Contemplate the Universe

Berat amat yak judulnya .__.

I am the kind of person who's easily fascinated. Enough said. Show me the simplest form of fun, i'll fall for it in no time. Like good books, epic science facts, yarns and crochet hooks, or starry sky. The latter has been my most recent fascination, as shown in my most recent blogposts. I like going out at night, stare at the vast, velvety dark sky, and contemplate the tiny dots sparkling before my eyes. And when I'm interested in something, I don't take it for granted. I googled it, read about it, pester my friends who are expert at it. That's how I found HAAJ - Himpunan Astronomi Amatir Jakarta.

HAAJ is a community designed for people who loves astronomy, or stargazing in general, for that matter, like me. It is based on Planetarium Jakarta, which is just a 7 minute walk from my kosan. Eversince I found out that there is a community for stargazing, I started sending emails to them, asking to be a member. Turned out I just need to come to their regular once-every-two-weeks meetings, so they sent me the HAAJ schedule for a year. And I was like, whoa. Their regular meetings are public lectures where people can learn astronomy. Not just the physics, formulas, brain-screwing kind of astronomy, but also the applicative ones, like astrophotography, astroarchaeology, mythical astrology, and when it is Ramadhan; "The Universe from Islamic Point of View". I've been wanting to come since April, but my schedule won't let me. So yesterday, I was very happy I can make it there. I actually invited my friends, but they appeared to be busy. Not wanting to miss another meeting, I decided to come, all by myself (jadi nyanyi).

The lecture was about, like I said, "The Universe from Islamic PoV", brought by Mr. Ikbal Arifyanto. He explained how pre-modern Moslem astronomers view this universe, the naqliyah basis of it all, and how today's astronomy is related to it. I gotta admit that the lecture was brain-screwing. At first I thought maybe because I was a first-comer. But apparently, it was not just me. I noticed people around me were intrigued by Mr. Ikbal's explanation. And how could we not be? He talked about ancient astronomy, when the scientists were Jacks-of-all-trades. You must know that former scientists tend to be multi-expertise. One person can write books about astronomy, medicine, biology, art, and history. Like Al-Biruni. Or Newton. So if we talked about astronomy in ancient time, we can't help but talked about other aspects. And it was very different from modern astronomy we all know today.

But I also learned many fascinating new things. Do you know that former Moslem astronomers were geocentricists who believed that the earth IS the center of universe? What made them think so? And do you know why a week is 7 days? Why not 8, or 5 like in Javanese calendar? We already know that a "day" is defined as the time the earth takes to come one full rotation, a "month" is the time the moon takes to orbit the earth, and a "year" is the time the earth takes to revolve around the sun. But what is the astronomical basis of a "week"? I myself never gave it much thought, until yesterday. The explanation Mr Ikbal gave was brief, but enough to ignite my curiosity, my longing to understand more about it.

Only meetings? Of course not! HAAJ also holds observations after the meetings (if the sky's in good condition), Star Party (out of town, clear skies, tents, telescopes, from dusk til dawn), and Astro Party (astronomy seminar in bigger level, astronomy expo). Some events are for public, to support HAAJ vision to raise people's awareness about our sky and the universe. That's why, HAAJ has members from many different backgrounds; kids and grandpas, boys and girls, high-schoolers, even medstudents (like me xp). The membership is not binding, so anyone who loves stargazing can join.

I also met new friends from yesterday meeting. One of them is, surprise surprise, Mbak Anna, a reporter from Janna Magazine (my favorite magazine!). What a coincidence! She was there to interview the HAAJ chairperson, Mas Rayhan. So naturally I joined her. I get to know how Janna reporter works, I get to know HAAJ from the very chairperson, all in one meeting. Allah surely Knows how to cheer my Ramadhan :)

I am very grateful to finally have the chance to join HAAJ meetings. New knowledge, new friends, and deeper desire to contemplate this universe :)