Observatory wants to be left to its own devices

Observatory wants to be left to its own devices

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When it comes to the setting of a sterile laboratory, with
scientists clad in white jackets mixing solutions into test tubes
or peeking through a microscope, we know our place.

We would stay put behind thick glass windows, leaving the
scientists to conduct their scientific endeavors, being careful
to keep out of harm's way.

So, why is it difficult to be leave astronomers alone to study
the galaxy in an observatory? After all, it's just another kind
of laboratory.

Or maybe it's because with stars there is virtually no
possibility of having galactic objects exploding in our faces or
contracting diseases from dangerous extra-terrestrial germs.

Or maybe it's because the stars are too beautiful to miss.

It's a predicament affecting Bosscha Observatory, built
between 1923 and 1928 in Lembang, 15 km north of Bandung, and the
only stargazing location in the country.

It was built to accommodate the desire of the Dutch to
contribute something to science -- critical if you wanted to be
considered a civilized country.

Since then it has quietly served its scientific purpose out of
the public spotlight. That was until a couple of months ago, when
the Bandung administration issued a permit allowing private
company PT Baru Adjak to develop 75 hectares of the area into a
tourism site, it suddenly become the center of a controversy.

The uproar began because the development would be a direct
invasion into a no building zone with a radius of 2.5 km around
the observatory. The astronomers insist that this radius is
required for them to see objects clearly.

As I went up on the road going from the iron gate through the
observatory complex, it was clear why the area would be so
alluring for tourists. The air is cool and clean and the scene
breathtaking, with Bandung looming 630 meters below it in the
distance.

The gardens around the buildings housing the telescopes were
immaculately kept, exactly the reason the "No picnic ground" sign
on the gate seems indispensable.

"At the time the observatory was built, the southern sky was
terra incognito, uncharted boundaries," said Bambang Hidayat, an
internationally recognized astronomer, at his cozy home inside
the complex.

Through the years Bosscha has preserved its importance because
it is the closest observatory to the equator.

"This location gives us the chance to observe things that
cannot be seen elsewhere, such as the nova explosion," said
Bambang, who has published several books based on his
observations at Bosscha.

The equipment in the observatory may not be the most
sophisticated in the world, but it is still in active use to
study the brighter stars, which may escape the interest of other
observatories around the world with longer telescopes.

There are five main telescopes in Bosscha, each placed in
different buildings with roofs that can be hoisted open by a
pulley.

The first and oldest telescope is a double refractor Zeiss
telescope, with a focal length of 10.72 m, which is placed in a
circular white building with a dome.

The other telescopes include the Schimdt, donated by UNESCO
and used mainly to study the Milky Way; the Bamberg; and the
Unitron telescope, which is used for sun spots studies. The
newest and the most modern member is a Cassegrain Goto, donated
by the Gunma Astronomical Observatory in Japan, which is moved
and operated using a computer.

Surely, I thought, we could use one of them to gaze at the
night sky and fill our -- slightly childish -- hope to see the
man in the moon.

The thing was, Bambang explained, the observatory was not
built to be an edutainment facility. Any light, including from
cars, torches or camera flash, would make it more difficult to
see space objects.

Currently, visits are possible for groups of at least 50
people by appointment. They will receive a guided tour through
the facilities for Rp 7,500 (89 U.S. cents) a person and, during
the dry months of April to November, can do a bit of stargazing
when possible.

"But if the surrounding area is turned into a tourism site,
which is a totally open public facility, people can come
anytime," said Bambang.

Lights from the planned tourism facility would also be a
problem.

"Even now, several stars have been outshone, so to speak, by
the lights from Bandung, which reach 20 degrees from the
horizon," said Hakim Malasan, another senior astronomer.

Other than the lights, visitors inevitably cause various kinds
of disturbances.

Once the roof of a telescope house is opened and the telescope
is directed to the sky, astronomers have to wait until the
temperature inside is adjusted to that of the outside to prevent
air turbulence, which can move the telescope and blur the
observed objects.

Body heat from visitors makes the process take longer.

"Ten years ago, it took only half an hour to stabilize a
telescope while now, after visits, it takes more than two hours,"
said Malasan.

"We're not trying to isolate ourselves from the public, but an
astronomy observation cannot be repeated and is ever dependent on
weather conditions. Who knows whether the weather will stay the
same within two hours."

Currently, there are several studies being conducted by the
observatory. Malasan with his team, including young scientists,
is observing the planetary nebulae. Another team is studying the
change in the sun's surface, which will give indications on the
changes in the source of energy.

Bosscha is also in a project with Japan's Gunma observatory to
enable remote telescope operation, which basically means that
scientists in any of the observatories can use the other's
telescopes and receive images through the cyberspace.

However, the public may not readily see the direct use of the
astronomers' works.

"Like any other field of basic science, space science's use
will only be seen at a later date," said Bambang. For example,
helium, used for air balloons, was first observed on the surface
of the sun.

"Scientists need a laboratory, and for astronomers, this place
is precisely that, with telescopes as the microscopes," said
Bambang.

After all is said and done, the observatory may still be
viewed by some as an ivory tower. But ivory towers serve a
purpose and must remain in place, albeit with their suspension
bridge let down from time to time to allow the interested to come
in and get a glimpse of the secrets of the stars.