Cover Story

Looking for
Space
Days after the launch of DubaiSat-1,
the Dubai Astronomy Group
explains the huge spectrum of
benefits an interest in the stars can
reap. George O’Donohue reports

F
our hundred years ago, Galileo Gali-
lei used the first astronomical telescope
to get a closer look at the night sky. He
wasn’t the first by any means to take
a vested interest in the bigger picture
beyond the clouds; civilisations beginning (as far
as 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 by
the Greeks and Romans, ancient Arabs used navi-
gational techniques to aid Middle Eastern trading
and have promoted this strain of science at local
universities since the 13th century.
Fast forward to 2009 and astronomy is once
again at the forefront of people’s minds. This month
saw launch of the first UAE satellite, DubaiSat1, into
space; a breakthrough that will enable a new level of
local data collection on a whole range of subjects.
“It will definitely be the beginning of a new era,”
says Ankur Bhatia, an Indian engineer who is a
member of the Dubai Astronomy Group.
w./31.07.2009/ Photo: Shihab

The Dubai Astronomy Group has been active

in the UAE since 2000 and now boasts more than
1,200 members. It is headed up by Hasan Ahmad
Al Hariri, an Emirati who has been passionate

w./31.07.2009
STAR-GAZER: Hasan Ahmad Al Hariri

16 17

about the subject since his brother
brought home a book on the stars
in the 1970s, when he was only 14.
“I even slept with that book,” he
laughs. “I am not a researcher, I am
an amateur, but I am trying to fill up
other people’s lives with something
more meaningful than just com-
muting between home and work.
To give people a passion towards
their environment, and get them to
look at the bigger picture.”
He continues, “Astronomy is the
model for all science, it is at the root
of everything. There is so much
meaning in it, ranging from giv-
ing someone enjoyment from the
beauty of the stars, to serious sci-
entific research.”
The Dubai group is open to any-
one and membership is free. Hasan
and his board run a range of activi-
ties from lectures and seminars, to
training courses and star gazing
trips at astronomer ‘hide-outs’ in
the desert mountains. They have
the largest telescope in the UAE
and plenty of resources for anyone
interested in learning more about
the great unknown. Better still,
Hasan’s passion is infectious.
“Astronomy is fun for your soul
and fun for your mind,” he says.
“What we are missing in Dubai is
an appreciation of the beauty of sci-
ence, it’s important to have some-
thing other than work and home to
w./31.07.2009
have a rich life.”
His members couldn’t agree
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“We want children
and teachers to
love science... I’m
trying to empower
them with the
knowledge to help
them become citi-
zens of the world,”
says Hasan
more. Kaizad Raimalwala has been
a member since he encountered the
group at university in Sharjah in
2005. “Imagining the unthinkable
enormity of the universe gives me
a sense of perspective and humility.
It makes me realise there’s more to
life than the hatred, crime and war
that plagues our world.”
His enthusiasm is echoed in-
ternationally. This year is also the
International Year of Astronomy,
which celebrates the science’s con-
tribution to society and culture. Ba-
sic concepts that we live our lives
by and take for granted as having
always existed such as time, dates,
years, the decimal point and the
realisation that we live in a helio-
centric (or sun-based) universe on
a round planet (not a flat disc) all
have their roots in star-gazing.
Cover Story
“Many civilisations have a rich
past in astronomy,” says Lee Ful-
len from the International Year of
Science organisation (IYA). “It is
our hope that people will gain an
increased appreciation of how as-
tronomy is a modern, dynamic and
fascinating science with many real
world applications.”
This sentiment is echoed by
Hasan with a very specific local
perspective. His group runs sum-
mer camps for children and has
been working with UAE schools
since 2005 to set up and fund clubs
for kids to fuel their imagination in
the possibilities of science.
“We want to empower children
and teachers to love science. Today
in the UAE, there are only a small
amount of nationals and we have
to excel at something that will be
beneficial and useful not just for us,
but for the international commu-
nity as well. What I’m trying to do
is empower them with knowledge
and 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 perspective
to anyone that becomes involved
in its wider world, but potential
astronomers can take as little or as
much from it as they wish.
Indian Ridhi Kantelal will be com-
bining her interest in the stars with
w./31.07.2009
her university course of Material
Sciences. She explains, “Astrono-
19

my combines the creativity of an
artist and the rigidity of a scientific
mind. During space voyages, more
environmentally friendly materials
are needed. I hope to conduct re-
search and find materials that will
at least aid a leap in the progress of
astronomy.”
Hasan himself is an example of
what a passion for astronomy can
lead to. Thanks to his passion he
speaks fluent English and learnt
computer programming, which
lead to his career in telecommuni-
cations engineering.
“I had to learn English because I
kept sending NASA questions and
the replies were in English, then I
learnt more with computers, geol-
ogy and electronics because my
special area of interest is spacecraft
missions and robotics,” he says.
The potential held in the universe
beyond our own world is exciting
and inspiring, yet it can be taken for
granted by a modern society more
concerned with their short-term,
Earth-based pursuits, than a life-
time of learning and study. But the
members of the Dubai Astronomy
Group are positive about a future of
international co-operation.
w./24.07.2009/Photo: Rahul Gajjar
Ankit Choudhary has been fas-
cinated by space since he saw Star
Wars as a child, and has been a
member for six years, “I see as-
tronomy as helping to bridge gaps
between different cultures.”
Others echo his sentiments
whole-heartedly. “This feeling of
universal brotherhood is something
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Cover Story
people come to realise after they get
involved in astronomy,” says Amol
Mane, whose interest sits separate
to his job as an IT manager at a real
estate company.
But this isn’t just idealistic think-
ing. The very scope of astronomy
requires international collabora-
tions. “You learn to co-ordinate with
various people who are sometimes
not even living in the same country.
Most astronomy projects are on a
grand scale, so people from all parts
of the world join together to make it
happen,” Amol explains.
Similarly, the IYA is spending
this year organising and promot-
ing events in 140 countries to en-
courage young people especially to
take a wider interest in the world
around them, to a share an experi-
ence which transcends nationality
or geography.
“If you look at our planet from
“If you look at our
Earth from space
you won’t see
political borders
piercing through
our lands, you will
see big continents,
oceans — signs of
life,” says Kaizad
ASTRONOMICAL
DREAMS: (left to right)
Ankur Bhatia, Ankit Choud-
hary and Amol Mane
space, 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 oceans
of water — signs of life. By gazing at
the heavens one can appreciate life
and it’s immense potential,” says
Kaizad. 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 also
here down on the ground.
Talking about the future, the
UAE’s first satellite marks a new
chapter in Arab astronomy, launch-
ing 40 years after man first walked
on the moon.
“It is a huge achievement and a
beautiful thing,” says Hasan. His
own group also have grand plans
for a renewed effort in space ex-
ploration. They have proposed a
space facility on Indonesian Suma-
tra near the equator, to HH Shaikh
Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum,
UAE Prime Minister and Vice-Pres-
ident, and Ruler of Dubai, and hope
to collaborate with the Indonesian
government.
“We could do a great job, and a
space facility could develop new
technology that would raise the
region’s profile in the international
community. We would collaborate
with NASA, ASA, the Japanese, the
Russians, the Chinese, everyone
to create something international
that could help the entire world,”
enthuses Hasan. This international
 Cover Story

collaboration is already happening;

this month’s satellite launch took
place with the aid of a Russian-
made rocket.
A fellow founding member, Yousif
Marhoon looks forward to the day
when the group is recognised by
Dubai’s government, realising a
dream he has had since childhood.
“I always dreamt of running
an observatory and being able to
contribute to society in a positive
way through spreading science to
the next generation.” A manager
of assets strategy and policy at the
RTA, he recognises the potential to
change lives that astronomy has,
both at an individual level and a
wider one for the world, “We re-
ally feel that we achieve something
valuable with the group, which
makes you feel like a productive in-
dividual in society.”
It may seem like a diverting folly
to launch a renewed interest in the
possibilities of space when we have
so many pressing problems on the
ground, but our biggest leaps in un-
derstanding the world around us
have come from our interest in a
galaxy, far, far away.
“I believe all the answers we’re
looking for are right there above us,
be it the beginning of the universe
or the mystery of dark matter, or
even our very own existence. If only
humans would spend a little more
time looking at the sky, we’d find
them,” says Vidya Gopalakrishnan.
Her interest also stems from a
childhood film, the 1984 classic, ET.
“Satellite monitoring of the Earth
maintains a vigil on ice caps and
forests, as well as tracking climatic
conditions,” adds Lee. “Solving en-
vironmental problems on a global
THE UNIVERSE AND OTHER THINGS: (left to right) Ridhi Kantelal,
Vidya Gopalakrishnan and Yousif Marhoon
“I believe all the
answers we’re
looking for are
right there above
us. If only humans
would spend more
time looking at
the sky we’d find
them,” says Vidya
scale would be incredibly difficult
without astronomy.”
The breadth of areas that astron-
omy can feed into is exemplified
nowhere better than asking differ-
ent astronomers to name the most
exciting discovery since that infa-
mous one step for man. No answer
is the same. From planets outside
the solar system, to the river beds
on Mars to worm-holes, microwave
radiation, dark matter and the fact
that the universe is accelerating
and expanding. As a never-ending
voyage of discovery, often these
new findings open more doors than
they close, but as with all good voy-
ages, it’s in the journey that mean-
ing can be found.
“Dark matter makes our world
even stranger and mysterious than
previously imagined. This opens
up entirely new frontiers in astron-
omy,” says Amol. For Ankur Bhatia,
it is what’s yet to come that spurs
on his interest. “I’m looking for-
ward to some positive results from
the Keplar mission.” This mission’s
objective is to find similar size
planets to Earth within a habitable
range of stars.
It is this anticipation of the fu-
ture that this month’s launch of
DubaiSat1 hopes to reignite. The
Middle East has spent thousands of
years tracking the stars. It now has
the skills and technology to take its
first steps in getting closer to them.
Further projects include a new ob-
servatory in the mountains, science
foundations and museums.
(For more information on
astronomy in Dubai, go to www.
dubaiastronomy.com or www.
astronomy2009.org.)

MOONWALKER
It’s been four decades since Neil Armstrong set foot
on our nearest neighbour, and yet the interest in
the moon shows no sign in waning. Some of the as-
tronomers above are currently undertaking a moon
mapping project. Since it has been inactive for a
long time, the surface of the moon is a preserved
landscape that can offer us clues to our own planet’s
geological history. This sub-group have been map-
ping this landscape through high resolution photo-
graphs, focusing on the most visually striking part,
w./31.07.2009
the ‘Terminator.’ Forget the science fiction films, the
science fact means this is the line that separates the
illuminated part of the moon from the side that is
in darkness. The shadows thrown by the Sun’s low
rays pick out with dazzling clarity the details of lu-
nar craters. Kaizad explains the project’s appeal, “I
hope everyone gets a chance to see the moon up
close through a telescope; it’s a sight you will never
forget. It still leaves me in awe after many years of
moon-watching.”

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