Cyprus will celebrate for the first time officially the International Astronomy Day in the gardens of the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, in the presence of President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades who will address the event.
Telescopes will be brought to the gardens on Wednesday evening for all people to enjoy the beauty and mysteries of the stars and planets of our galaxy.
Recently, President Anastasiades announced that the International Astronomy Day, which is celebrated every year on the 14th of May, will be celebrated for the first time this year at the Presidential Palace on the 18th of May.
Noting that the idea to officially celebrate the Astronomy Day came as a suggestion from a 17 year old student, he said that he decided to adopt the idea not only because `it contributes to the expansion of our horizons as a society, but also because it is a good suggestion from a young person`.
`So, in the evening of the 18th of May, for the first time, we will organise an event at the Presidential Palace` he said, adding that there will be the opportunity to observe the sky through professional telescopes at the gardens of the Presidential Palace.
President Anastasiades expressed hope that this event will be held every year.
The event will be also addressed by Environment Commissioner Ioanna Panayiotou and Greek Nuclear Physicist at the Chicago University in the US, Thanasis Economou, who has been building for NASA, ESA etc instruments for interplanetary spacecraft since the mid-1960s.
Almost all space missions carry an instrument he developed to help analyze the composition of our neighboring planets. Currently he is associated with three robotic interplanetary missions: the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Cassini mission to Saturn, and the Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Economou is currently visiting Cyprus at the invitation of the Troodos Development Company and the community of Agridia in the Limassol District of Cyprus to give them guidelines regarding their plans to construct a sky observatory in the Troodos mountains area.
Recently, the President of Cyprus said that the sky observatory could have a positive impact on the development of the area and would contribute to education and tourist development.
