LAHORE: Pakistan has been considered as dark region across globe when it comes to data generation in the field of astronomy across the globe but all is not lost.

There is an observatory in Lahore which is registered with International Astronomical Union (IAU) and contributes to the international community when it comes to monitor any asteroids moving from the Pakistan’s skyline.

“So we are pretty much into the astronomical data generation and branding Pakistan’s positive name to international community,” President Lahore Astronomical Society and owner and CEO at Zeds Astronomical Observatory Umair Asim told this scribe.

He said the information while adjusting the observatory’s main telescope celestron c14, an American technology of its own kind only available to Zeds Astronomical Observatory.

The telescope monitors the asteroid routes and its chemical compositions and captures images as well contributes in data generation to the international community of astrologers who are always eager to get data of some specific asteroids so they could predict the sky’s orientation in accordance with science.

A group of six volunteers working under the Umair Asim leadership is trying to register Pakistan as true ‘astronomical heaven’ in front of the world. “Pakistan’s northern areas are heaven for astronomy but due to insecurity regarding gadgets and telescopes snatching incidents and no proper government infrastructure, no one can work and explore the wonders of sky,” Umair said.

The observatory he headed is located in uptown area of Defence in his own home. An educator by profession Umair, does all the explorations in the astronomy to fulfill his passion, in his own words “Since childhood sky used to fascinate me and I bought the most expensive telescope in whole Pakistan to fulfill my passion.”

With 14 inch aperture telescope Celestron c14, one of the biggest telescopes in Pakistan is doing science research and generating astronomical data from Pakistan. “Its light-gathering power and capacity is excellent and that’s why international astronomers contact us and make queries about certain asteroids and we provide the information to them accordingly because we have better infrastructure and set up in Pakistan than anyone,” he said. 

Human eye opening light gathering is 5 to 7 mm and this telescope which is approximately Rs 3 million worth was bought in 2003, can capture 365 mm so you could imagine how perfectly it captures light from far flung asteroids in the sky.

“This is for sure we see no image or visual ‘live’ as light goes and reflects on telescope’s led to generate an image,” he said.

The telescope is also used to monitor stars, comets and asteroid chemical composition measuring hydrogen and other components even if they are billions of light years away from the earth. At the same time it can measure whether star movement and its speed towards earth or away.

“Whole astronomy is divided in data observation called as Observation astronomy and other one is data interpretation, we focus on data observation, Umair said.

The entire scope of photometry astronomy is being observed and practiced here at this observatory.

“We can say government’s department working astronomy is quite dormant and needs revamping to cope up with latest knowledge comes in the field of astronomy,” he was of the view.

Umair is a graduate of James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. He founded the Lahore Astronomical Society so they could do public outreach programmes to share the passion of astronomy with general public especially in schools, college and university students. Sun observation programme is widely popular among students and was sponsored by Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project, a non-profit organization in USA, which has donated equipment’s, solar glasses and other accessories to assist LAST in conducting outreach.

Along with this Umair Asim told that ‘Humari Kainaat’ is regular podcast developed by two professional astronomers Umair Asim and Dr Salman Hameed (Hampshire College USA) who talk about general interest of astronomy and space topics in Urdu.