India

Summary

Introduction

A summary of work related to astronomy education carried out during the last three years in India is presented here. Since India is a huge country and many educational efforts are made by individuals alone, this report cannot be regarded as complete, but a specific sampling.

General Information

India has more than 200 Universities, 8000 colleges, and about 100,000 schools, 33 planetaria, more than 100 museums and about 60 well known amateur astronomers' clubs. Scores of dedicated astronomy oriented school teachers, act as nuclei of astronomy education for the general public and school children.The astronomical almanac, used in a typical household is in some way related to the stars in the sky and the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the planets. Traditionally, a rudimentary knowledge of the celestial sphere is common. The recent developments in space technology have brought a fascination and glamour to modern astronomy for all age groups, and this is noticeably reflected in the number of media coverages of astronomy. There are about 12,000 telescopes of aperture no less than six inches, made by amateur astronomers.

Public Awareness

During the past three years there have been at least 300 six inch telescopes made by school children and laymen, under some project or other funded by the government and an equivalent number is also produced from private and individual resources. It takes about two weeks to grind and polish the mirror and assemble it in a suitable mount. After aluminizing the average cost comes out to be in the range US dollars 60–100, for a telescope of size greater than six inches.