Today marks 400 years of the day Goa became home to India’s first telescope. The Association of Friends of Astronomy is celebrating the occasion with a bang
JAY JOSHI
Despite its small size, Goa has played a unique role in the history of India. It is well-known that the first printing press in India was brought to Goa in 1556, but the state’s honour of being the entry-point of innovation does not just end with the printing press. Goa was also home to the first pair of telescopes in India. According to history, after Galilio invented the telescope in 1609, a Jesuit priest named Father Venceslaus Kirwitzer brought a pair of the devices to Goa in 1618.
On the night of November 11, 1618, the first telescopic observation on Indian soil was made at Rachol and Diwar. Today marks 400 years of this historic incident, and Association of Friends of Astronomy is planning to mark the occasion with a series of programmes and events lasting for an entire week.
“Its a proud moment when we celebrate the advent of the telescope in India, at Goa 400 years ago this day,” says Satish Nayak, the President of Association of Friends of Astronomy (AFA). “Also, the fact that the organisation marking this occasion runs the first public astronomical observatory in the country, adds value to the celebrations.”
AFA has been the founding force behind Public Astronomical Observatory of Goa (affectionately dubbed PAO by the Goans). Located on 18th June road, this observatory was founded in 1982.
“After it was invented in Italy, it was the Jesuit priests who took telescopes to India and China” informs Nayak. “Fr Kirwitzer’s telescope was mounted atop a hill on the island of Diwar, and the second one was at Rachol seminary.” Observations made by these Jesuit priests were the first official sky observations made from India. Later, the Portuguese also brought and gifted a telescope of Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur who built the Jantar mantar.”
AFA has planned a series of week-long events including an archeoastronomy trek of Old Goa. The hallmark of the celebrations is a special lecture on topic ‘400 years of telescope in India’ by RC Kapoor, profesor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. The lecture will be held on November 11 at 2:30 pm at Goa Science Centre Miramar. All events are free and open to the public.
