The Love of Stars
We speak with The Astronomical Society of Singapore (TASOS) to find out more about how they started, challenges faced and what next for astronomy in Singapore.
Story by: Siah Wei Heng
Pictures by: TASOS, Akash Anandh Astrophotography
Back in 1986, there was much excitement over seeing Halley’s comet from earth. This event led a few budding amateurs to group together for a small competition to see who would be the first person to spot Halley’s comet in Singapore.
From then on, these amateur astronomers, led by Albert Lim, the first president of TASOS, noticed the growing interest in astronomy in Singapore. In 1991, they decided to form The Astronomical Society of Singapore, or TASOS, as more commonly referred as.
TASOS, the largest body of amateur astronomers in Singapore, was officially formed and registered in the Register of Societies in 1992. Over the years, TASOS has assisted the Science Centre in operating the Science Centre Observatory as well as organising educational talks and events to share more knowledge about astronomy. These include talks by famous astronomers such as Sir Patrick Moore of The Sky at Night fame as well as viewing events both local and overseas.
Starting off
Recalling how TASOS started, Albert Ho, the third and current president of TASOS, said that astronomy in Singapore was an individual effort before Halley's comet. “A lot of us started on our own. We did not have the internet then, so we had to resort to reading books and magazines from the library.“
Albert’s own interest in astronomy started off with a misconception. When he was young, he was fascinated with the constellations in the sky. He would look through his small telescope and see different colours emanating from the stars.
Although finding out later that it was just chromatic aberration from his telescope lens and not actually from the stars, those images sparked his first interest in astronomy. This then led him to pursue astronomy individually, as all other amateur astronomers in Singapore did back then.
Halley’s comet changed that, when Albert Lim, together with a loose gathering of astronomer friends, decided to compete with one another to find Halley’s Comet. “In a blink of an eye, 1986 was over, and this gathering continued in ’87 and ’88,” Albert Lim recalls.
The opening of the Science Centre Observatory in 1989, came with growing public interest in astronomy, in part, thanks to lectures given by this group of astronomers. They set up TASOS in 1991, with the society formally registered in 1992.
Image courtesy of TASOS
Challenges faced
TASOS Committee member Lim Wei Rong recalled the event that really struck out to him and boosted his interest in astronomy. “The only memorable (astronomical) event that I can really remember from young is the Leonids Meteor Shower. Until now, no event has even come close to how spectacular it was.”
He further explained that there are a variety of reasons why no one would have seen the beauty of a meteor shower, especially in Singapore. “One (reason) is light pollution. Two, is the fact that you would need to know when exactly it will happen.”
Image courtesy of Astro Scientific Centre
These are just two of the problems Singaporean astronomers face in their quest to observe major astronomical events. Singapore is infamous for being an unfriendly place to stargaze, and astronomers here either try to make do or go overseas to find “dark sites” to observe the stars.
Firstly, Singapore is notorious for being light-polluted, with a study in 2016 naming Singapore as the country that is the most light-polluted in the world. The high amount of light pollution makes it almost impossible to view the stars without the use of optical aids.
Image courtesy of TASOS
Secondly, you would need to know both the time and place that the event will happen and even then, you might still not be able to view the event due to weather conditions.
“The event could be a once in a lifetime event, but if it's rainy, cloudy or overcast, that’s it.” Albert Ho explained.
What next?
“To be frank, I think around the world, (astronomy) will be more and more popular, because people are starting to realise that the earth wouldn't be here forever.” Candidly responding to what’s next for astronomy, Wei Rong explained further, “People are starting to realise that we have limited resources, and we are so small compared to what’s out there.”
Akash Anandh, another TASOS committee member whose photos have been featured in the press, also believes that people are more aware about astronomy. “Astronomy is speeding in terms of becoming more democratic. Earlier on, only experts could observe and do things.”
Image courtesy of Akash Anandh Astrophotography
However, it’s the simple curiosity with the beauty of the night sky that drives these astronomers to pursue astronomy, and that is what Akash says is driving him. “To know what is out there, that’s the starting point. Then, the how’s and why’s will continue to keep us interested.”
Albert Ho then recounted that he did not know anything about the sky when he started, but just looking through his telescope and seeing the beauty of the universe is what kept him going. “Along the way, as we learn more and more, our interest grows. But somehow, we will always come back to love the beauty of the night sky and the universe.”
Then, referring to the tagline on the back of the society’s T-shirt, he said, “Because we love the stars, we are not afraid of the dark.”
Footnote - Chromatic Aberration is when a lens fails to converge all light into a single spot, causing light to be split into multiple colours in an image, thus having the picture look like multiple colours are coming from the same subject.
