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Astronomy class from Mumbai's sidewalks

Updated on: 08 May,2014 10:05 AM IST |
Hassan M Kamal |

Tomorrow, as part of a global astronomy event called One Sky, amateur astronomers across six city sidewalks will offer free telescope views of the sky

On May 9, the sidewalk on Carter Road in Bandra will turn into an astronomy hotspot, where citizens can get a closer view of celestial objects in the sky. Called One Sky, this astronomy-themed event hopes to create awareness about the subject and instill peace among the world’s citizens. Conceptualised by Mumbai-based amateur astronomer Henna Khan, the event will include installing a telescope on a sidewalk where a passerby can observe the sky for free.

Mumbaikars observing the sky at an astronomy sidewalk in Bandra in April 2014

The One Sky astronomy walk started as a Mumbai-based event with sidewalks being organised in six locations in the city, but soon after word spread through Twitter and Facebook, groups from other countries started showing interest. “We wanted to organise a local sidewalk astronomy session before the monsoon. But we felt, why limit it to Mumbai? So, we connected with astronomy lovers across the globe, and people joined in,” says Khan. The event now has astronomy groups from 12-13 countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, US and Canada, organising similar One Sky astronomy sidewalks in their respective localities.

Khan adds that though the event started as an effort to promote astronomy, at this point it offers more: “Today, countries are at war, and refuse to share any technology or resources. We want people to understand that though divided by international boundaries, we share the same earth and the same sky.”