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Puzzled, fascinated by stars

Former astronomer and professor Ulysses John Sofia is passionate about astronomy and believes that the United States and Europe are going in the wrong direction by putting humans in space. In a chat with Abdul Latheef Naha

Ulysses John Sofia

"This is the time for India to enter earnestly into space." The solemnity of that sentence was evident on Ulysses John Sofia's face when he chatted with this newspaper on Calicut University campus recently. This former astronomer from NASA meant what he said.

Dr. Sofia, currently an associate professor at Whitman College's Astronomy Department, Walla Walla, Washington, says the United States no longer supports the space programmes as it did a decade ago. The U.S. and Europe are scientifically going in the wrong direction by putting humans in space, he says.

"Now we are trying to send humans to Mars. It is a phenomenally expensive programme, not in the right direction. It is better to send satellites than humans," he says.

NASA, he says, no longer puts up satellites. European countries are also following suit. And this is the time, he says, for India to exploit the opportunity. "India should grab this chance and do more in space," he says.

Dr. Sofia, an Italian by origin, agrees that India has a great space programme. But India's space programme is almost nothing right now, he says. India can do wonders, he says, if it has good people at the right place.

According to him, telescopes such as the one set up at Calicut University's Madhava Observatory are a good first step in kindling the excitement in people. In order to overcome the backwardness in space, he says, India should have more exciting space programmes and also build science resources.

The world needs to look up. "India can make a path-breaking step by finding instruments that take data that no other country takes...

That will create excitement to the country's space programmes," he says. The U.S., he says, has no plans to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, which is considered the most productive scientific instrument ever. Once Hubble Space Telescope stops functioning, there will be no satellite for ultraviolet, and India should not miss this opportunity, he says.

Son of an astronomer, Dr. Sofia did his bachelor's degree in astronomy from Wesleyan University and doctoral degree from Wisconsin University, Madison.

His research interests are interstellar medium, interstellar dust and planetary atmospheres.

Dr. Sofia, who guides an astrophysics student, Veena S. Parvathi, from Calicut University's Physics Department on a project funded by the U.S., called upon the students of physics to take advantage of the observatory.

Talking about astronomy, Dr. Sofia turns voluble. Astronomy, he says, is the only science where you do not need to touch what you study.

It is like a puzzle. It is fascinating. And he goes on.

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