Bihar State PCS

• 08 Aug 2022

Bihar's 106-year-old Astronomical Observatory Included in UNESCO Heritage List

Why In News?

Recently, the 106-year-old astronomical observatory established at Langat Singh College in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar has been included in UNESCO's endangered heritage list.

Key Points

• This observatory is the first of its kind in eastern India. It was established in 1916 to impart astronomical knowledge to the students on the said college campus.
• Principal of Langat Singh College O. P. A planetarium was also set up at the college in 1946, Roy said. After 1970 the position of the observatory as well as the constellation began to decline gradually and most of the machines installed there have either been lost or turned into junk.
• After being included in UNESCO's list of endangered heritage observatories, hopes of reviving and preserving it have now been raised.
• As per college records, Prof. Romesh Chandra Sen had consulted J Mitchell (an astronomer and principal of Wesleyan College, Bankura in West Bengal) in February 1914, taking the initiative to set up an astronomical observatory in the college. In 1915, a telescope, astronomical clock, chronograph and other instruments were obtained from England and in 1916 the Astronomical Observatory started working.