on CosmicVarta can even help students understand the concept in a non-technical way before they go on to read the original article published in scientific journals.

We also plan on publishing interviews with eminent professors and scientists as well as students working in the field of astronomy and astrophysics all over India. Thus prospective students can use this platform to find guidance and understand what to expect when entering this field.

Apart from positions in astronomy and astrophysics in prominent research institutions, research in astronomy in India is carried out in various state, central and deemed universities as well. Through this portal, prospective students may also find information regarding them. This platform will also serve as an information hub regarding various software and databases that are available to be used by the public for free.

The idea of CosmicVarta was found to be interesting by a wide variety of people we discussed with which indeed is very encouraging. We want to thank all the researchers who have contributed to the website by writing about their own papers or papers in their field before we even went live!

We request all our readers to connect with us and even share their ideas for improving the platform. We also request all researchers involved in astronomy and astrophysics in India to write about their work and contribute towards popularizing astronomical research.

Finally, and most importantly, just join us on a journey that will take you to the wonderful world of stars, galaxies, and beyond; and feel enthralled by the unlocking of the keys to the mysteries of the universe which scientists are doing on a daily basis.