HYDERABAD: As the world made significant technological strides in the past century, Hyderabad refused to be left behind. It ensured that it sparkled amongst the brightest stars, especially in the field of astronomy. One significant milestone in this journey occurred in 1901 when a nobleman, with a keen interest in astronomy, established a private observatory in the Phisal Banda area.
Nawab Zafar Yar Jung Bahadur, driven by his passion for astronomy, imported various instruments from manufacturers in England and Ireland: a 15-inch Grubb refractor, an eight-inch photovisual Cooke astrograph, lenses, astronomical clocks, and meteorological instruments.
He wrote to the then Nizam of Hyderabad, Mahboob Ali Khan that he wished to dedicate the observatory to him and upon his death, it be brought under the Nizam’s government. In 1907, the Nawab died and without delay, the Nizam’s finance department took over.
Presently located within the campus of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Ameerpet, Nizamiah Observatory has two granite domes supported by cast-iron pillars imported from England, built to house the equipment the Nawab had purchased. Arthur Brunel Chatwood was appointed as the director of the observatory and under his guidance, the observatory participated in a massive international project that aimed to ‘map the sky’.
Launched in 1887, the Carte du Ciel Project involved 17 observatories worldwide until 1902 and aimed to photograph the entire sky down to magnitude 14 and record the positions of stars brighter than photographic magnitude 11 in the Astrographic Catalogue.
“Nizamiah Observatory played a major role in the first-ever cataloguing and mapping of stars. It recorded 7,63,542 observations of stars—referred to by astronomers even today. The region (declination -17 to -23 degrees South) studied by the observatory was named the Hyderabad South Zone, which also contributed to the project by publishing 13 volumes of the Astrographic Catalogue of the Hyderabad Zone,” said Bharat Bhushan Mamidi, Research Consultant, CESS.
The observatory was assigned coordinates 36 to 39 degrees North between 1928 and 1938. During the International Geophysical Year (1957-58), it actively participated in solar and seismological observations. In 1983, the observatory was relocated to a new building on the Osmania University campus in Japal Rangapur, Rangareddy district.
After Chatwood, Robert J Pocock was the director from 1914 to 1918 who continued astrograph cataloguing and studied Nova Aquilae, sunspots, and the relation between elements of planets and satellites. Under TP Bhaskaran, the next director (1918 to 1944), the control of the observatory moved to Osmania University. Akbar Ali, the director from 1944 to 1960, introduced the 48” telescope and expanded the scope of research to include photoelectric photometry, comets, variable stars, lunar occultation, solar activity, and the motion of clusters.
Clearly, the contributions made by the observatory in the field of astronomy are immense. However, the domes that housed the telescopes are in shambles and in a condition of neglect. Activists have urged to bring the equipment back to the observatory and develop it into a museum.