Astronomy educator

In a small room of his home, Pune-based Murlidhar Kabra has brought the heavens to earth. Passionate about astronomy since childhood, Kabra has converted the room into a mini planetarium that can accommodate 20 school children at a time, to gaze at a dome that covers the ceiling and study the celestial system. This transformation has been enabled by a portable planetarium developed by a Japanese company Goto which has outsourced its manufacture to the Kolkata-based Goto Optical (India) Pvt. Ltd.Newspeg. The EX-3 mini planetarium resembles a globe and through pinhole methodology the hemisphere is projected on a 3-metre diameter vinyl dome depicting the stars, sunrise and sunset, phases of the moon, the solar system and 12 zodiac signs. The system also pinpoints the location of stars through the use of coordinates and displays the polar star, and the journey of the sun and moon through the 24-hour cycle that brings day and night into play. The planetariums most remarkable feature is that it can be installed in a standard 12×12 sq.ft room.
Direct speech. While its true there are big planetariums in cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, they are not interactive since children dont get to whet their curiousity through informal question-answer sessions. My objective in installing this home planetarium is to give astronomy lessons to students enabling them to learn the basics of the solar system and develop a deeper interest in astronomy, says Kabra.
History. In his late sixties now, Kabra graduated in physical chemistry from Pune University in 1964 and worked in the defence sector for more than 20 years before opting for voluntary retirement. Deciding to make use of his interest in astronomy, he became a consultant for setting up planetariums in Guwahati, Jaipur, Trivandrum, Burdwan, Kolkata and Hyderabad. This includes not only the design and installation but also regular maintenance of projection systems, etc, he says. How-ever, brewing in his mind was the desire to bring young children closer to the cosmic world of the sun and stars.
Future plans. Now that Kabra has experienced the popularity of his mini planetarium among students, he wants to reach out to schools and convince them to install this system. Even municipal bodies should take interest and install planetariums in city museums. They can charge a nominal fee to cover maintenance costs even though the system has no complicated parts or any electronic razzmatazz, and can be operated by class V students, says Kabra.
Whether that happens or not, Kabra right now is in an orbit of his own with children from numerous schools and neighbourhoods trooping in to stargaze.
Huned Contractor (Pune)