An inside view of stellarium skydome at Souq Waqif. Pic: Abdul Basit / THE PENINSULA
Doha: An Egyptian astronomer, Amro Mahmoud Attia, offering visitors an opportunity to ‘travel to space in less than a second’ through ‘stellarium software’ that conveys the solar system live in a dome which has so far attracted hundreds of visitors during Souq Waqif Spring Festival.
“More than 200 people of different nationalities and age groups visit us per day for sky-watching during holidays,” Attia told The Peninsula adding, “People have the opportunity to see the planets and stars with this innovation and gain a general knowledge of the solar system.”
Nourine, an Omani living in Qatar, described her star-gazing experience as amazing. “The explanation by the astronomer was inclusive in both languages English and Arabic and the 3D technique made it look so realistic and amazing.”
Attia, who spent two years astonishing visitors with his powerful telescope located at the venue of events in Souq Waqif, has upgraded his show this year as the astronomical presentation is now exclusively presented live in a dome with three-dimensional sky watching using stellarium software.
Attia said that the software is an interacting simulation to see the stars, visit the planets and land on the moon even during times when some of them cannot be seen through the telescope. “We aim to expand the activity to attract more visitors,” said Dr. Hani Dalee, a Jordanian astronomer and a volunteer helping Attia during high season as he is temporarily the presenter explaining the movement of planets, moon and sun around the zodiac signs among other astronomical phenomena.
As Souq Waqif Spring Festival opens, fun and entertaining activities waiting visitors and welcoming the New Year with festive holiday spirit. However, Attia claims, ‘stellarium sky-dome’ is a valuable addition to the various entertaining activities which is creative as well as interesting and also holds an educational purpose.
“We noticed many people are interested in astronomy and sky-watching. In general, Arabs like to see the moon specifically through the telescope or live as it is being presented now because it is big and detailed and it can be seen almost every day,” he added.
However, according to Attia, planets have their own seasons as some appear in the winter and others in the summer.
“The most beautiful planets are Saturn and Jupiter but Mars is the clearest planet now and Venus can be seen during sunrise,” he says. Although he does not encourage people to look directly at the sun during the day time since it is harmful for the eyes and the lenses of the telescope, “Many people come particularly to see the sun through the telescope, but with our latest upgraded system everything in the solar system can be seen” he said.
Attia is available in Souq Waqif from April until the end of the year. “I come during the sunset and I stay sometimes until the morning especially when the moon and planets can be seen through the telescope,” he says.
He charges a nominal amount of money that does not exceed QR10 to attend the show inside the dome and take pictures. “People who show interest and great enthusiasm in what we are presenting are welcomed for free and sometimes we distribute gifts related to astronomy,” says Attia.
“Visitors from Europe and the countries having mostly foggy climates get astonished with sky-watching and the services we are offering here so this is considered a touristic service as it leaves a pleasant and lasting imprint on visitors’ memory of Qatar,” he added.
Rama, a Sudanese visitor said, “This was the first time I see the planets and the solar system closely, I felt as if I was in the space for real.” Nevertheless, Attia revealed his future plan for The Peninsula as he announced, “Our next step is to spread and start performing in different places in Qatar; we hope starting at City Center from this month (January 2019).”
He added that he is planning to establish similar facilities across Qatar before 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
