Established in 1985 by handful of astronomy enthusiasts, the organization is very popular amongst masses and is known for sky sessions for past 39 years. Khagol Mandal is a registered organization under the Public Trust Act as well as the Societies Act. Donations to Khagol Mandal are exempted from tax as per the Income Tax 80G Certificate. Strong volunteer base and continual activity is one of the strongest point of Khagol Mandal.
One of the initial Overnight Sky Observation Programs in the premises of Smt. Durgatai Patole at Vangani. From 1985 to 2015 we were at Vangani. From 2015 t0 2020, we shifted to Saguna Baug Neral. Post Covid, Khagol Mandal established sky session at Umbroli near Badlapur. Due to high levels of light pollution, we now shifted most of the all night events to Sahas Camp, 40 km ahead of Nashik. With pitch dark sky, the location is now very popular for sky sessions.
We meet on Wednesday at :Khagol Mandal, 5th Floor, Sadhana Vidyalaya, Near Sion Station, Sion, Mumbai from 7 pm to 8:30 pm.
We meet on Sunday at Vidya Prabodhini High School, Model Colony, Gangapur Road, Nashik from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.
The activities include:
- Sky observation programmes.
- Basic and Advanced Astronomy Courses.
- Slide Shows and Lectures on Astronomy.
- Study tours to sites of astronomical importance.
- Production of Video / Audio cassettes on Astronomy.
- Telescope making workshops.
Popularization of Astronomy has been the prime motto of Khagol Mandal. This is being achieved through various public programmes, lectures, study tours and sky observation programmes. We also have a library of 500 + books on astronomy and numerous instrumentation for field observation.
In our constant endeavor to improve and be innovative, our members have designed models to simplify astronomy and have won accolades for these models as well as photographs at National level.
Some of our members have completed Ph.D. in various Astronomical topics and are well settled in India and abroad in prestigious assignments.
We make special efforts for mass participation at the rare celestial phenomena like Total Solar Eclipse, Astronomical Transits, Occultations, Meteor Showers, Comets etc.
Astrophotography : Our astro-photographs have appeared in leading dailies in India and also in International publications.
Khagol Mandal Organized special Solar Eclipse observation Tours at Hamirpur in UP(1995), Bhuj, Kutch in Gujarat (1999), Nandurbar (2009), Kanyakumari (2010) and Ooty (2019).
In Feb. 2000, we conducted a special “Care Lonar” conference to emphasize on conserving the unique meteorite impact crater in India.
On 14th May 2005, Khagol Mandal presented a prestigious “Bhaskar Puraskar” award to Prof. Mohan Apte for his outstanding contribution towards Popularization of Astronomy.
In December 2005, Khagol Mandal received an award from Marathi Vidyan Parishad, for its outstanding contribution towards popularization of Astronomy.
In 2023, we hosted first International Pro-Am Meeting at Mumbai.
Khagol Mandal is a volunteer run organization. For official purpose, the current committee of managing trustees is:
| 1) | Sujata Babar | Hon. President |
| 2) | Ashirwad Tillu | Hon. Vice President |
| 3) | Dr. Abhay Deshpande | Hon. Secretary |
| 4) | Milind Kale | Hon. Treasurer |
| 5) | Adv. Milind Babar | Hon. Jt. Secretary |
| 6) | Kiran Ambardekar | Member |
| 7) | Mahendra More | Member |
| 8) | Anurag Shevade | Member |
| 9) | Suyog Deshmukh | Member |