Hassan Ahmed Al-Hariri contributed to the establishment of the first national astronomical center in the UAE and the region in Dubai to provide the public with the opportunity to explore space using the five senses. Al-Thuraya, the association of the Dubai Astronomical Society, a society licensed by the Dubai Community Development Authority (CDA), aims to spread the culture and awareness of astronomers.

Mr. Hariri, the company's CEO, confirmed that the center is the first Arab national center for astronomy, adding that it will officially open before the end of this month.

Al-Hariri told Emirates Al-Youm that the idea of ​​establishing an astronomical center with which the public will interact and receive astronomy in enjoyable ways dates back to 2004 when the idea was presented to Dubai Municipality. The implementation started in 2016, And the establishment of the building, at a cost of 20 million dirhams, and guaranteed us 40 million dirhams, while it took three years.

"We drew a full starry floor in the center of the park, and we put inside each star the astrolabe, which was used in the past to know the movement of the stars. We also put inside the painting a spacecraft, we called it (Thuraya), to give the public an environment that simulates the environment of outer space ».

"The center allows its visitors to touch the exhibits in it, which include pieces of meteorites over four billion years old," Hariri said.

He explained that «the journey begins from the ground floor in the center, through a spiral corridor ends at the Observatory, on the top floor. During the journey, visitors will visit a number of sections to learn about the space store, which includes student satellite games, the astronomical cafe, the astronomical museum, the astronomical exhibition, the astronomical cinema featuring science fiction films, the astronomical shop, the astronomical dome and the book lab. 1000 books in Arabic and English, and then the Astronomical Observatory, which monitors the movement of stars and planets through it ».

He pointed out that "the first floor of the center represents the Astronomical Academy, it contains laboratories that complement the human passion for scientific knowledge of the movement of the universe, and learn how to develop itself, through the passion of questioning, love of knowledge," noting that " .

"The first objective of the Center is to support education in the country, by providing the educational system with modern scientific tools. To achieve this goal, a number of partnerships have been established with schools and joint initiatives, including free astronomical clubs and scientific clubs for students. He also organized astronomical conferences with universities such as the University of Sharjah, the American University of Sharjah, Al Ain University, the UAE University and the Higher Colleges of Technology, and organized a range of scientific activities in which students actively participated.

"The center aims to support the government's approach to space science and put the UAE on the international map in the field of astronomy and space in a practical way. Therefore, looking at astronomy as a self-development tool is our first goal. The second goal is to achieve learning using astronomy, The culture of self-development and continuous learning, reflection on the creation of God, and its impact on the human psyche ».

Hariri began his astronomical activity in 1989, establishing the astronomical section of the Emirates Science Club, then contributing to the establishment of the Emirates Astronomical Society in Abu Dhabi and the Astronomical Pioneers Association in Abu Dhabi. He also established the Dubai Astronomy Group as an institution, which has been operating since 2000 in an integrated, non-profit and profit-making system, providing astronomical services to companies, for money, to spend on the non-profit side of the center.

He explained that membership in the center is divided into two types: a free membership with 8000 participants and fees. The center offers student subscriptions of 200 dirhams per year per student and subscriptions to the public at 300 dirhams per person. General, and paid membership allows the holder to enter courses of astronomy training, educational and educational organized by the Center.

Two global astronomical events

Hassan Al-Hariri said that the number of students who visited Al-Thuraya Center during the past year exceeded 10,000, while the total number of visitors to the center in the same period reached 14,532.

"We have two global astronomical events late this year, namely the solar eclipse of the sun on the UAE, and the transit of planet Mercury on the sun disk in November and December."

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AED 1 million cost

Establishment of the Thuraya Center

For astronomy.