Teacher wins telescope in global contest
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian teacher was among 12 winners of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) global outreach project Telescope for All 2021, coordinated by the National Planetarium.
The science teacher of SJK (T) Jugra, Kuala Langat, won a Bresser 90/1200 refractor telescope equipped with a digital camera, eyepiece and solar foil in the competition in May.
The National Planetarium yesterday said S. Vadivelan was named a winner from 172 submissions that the organisers received from all over the world.
“Vadivelan managed to draw global attention through his essays and he created an oppor- tunity for an underserved community to own a telescope, which will attract students to astronomy and to study the stars and space objects.”
It said the Telescope for All 2021 project was launched simultaneously worldwide under the leadership of IAU’s Office of Astronomy Outreach in collaboration with Stars Shine for Everyone, Leiden University/Universe Awareness, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and Bresser.
“The programme aims to cultivate and expand the interest of Malaysians in the field of space science, while promoting equal opportunities to pursue a career in the field of space science.
“Vadivelan can use the telescope to make observations through a digital camera and share them online during the pandemic.”
It said the telescope could also be used to observe the moon, major planets and satellites in the solar system.
“The telescope can also detect bright space nebula (Messier objects), such as the Orion Nebula, globular clusters and binary stars.”