Who We Are
How It All Started
As a Regional Community Science Center, activities related to astronomy were always a part of the agenda. We took an initiative and started an astronomy club for citizens of Rajkot, Gujarat who were interested in gazing at the night sky.
Keeping this in mind, the club was established on 31 May 2003 on the day of a Solar Eclipse. Since that is has grown many-folds in terms of manpower, equipment and reach. In these 18 years (till 2021) BBAC has brought the wonders of the night sky to about 100,000 people.
Astronomy Club At A Glance
Since it’s establishment in 2003, the club has evolved into one of the biggest astronomy club in the country with over 50 permanent members and about 1000+ subscribers. The club boasts access to about 16 telescopes of different sizes along with numerous astronomical accessories.
The club arranges public outreach programs during various astronomical phenomena like eclipses, conjunctions, occultations, meteor showers etc. The club also arranges seminars and workshops for citizens interested in the field of astronomy. Two state level Amateur Astronomers Conferences have been successfully arranged by the club with special monetary assistance from GUJCOST.
A special program for young kids aged 8 to 12 years and titled “Cosmic Kidz” was introduced by the club in 2017 under which about 200 kids were trained in observational astronomy and telescope handling. The club also arranges public star parties and other full night observation events at dark locations. Presently we are in process of acquiring a place to set up an astronomical observatory.
Big Bang Astronomy Club strives for:
- Cultivating scientific attitude among members & participants.
- Make good quality optical instruments accessible to public.
- Inspiring common public to develop interest in Astronomy
- Weed out superstition & educate common people.
Our Instruments:
- Two 12 inch reflecting telescopes
- Three 10 inch reflecting telescopes
- Two 8 inch scopes- one reflecting and another SCT
- Two 6 inch reflecting telescopes
- Two 5 inch reflecting telescopes
- Two 4 inch reflecting telescopes
- Five 2.5 inch refracting telescopes
- One 20x50 and one 15x70 pair of binoculars
- Premium eyepieces, collimators, finder-scopes and other accessories
The team
