by Mike Simmons
- Published: Friday, March 31 2017 21:33
The Sun sets over distant hills and the sky takes on sunset hues as the telescopes are brought out to meet the night. Talk of the night ahead breaks the silence at this remote location in the desert, a refuge from the lights of the cities . Amateurs have done the same for many years. But this place is different. Desert caravans have passed this site on the Silk Road -- under a canopy of stars -- for centuries. This building has been a way station for those travelers for 1000 years. Now the roof of this ancient caravansara is dotted with telescopes that will soon scan those ancient stars for objects Charles Messier listed some 800 years after the first camels were watered at this place. An ancient palace in Desert National Park, this is one of the choice dark sky observing sites used by amateur astronomers in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is one of many places my wife, Sherri, and I will visit during this return trip to Iran. Our first visit was in 1999 when we braved the summer heat to observe a total solar eclipse. We found a country with diversity and contrasts we had never imagined and we have stayed in touch with the Iranian friends and fellow astronomers we met then. Far from simply barren desert, Iran is a country of geographical diversity that rivals our home state of California, with rain forests in the north by the Caspian Sea, mountains rising to 18,000 feet within sight of the capital city of Tehran and hot, humid seashore along the Persian Gulf. We were also stunned by a cultural diversity that rivals any place on Earth. A crossroads between Asia, Europe and Africa, this area has seen migrations and invasions from every direction for millennia. From Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan, at some time most came through ancient Persia, as the outside world referred to Iran for 2500 years up to the early 20th century when the first Pahlavi shah insisted that the proper name be used. The cultures of all – migrants and invaders alike – have been incorporated into the cultural mix that is present-day Iran. The evidence is everywhere, from 2500 year old ruins to the faces, languages and traditions of its people. Modern-day inter-city travelers relaxing in air-conditioned comfort rush by the tents and animal herds of nomadic tribes slowly making their way to seasonal pastureland. Ancient and new, traditional and modern, holding onto its rich past and reaching out to new ideas, Iran is a place of contrasts, contradictions and complexities. Iranians see the world differently than this American traveler does, shaped as they are by an environment so different from the one I know. But the travelers that glanced upward to the night sky 2500 years ago saw the same sky that presents itself to the young amateurs gathered here with their telescopes today. And that sky is identical to the one I see from my Southern California home. Astronomy is basic to many traditions in Iran. That may have been true for all cultures at one time but many -- such as my own -- have largely lost that connection. From the year of the ancient Persian solar calendar that begins with the Sun crossing the celestial equator on its way north (the vernal equinox) to the shifting months of the lunar Islamic calendar, the motions of the celestial bodies still have a place in the Persian identity. There is more than just tradition, though, and the young people of Iran (half the population is under 25 years old) are thirsty for knowledge of modern science. The Persian soul is also poetic, and the beauty and mystery of nature and the heavens are an integral part of the Persian viewpoint.
During our travels we’ll meet amateur astronomers in several Iranian cities and towns, attend an astronomy conference in Tehran and see observatories and science education facilities. We’ll visit a high school class that is set to participate in US-based international educational programs and reaching out to students in the western world. At the conference, I’ll be leading live interviews with astronomers as they observe at famous observatories in the US. What questions will be asked by the amateurs of this country where the largest telescope -- a 20-inch reflector -- is smaller than many amateur instruments in the US? Attendees will also have the chance to remotely operate a telescope at an observatory in the US. We’ll also explore the natural, historical and cultural wonders of Iran. And there will be plenty of time for discussions with friends during our travels – a physics professor struggling to improve science education, the young and mostly volunteer staff of the only astronomy magazine in the Middle East, a lone amateur astronomer following in John Dobson’s footsteps on the sidewalks of Tehran, students following their passion for astronomy in a country where future prospects in their chosen field are dim, an archaeologist who looks up from his diggings to see the sky through the eyes of ancient astronomers. These are the stories of astronomy in Iran. I hope you’ll join us.
