It was dark and disproportionate: a small comet. Scientists were bursting at the seams to touch it. Their eyes glittered with wonder, fingers trembled. But they were taken aback by people's ignorance when they got to know that villagers had wrapped it in cow dung for cooling.
A police officer mistook it for an explosive and took it to a 'safe place'. It was a scene from a documentary, screened at Bishsahwa Shahitya Kendra Thursday to mark Summer Solstice Day, reports bdnews24.com.
The documentary scene unfolded in a faraway village of Thakurgaon on Jan 21, 2005.
Summer Solstice Day is the longest day of the year. This does not mean the day has more than 24 hours in it. It is just that it has more sunlight than any other day. On the summer solstice, people get between 15 and 20 hours of sunlight, depending on where they are located.
For the first time in Bangladesh, Anushondhitshu Chakra, a science organisation, arranged an astronomy-focused exhibition, documentary show and sky gazing to celebrate the day.
The country's biggest refracting telescope was available there for visitors. It was made by the enthusiastic, young scientists of the organisation.
"The day is very significant as the sun remains in its highest position," said Dipen Bhattacharya, a physicist.
From this day, which is June 21, the sun will rise further south until Dec 21.
The objective of the festival was to make people aware of sun movement and point to the close relations that the sun has with humans on earth, Bhattacharya said. Naimul Islam Opu, general secretary for the astronomy branch of Anushondhitshu Chakra, told the news agency: "There are many people who still mix up astronomy with astrology."
Summer Solstice Day celebrated in city
FE Team | Published: June 23, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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