Lecture on ‘Why Yesterday Matters for Tomorrow’ and Sky Gazing to Highlight IUCAA Foundation Day

Every year on its Foundation Day, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) opens its doors to the public. This annual event includes the sharing of the institution's historical significance and features events designed to engage citizens, students, and researchers with the concepts of astronomy and environmental science and how they relate to their lives. IUCAA aims to make science a shared experience through public lectures and sky-viewing sessions. This effort is intended to ignite curiosity and foster imagination, especially among the youth, and to emphasise the universal accessibility of knowledge concerning the cosmos and our planet.

This reaching out closes the gap between advanced research and popular knowledge. It directly gives the public access to leading scholars and pushes them into thinking hard questions, like the Anthropocene, and allows them to look at the night sky with their view through a telescope. Thus, IUCAA establishes itself as a center for academic excellence which also conducts public science education programs that inspire awareness, inclusion, and engagement.

In line with this purpose, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, the 37th Foundation Day event would be held on 29 December. Said observance would include a special lecture titled "Why yesterday matters for tomorrow: Rethinking the Anthropocene," given by Professor Mahesh Rangarajan of Ashoka University. The lecture would be given at 5:30 pm at the Chandrasekhar Auditorium on the IUCAA campus, followed by a public sky gazing session from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Organisers indicated that both the open public astronomy lecture at Pune IUCAA and the IUCAA sky gazing would be free astronomy events for citizens in Pune for maximum participation, and the lecture would also be live-streamed through IUCAA SciPOP's YouTube channel, part of the centre's public science education programmes. As IUCAA was founded in 1988 by Professor Jayant Narlikar and colleagues to strengthen astronomy and astrophysics research at the university level, IUCAA has kept up this tradition through outreach and engagement events that bring science closer to students and citizens.

Professor Rangarajan would deliver the lecture concerning the Anthropocene period, when human activity has increasingly become a driving force in shaping Earth's systems through the Anthropocene Era. The world has changed in a way that the rise of fossil fuels and growing inequalities in power, between wealth and knowledge, have defined the last 250 years. India's long history of sustainable land and water use could suggest future directions, he would indicate. Societies would be able to have equity, inclusion, and peace with nature, he would argue, if they combine ancient wisdom with modern science.

Professor Rangarajan teaches History and Environmental Studies at Ashoka University. The Rhodes Scholar was introduced as educated at Delhi University and Oxford. Apart from having worked at the University of Delhi, Krea University, and a visiting position at Cornell, Jadavpur University, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bengaluru.

What to Expect at IUCAA 37th Foundation Day Open Lecture and Skygazing Event

• Lecture Topic: Why yesterday matters for tomorrow - reflections on the Anthropocene era and environmental science.
• Venue: Chandrasekhar Auditorium, IUCAA campus, Pune. Time: Lecture at 5:30 pm; followed by a sky watching session from 7 pm to 9 pm.
• Public access: Free astronomy events for the citizens of Pune; no tickets required.
• Online option: IUCAA outreach and SciPOP YouTube live stream for those unable to visit in person.
• Purpose: To celebrate IUCAA's founding day with public science engagement and to inspire interest in astronomy and environmental studies.

IUCAA has said that the Foundation Day astronomy event in Pune was both a celebration of its history and a connection between science and society. The centre hopes to make astronomy accessible through open lectures and sky gazing sessions while encouraging curiosity among students and strengthening outreach in communities in India.

Editor’s Note:

The 37th Foundation Day of IUCAA is more than a celebration of its history; it is an opportunity for all citizen-students to connect with science in an open and welcoming way. Through attending the event at IUCAA, one will hear from Professor Mahesh Rangarajan, who will be speaking on the topic of why the past matters for the future through his reflections on the Anthropocene era. The importance of this debated topic comes from how humans have impacted the shaping of Earth and what those impacts can teach us for building a more just and sustainable tomorrow. The evening also includes observations through telescopes to view the night sky and experience astronomy first-hand. This blend of a reflective lecture with practical sky watching renders the occasion equally valuable to anyone interested in science, as well as a very much broader question of our place in the universe.

Such outreach is important to bridge advanced research and everyday understanding. It allows every citizen direct access to experts' reflections on global challenges, letting people enjoy the sheer wonder of astronomy. Skoobuzz emphasises IUCAA's dual function: serving as an institute of academic excellence while simultaneously acting as an advocate for public science education. This approach inspires interest, awareness, and engagement across the community.

FAQs

1.What is the IUCAA Foundation Day 2025 event in Pune?

The IUCAA Foundation Day 2025 event in Pune is a public science programme celebrating the centre’s 37th anniversary. It includes a lecture on the Anthropocene era and a sky gazing session for citizens.

2.When is the IUCAA open lecture on astronomy and the environment?

The open lecture will take place on 29 December 2025 at 5:30 pm at the IUCAA campus in Pune.

3.Who is speaking at the IUCAA 37th Foundation Day lecture?

The lecture will be delivered by Professor Mahesh Rangarajan of Ashoka University, a historian and environmental studies scholar.

4.Where is the IUCAA sky gazing event being held?

The sky gazing session will be held at the IUCAA campus in Pune, following the lecture, from 7 pm to 9 pm.

5.How to watch the IUCAA lecture online on YouTube?

The lecture will be streamed live on IUCAA’s SciPOP YouTube channel, so people can join online if they cannot attend in person.

6.Are IUCAA public astronomy events free to attend?

Yes, both the lecture and the sky gazing session are free for citizens of Pune, and no tickets are required.