AMATURE ASTRONOMY AND ASTRONOMY EDUCATION IN INDIA

In India, astronomy has been studied from the beginning of civilization. The word amateur means involvement in work for pleasure rather than as a profesion. So, amateur astronomers, in many places, prefer to be called non-professional astronomers. In India, the history of amateur astronomy is quite bright. From the Puranic age astronomy was studied for peoples' daily life. In Ramayana, Mahabharata, there is a lot of evidence of astronomical knowledge. Veda is the main source for studying the history of Indian astronomy. Today astronomy education, consciousness of astronomy education, sky observation, etc. are dependent on non-professional astronomers. Vigyan Prasar, an Indian Govt. organization, is trying to popularize astronomy throughout the country.