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.