Panaji: Wait for amateur students and astronomers to go skygazing in the Panaji Public Observatory finally end.
The Friends of Astronomy Association (AFA) reopens the observatory on Tuesday night with additional facilities, after months of renovation and delay in restarting operations.
“We are now in the 40th year of AFA, after the Observatory was established on December 26, 1982.
The whole year will have 40 different programs to mark the warning year.
The observatory will be open to the public from December 28, and so on,” said President AFA, Satish AFA, Satish Nayak .
The renovated premise now has a cosmic museum that highlights the history of Astronomy and Space technology, the Aryabhata Space Library which has a collection of astronomical literature, playing laboratories, computer laboratories and space for astro-photography and robotics.
The 80-seater auditorium has also been regulated where film screenings and workshops will be carried out.
Children’s clubs and astronomical film clubs will also start their activities starting in January and so on.
In the next renovation phase, the dome that is fully automated will be ready on February 28 – in time for the National Science Day.
Here, the 14-inch Celestron telescope will allow StarGazer to have a better watch experience.
The dome will also display a part of the spacecraft simulation.
“The metal dome is specifically used for the observation of the sky because it blocks 80% of the light around.
Dome diameter is 5.5 meters located in a square-shaped room.
This will be the first of its kind in Goa and will work on cellular applications,” said Nayak.
Although the proposal for renovation began 10 years ago, civil work only lasted four years ago.
Great works have approached the completion of 1.5 years ago.
However, further pandemics delay the process, encouraging inauguration until December this year after contributions from GSIDC, EDC and several private donors.