Samanta Chandra Sekhar Amateur Astronomers’ Association (SCAAA) was established on 10th July, 1993 with a coordinated efforts of some scientists, teachers, students, educationists, research scholars and amateur astronomers from Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Regional Science Centre, Srujanika, Regional Research Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Utkal University, colleges and schools. It was later registered under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860 on 20th June, 1994 bearing registration No. KRD/5907-125 of 1994-95. The main aims of the Association are to popularize science, particularly Astronomy and create scientific temper among the students, teachers and general public. To create interest among them the members of SCAAA regularly observe various rare celestial events like solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, transit of Mercury and Venus. Members of SCAAA also frequently observe position of stars and planets, occultation, appearance of comets, meteors etc. Members of the Association visit different schools and colleges of the State of Orissa and organize night sky watching programme through telescope and arrange popular lecture programmes on Astronomy using audio visuals. Members also reach near the people residing in remote villages and arrange star watching programmes and deliver lectures on Astronomy for them. Besides, SCAAA is regularly publishing its Newsletter. Two issues of the Newsletter have been published during 2009 & 2010 on the occasion of Annual Day Function of SCAAA. Further, SCAAA has published its own souvenirs on different occasions and a book on preparation of horoscope. Members of SCAAA are also contributing articles based on Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science to different national and international Journals, Magazines, Souvenirs and Newspapers. To create interest among the school students towards astronomy, SCAAA conducts various competitions based on astronomy involving school children and distributes prizes to the winners. During 2009 and 2010 SCAAA conducted quiz, essay, painting and debate competitions among the school students and awarded them with prizes in the Annual Functions of SCAAA. Since inception Samanta Chandra Sekhar Amateur Astronomers’ Association (SCAAA) has been holding its monthly meeting continuously on Sundays following the second Saturdays of every month at 11.00 A.M., in its meeting hall situated in the premises of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar. Amateur Astronomers including students from schools and colleges, teachers, scientists and general public attend the meetings and participate in the discussion on various topics based on astronomy, astrophysics and space science. By attending the meetings, the members of the Association interact with each other every month and this also helps in enriching their knowledge on the above subjects.
