w . / 3 1 . 0 7 . 2 0 0 9 / P h o t o : S h i h a b w . / 3 1 . 0 7 . 2 0 0 9

Cover Story

Days after the launch of DubaiSat-1,the Dubai Astronomy Groupexplains the huge spectrum of benets an interest in the stars canreap.

George O’Donohue

reports

Looking for

Space

our hundred years ago, Galileo Gali-lei used the rst astronomical telescopeto get a closer look at the night sky. He wasn’t the rst by any means to takea vested interest in the bigger picturebeyond the clouds; civilisations beginning (as faras we know) with the Egyptians 6,000 years ago worked out and recorded how to measure time,space, geographical positions and directions using the stars and planets above us.Astronomy has played a large part in Arab his-tory for many centuries. Building on discoveries bythe Greeks and Romans, ancient Arabs used navi-gational techniques to aid Middle Eastern trading and have promoted this strain of science at localuniversities since the 13th century.Fast forward to 2009 and astronomy is onceagain at the forefront of people’s minds. This monthsaw launch of the rst UAE satellite, DubaiSat1, intospace; a breakthrough that will enable a new level of local data collection on a whole range of subjects.“It will denitely be the beginning of a new era,”says Ankur Bhatia, an Indian engineer who is amember of the Dubai Astronomy Group.The Dubai Astronomy Group has been activein the UAE since 2000 and now boasts more than1,200 members. It is headed up by Hasan AhmadAl Hariri, an Emirati who has been passionate

STAR-GAZER: Hasan Ahmad Al Hariri

w . / 3 1 . 0 7 . 2 0 0 9 w . / 3 1 . 0 7 . 2 0 0 9

Cover Story

about the subject since his brotherbrought home a book on the starsin the 1970s, when he was only 14.“I even slept with that book,” helaughs. “I am not a researcher, I aman amateur, but I am trying to ll upother people’s lives with something more meaningful than just com-muting between home and work.To give people a passion towardstheir environment, and get them tolook at the bigger picture.”He continues, “Astronomy is themodel for all science, it is at the rootof everything. There is so muchmeaning in it, ranging from giv-ing someone enjoyment from thebeauty of the stars, to serious sci-entic research.”The Dubai group is open to any-one and membership is free. Hasanand his board run a range of activi-ties from lectures and seminars, totraining courses and star gazing trips at astronomer ‘hide-outs’ inthe desert mountains. They havethe largest telescope in the UAEand plenty of resources for anyoneinterested in learning more aboutthe great unknown. Better still,Hasan’s passion is infectious.“Astronomy is fun for your souland fun for your mind,” he says.“What we are missing in Dubai isan appreciation of the beauty of sci-ence, it’s important to have some-thing other than work and home tohave a rich life.”His members couldn’t agree“Many civilisations have a richpast in astronomy,” says Lee Ful-len from the International Year of Science organisation (IYA). “It isour hope that people will gain anincreased appreciation of how as-tronomy is a modern, dynamic andfascinating science with many real world applications.”This sentiment is echoed byHasan with a very specic localperspective. His group runs sum-mer camps for children and hasbeen working with UAE schoolssince 2005 to set up and fund clubsfor kids to fuel their imagination inthe possibilities of science.“We want to empower childrenand teachers to love science. Todayin the UAE, there are only a smallamount of nationals and we haveto excel at something that will bebenecial and useful not just for us,but for the international commu-nity as well. What I’m trying to dois empower them with knowledgeand help them to be citizens of the world,” he explains.Talking to the group’s members,this approach seems to be work-ing. Astronomy brings perspectiveto anyone that becomes involvedin its wider world, but potentialastronomers can take as little or asmuch from it as they wish.Indian Ridhi Kantelal will be com-bining her interest in the stars withher university course of MaterialSciences. She explains, “Astrono-more. Kaizad Raimalwala has beena member since he encountered thegroup at university in Sharjah in2005. “Imagining the unthinkableenormity of the universe gives mea sense of perspective and humility.It makes me realise there’s more tolife than the hatred, crime and warthat plagues our world.”His enthusiasm is echoed in-ternationally. This year is also theInternational Year of Astronomy, which celebrates the science’s con-tribution to society and culture. Ba-sic concepts that we live our livesby and take for granted as having always existed such as time, dates, years, the decimal point and therealisation that we live in a helio-centric (or sun-based) universe ona round planet (not a at disc) allhave their roots in star-gazing.

“We want childrenand teachers tolove science... I’mtrying to empowerthem with theknowledge to helpthem become citi-zens of the world,”says Hasan

w . / 2 4 . 0 7 . 2 0 0 9 / P h o t o : R a h u l G a j j a r

Cover Story

my combines the creativity of anartist and the rigidity of a scienticmind. During space voyages, moreenvironmentally friendly materialsare needed. I hope to conduct re-search and nd materials that willat least aid a leap in the progress of astronomy.”Hasan himself is an example of what a passion for astronomy canlead to. Thanks to his passion hespeaks uent English and learntcomputer programming, whichlead to his career in telecommuni-cations engineering.“I had to learn English because Ikept sending NASA questions andthe replies were in English, then Ilearnt more with computers, geol-ogy and electronics because myspecial area of interest is spacecraftmissions and robotics,” he says.The potential held in the universebeyond our own world is exciting and inspiring, yet it can be taken forgranted by a modern society moreconcerned with their short-term,Earth-based pursuits, than a life-time of learning and study. But themembers of the Dubai AstronomyGroup are positive about a future of international co-operation.Ankit Choudhary has been fas-cinated by space since he saw

StarWars

as a child, and has been amember for six years, “I see as-tronomy as helping to bridge gapsbetween dierent cultures.”Others echo his sentiments whole-heartedly. “This feeling of universal brotherhood is something people come to realise after they getinvolved in astronomy,” says AmolMane, whose interest sits separateto his job as an IT manager at a realestate company.But this isn’t just idealistic think-ing. The very scope of astronomyrequires international collabora-tions. “You learn to co-ordinate with various people who are sometimesnot even living in the same country.Most astronomy projects are on agrand scale, so people from all partsof the world join together to make ithappen,” Amol explains.Similarly, the IYA is spending this year organising and promot-ing events in 140 countries to en-courage young people especially totake a wider interest in the worldaround them, to a share an experi-ence which transcends nationalityor geography.“If you look at our planet fromspace, you won’t see political bor-ders piercing through our lands,marking them into territories. You will see big green and brown conti-nents interspersed by blue oceansof water — signs of life. By gazing atthe heavens one can appreciate lifeand it’s immense potential,” saysKaizad. Astronomy might be inspir-ing for its followers, but listening to them speak is in itself inspiring and encouraging, for the future of not just space exploration, but alsohere down on the ground.Talking about the future, theUAE’s rst satellite marks a newchapter in Arab astronomy, launch-ing 40 years after man rst walkedon the moon.“It is a huge achievement and abeautiful thing,” says Hasan. Hisown group also have grand plansfor a renewed eort in space ex-ploration. They have proposed aspace facility on Indonesian Suma-tra near the equator, to HH ShaikhMohammed Rashid Al Maktoum,UAE Prime Minister and Vice-Pres-ident, and Ruler of Dubai, and hopeto collaborate with the Indonesiangovernment.“We could do a great job, and aspace facility could develop newtechnology that would raise theregion’s prole in the internationalcommunity. We would collaborate with NASA, ASA, the Japanese, theRussians, the Chinese, everyoneto create something internationalthat could help the entire world,”enthuses Hasan. This international

“If you look at ourEarth from space you won’t seepolitical borderspiercing throughour lands, you willsee big continents,oceans — signs of life,” says Kaizad

ASTRONOMICALDREAMS: (left to right) Ankur Bhatia, Ankit Choud-hary and Amol Mane