“We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers.”

– Carl Sagan

Recently I had the opportunity to interact with a set of school children from Chennai. They had come down to Auroville, Puducherry on an experiential education trip. My friend Shakti and I had been invited by (OLLIT Expedititons – a travel company) to come over to introduce them to the world of astronomy as part of the packed educational trip. In this blog post, I am reflecting about an experience that stood out as part of the session.

In my limited years in the field of education and in organzing stargazing events, I’ve noticed that the most powerful and transformative moments aren’t necessarily when students find the answers, but when they ask questions.

Interestingly, this aligns closely with the philosophy of the legendary astronomer Carl Sagan who once said, “We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers.” These words have become a resonating reminder for my approach towards education (my work primarily lies in education) and in approaching any problem in life with certain intelligence.

The session was about learning about one celestial event which is Meteor Showers and proceeding for moon observation. I still remember a good chunk of the session was mostly driven by the questions that came from the students.

Here’s a glimpse into the conversation we had:

Them – What is a meteor?

Me – A meteor, also known as a “shooting star,” is the streak of light produced when a meteoroid burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Them – How does it come to the same place every year

Me – Meteor showers recur annually because they are stuck to the Earth’s orbit

Them – Does it fall into the earth or does it just fly by

Me – Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground. If anything does land, it’s called a meteorite.

Other questions

• If meteors are rocks, why do they emit so much light upon entering the earth?
• Can meteors be observed in day light too?
• Where are these meteors located during the rest of the year?

In that moment I asked myself How do these kids come up with such questions so quickly, so easily. These were not just questions, but a profound expression of curiosity and way of looking at things. Just like any budding scientist would behave in her / his childhood.

When I went back to the ppt slides, the kids have already covered what I intended to share, through their insightful questions. In fact, they have delved deeper than the content I wanted to convey or discuss with them. The whole session organically evolved, with question…within question….within question which led to the summary of the session.

I have had the privilege of engaging with students of both government and private schools, and if there’s one thing I have found to be universal among all my students, it’s curiosity. This sense of wonder, this urge to know more, transcends socio-economic backgrounds, age groups, and even cultural barriers. It is so natural for children to be very curious and inquisitive when it comes to science and the world we live in.

Moon observation

The driver anna (white shirt) exhilarated and said - சார், செமயா இருக்கு. பாத்துகிட்டே இருக்கணும் போல் இருக்கு

Hands-on telescope demonstration

As part of the workshop, we demonstrated the working of a telescope by dismantling and assembling it before the kids. 

Curiosity is indeed a distinctly human trait, and I am fortunate to have a front-row seat witnessing it in action. Keep questioning, keep exploring, it’s just the curiosity that makes the universe a more understandable and fascinating place. With curiosity, moon will not be the destination but a pit-stop on our interstellar journey. While doing so, let’s ensure that every young mind has the opportunity to reach for the stars.

Side note:

Featured image – Gibious / Waxing moon

Camera specs – Pixel 6A | f/1.7 | ISO 220

Telescope – Celestron 130 EQ

Session topic – Meteor shower and telescope modeling