RiSa Astronomy

Bangalore's Astronomy Club · Since 2016

RiSa
Astronomy

Astronomy  ·  Education  ·  Camping

Stargazing camps, school workshops, and night-sky teaching from Bangalore's most active astronomy community.

What's coming up

Upcoming Events

23 May Denkanikotai - Camping Under the Stars!

23 May Denkanikotai - Camping Under the Stars!

23 May 2026 at 3:00 pm – 24 May 2026 at 10:00 am

Rocky Ridge Cafe

Coorg - 23 May, 2026 Discover the Wonders of Coorg event registration

Coorg - 23 May, 2026 Discover the Wonders of Coorg event registration

23 May 2026 at 3:00 pm – 24 May 2026 at 10:00 am

Balyabane

Who we are

Bangalore's Premier
Astronomy Community

Since 2016, RiSa Astronomy has been the trusted name for stargazing in Bangalore, introducing thousands to the thrill of observational astronomy.

Beyond our famous weekend astronomy camps, we offer interactive school workshops, global online classes, and professional telescope buying guides for beginners.

Whether you want to watch meteor showers, join a planet parade, or need a telescope recommendation - RiSa Astronomy is your guide.

Our Story

Astronomy Camps

Weekend stargazing under dark skies away from the city

School Workshops

Interactive astronomy education for students of all ages

Online Classes

Global astronomy classes you can join from anywhere

Telescope Guide

Expert buying advice and setup help for beginners

Bangalore Astronomy

Bangalore's Astronomy Club, run by teachers

If you live in Bangalore - or Bengaluru, depending on which spelling is on your driving licence - and you've ever wondered where to actually go for stargazing, you're already at the right place. Founded in Bangalore in 2016, we're the city's most active observational-astronomy community: weekend stargazing camps from dark-sky sites within driving distance, school astronomy programs in Bangalore schools, and private astronomy evenings for offices across Whitefield, Indiranagar, Koramangala, JP Nagar, and along Kanakapura Road.

When we put this together in 2016, organised astronomy camps at this scale didn't really exist in our part of the country. The format we built that year - telescopes under genuinely dark skies, theory around a campfire, breakfast at sunrise - is roughly the template most other astronomy operators in India now follow.

What we're best known for, though, isn't the geography or the years on the calendar. It's the teaching.

Yes, we're the best-equipped astronomy outfit in India - some of the largest amateur telescopes in the country, dedicated solar telescopes that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere. But astronomy is a subject before it's an attraction. Sessions are run by people who can explain why Saturn's rings look the way they do tonight, why a planet is unusually bright this month, what the panchanga has to do with where the Moon sits, and how a telescope actually focuses light. Children, in particular, walk away from our camps having understood something, not just seen it.

You don't pick a school by the height of its building. We think the same applies here.

RiSa is run by Anish Kumar PV - astronomer, builder of EclipseDB and astronomyapps.com, two free public tools used by stargazers around the world.

Frequently asked

Things people ask us

Why does RiSa Astronomy announce most events only two weeks ahead?+
South Indian weather is famously hard to predict beyond about ten or twelve days. Anyone who's lived through a Bangalore monsoon knows a clear morning can turn into a downpour by evening. Astronomy needs the sky to actually be visible, so committing to a date months in advance helps no one. We watch the forecast and announce most camps about two weeks before the date, when the prediction is reliable enough to plan against. It's a small change in how we schedule, but it's the difference between standing under stars and standing under cloud.
What if the weather is bad on my booking date?+
Two things happen. First, the camp still runs. We're teachers first - the sky-show is one part of the lesson, not the whole thing. The science behind the seasons, the planets, why the nakshatras line up the way they do, how telescopes work and why the one in front of you is built the way it is - all of it works under any sky. Guests who came on cloudy nights have written to us afterwards saying they walked away with a great deal more than they expected. Second, if you'd rather not come at all because the forecast is poor, you get a full refund up to three days before. No fees, no fine print. We'd rather you stay home than show up unhappy.
Do you offer astronomy camps booked months in advance?+
No. South Indian weather cannot be honestly forecast that far ahead, so we don't pretend to. A camp sold four months out is really a booking for a place to stay - whether the stars actually come out is a separate question that nobody can answer that early. If you're booking astronomy anywhere, ours or otherwise, it's a good idea to ask what happens if the sky is closed for business that night, and what the refund policy looks like.
What is your cancellation policy?+
Full refund if you cancel up to three days before the camp - no fees, no fine print. After that we can't refund, since by then the tents, food, transport, and staff are already arranged. The three-day window is deliberate. We want you to feel free to back out if work, family, or weather pulls you a different direction. The astronomy will come around again.
Where in South India does RiSa Astronomy operate?+
We have three permanent locations, all within reach of Bangalore. Denkanikottai in Tamil Nadu is our flagship observatory, where we keep both a 16-inch and a 20-inch telescope - it's the closest serious dark-sky site to Bengaluru, about eighty kilometres south. Balyabane Camping in Coorg sits inside a working coffee estate. The Highranges Farmstay in Idukki, Kerala, gives us our southernmost sky. Beyond the camps, we conduct school astronomy programs and corporate astronomy evenings across Bengaluru itself - including at venues in Whitefield, Indiranagar, and along Kanakapura Road, as well as further afield in Mysore.
Is RiSa Astronomy a Bangalore astronomy club?+
Yes. RiSa Astronomy is Bangalore's astronomy club - founded in the city in 2016, run out of Bangalore, and the most active observational-astronomy community in Bengaluru. Most of our work happens around Bangalore: weekend stargazing camps from dark-sky sites a couple of hours out, school astronomy programs in Bangalore schools and across Karnataka, corporate astronomy evenings hosted in the city - Whitefield, Indiranagar, Koramangala, Kanakapura Road, anywhere a clear patch of sky is available. We've grown into the best-equipped astronomy outfit in India - Dobsonians up to twenty inches, dedicated solar telescopes - but the work has always been about teaching first. If you're in Bangalore and looking for astronomy, you've found the right people.
What makes RiSa Astronomy different from a tour or telescope operator?+
We're teachers first. Astronomy is something we want people - especially children - to actually learn, not just glance at through an eyepiece for ten minutes and forget. We've been doing this since 2016, when organised astronomy camps at this scale didn't really exist in our part of the country, and the format we built then is now roughly the template most other operators follow. Over the years we've also grown into the best-equipped astronomy outfit in India - some of the largest amateur telescopes in the country, dedicated solar telescopes that aren't easy to come across in Bangalore. But the equipment isn't the point. You don't pick a school by the height of its building. The same principle applies here.
I'm in Bangalore - can I actually see stars from the city?+
Honestly, no - and not for any reason special to Bangalore. Indian metros are now bright enough at night that the Milky Way is invisible from anywhere inside the city. The Moon and a couple of bright planets are still visible from a quiet rooftop, and you can spot satellites overhead. But for proper stargazing - constellations, deep-sky objects, the Milky Way's dust lanes - you need a dark site. The closest serious one to Bangalore is our observatory at Denkanikottai, about eighty kilometres south on the road toward Krishnagiri and Hosur. We run camps from there most weekends the weather permits.
Why are only one or two events listed on your site?+
We're constantly active - this isn't a quiet operation. The list looks short because we announce most events only about two weeks before they happen, once the forecast is reliable. The next one or two you see are confirmed; the ones beyond are not yet set. For a sense of how often we actually run, the past events list runs into the hundreds. We'd rather show a short, honest schedule of dates that will actually happen than a long one full of camps that might not.

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Location

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Google Reviews

What people say

5.0★★★★★·65 reviews on Google
★★★★★4 months ago

The workshop I attended was great, Anish was very knowledgeable and passionate. He was patient in answering any and every question with great clarity. He explained to us about the equipment used, and we started watching the planets and star clusters. He also showed us the Orion N…

Bhupen Chauhan

★★★★★a year ago

Just a stone's throw from Bangalore, from where one can explore the SPACE! The theory lessons set a context for beginners, helping them grasp the basics and also connect with the practical aspects of calendar, culture etc. It’s the perfect place for children to engage with natur…

Lakshmi Sravanti

★★★★★a year ago

I went for Camping under the Stars in October last month, and had a wonderful experience. The camp area was lovely and peaceful, and the astronomy experience, looking at the night sky, the stars and planets through the telescope was amazing. Aneesh was not only very knowledgeabl…

Arya Raje

★★★★★2 years ago

We attended Camping under the Stars, beginners session in the month of March. I must say it was an absolute knowledgeable, joyful experience. Mr. Anish makes sure that everyone becomes a part of the session whether it’s a child or an adult. He explains the complex concepts in a s…

Siddharth Agarwal

★★★★★a year ago

Had the most wonderful astronomy outing from Bangalore, which included not only great sightings of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and several constellations, but also two beginner friendly treks with phenomenal views of the sunset! Great stay and food too… The hosts are extraord…

Aditi Agrawal