Astronomy for Everyone

I am writing this from the Science Express. Science express is a state of the art exhibition train which was started in the year 2007 as a joint venture of Govt. of India and Govt. of Germany. After having the phenomenal response from the people of India this train run now for at least six months. During the journey of science express I visited many cities and places in India and met more than 5 million people and I got opportunity to communicate astronomy to those people. OK! I forgot to tell you my job on science express is to communicate science to the people. Apart from the exhibition on the train, during second and third phase of science express in the year 2009 we started visiting school and institutes for astronomical program and with that we started our fantastic journey of spreading astronomy among people of various community.

The year 2009 was so significant to make people aware of astronomy because, 2009 was designated as International Year of Astronomy. Exactly 400 years ago from 2009, the Universe changed or, at least, our perception of it did, thanks to Galileo Galilei's scrutiny of the night sky with a telescope. Within a couple of years, his observation of the Moon, phases of Venus and satellites of Jupiter shattered the old Ptolemic model of our Solar System. To the church's dismay, Earth assumed its rightful place as one of several planets orbiting the Sun. Marking Galileo's anniversary, the International Year of Astronomy seeks to remind us of the humbling nature of gazing at the heavens.

So what is astronomy? What does it mean to people in developing regions like India? Well, firstly it must be acknowledge that astronomy belongs to us all. Virtually every culture in the world had already established a relationship with the stars, moon and sun hundreds if not thousands of years ago. In fact, for as long as human beings have walked on the Earth we have looked up at the night sky and wondered about the objects we saw. In India, people have used the stars for centuries, be it for navigation, agriculture, or even story telling. Today, Astronomy as a field of study has developed into something that attempts to answer some of the biggest question imaginable. It is a field that challenges the limits of human understanding and yet never ceases to expand on it. Astronomy, as I have seen on the faces of children, is also a spark that triggers the curiosity and wonder.

During the journey in science express I experienced that in many part of country scientific knowledge amongst the public is not very strong. In many cases traditional knowledge or superstitions dominate, leading to many misconceptions. In this case astronomy can play a key role in addressing this often sensitive relationship between traditional and scientific knowledge systems. Astronomy is often a very interesting topic of conversation and an easy way to start a gradual process of introducing a person to modern understanding of the Universe. By bringing to the public the things we know about the Universe and more importantly, how we know them ( technologies employed, scientific method, etc ), we can spread knowledge of science and technology.

I stress, that the conversation must go both the ways, and an acknowledgement of indigenous knowledge is important and essential in building the relationship and pride of a people. Indigenous astronomical knowledge in India, such as how farmer use constellation and position of sun for harvesting, or mathematical calculation of planets, moon, and sun in Panchang.

In India, many state board education syllabuses either astronomy subject is not included or omitted from from it, therefore understanding of this subject in the school student is very less, so we designed our programs according to need of students.

Our astronomy programs included planetarium show and lectures during day time and during day time & during night time we conduct telescopic observation sessions. I still do this activity on train. Till today more than 45000 students have already participated in this activity. This program is not restricted to the students, we also took this program to the central jails, army camps and many villages. Our aims are as below.

1. Enhance the interest of astronomy among school children.

2. Enhance the practical knowledge of astronomy in university students.

3. Increase the awareness and knowledge of astronomy amongst the people.

Having said this, one may still ask the question "Why are you doing this? Do you really believe that looking at the stars can make a difference to a person living a hard life in India?"

My response is simple. I believe that it, because I've experienced it!

I worked with some of the poorest schools and communities in India I've seen the wonder on a child's face when they look through a telescope for the first time. I've watched youth change their career plans after a long conversation about the Universe - and I've seen the naughty ones stop their games and listen. I've seen the smiles on wrinkled faces as they grasp the mechanism of eclipses for the first time after long lives of fear and misconception.

I've seen people smile peacefully when presented with a view of the earth from space - an earth with no boarders, no nationalities, no wars or anger - simply a little blue planet, a part of the Universe - with life, life that belongs to the Earth as much as the Earth belongs to it! Astronomy is a powerful tool. It is some thing that can alter one's perception of the Universe. It can make one realize how fragile our lives are!Above all, astronomy is a subject that makes one think. It broadens the minds and allows us to appreciate different perspectives - to appreciate the diversity of people and of life - and it is certainly something that is to be celebrated by everyone.

AMOL KATE