Wartime Skygazing: An Amateur Astronomer in Ukraine
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Loading... - Ahmad Salah
- 05 Oct 2022
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On February 24, 2022, a waning crescent Moon hung in the sky above Ukraine. From 240,000 miles away on the lunar surface, Alexander Plakha thought, all would have appeared deceivingly peaceful on our blue planet. But the amateur astronomer, business owner, and Ukrainian knew reality to be quite different. He was using his own telescope to observe the Russian advance.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine completely upended Alexander’s life and his small business selling astro gear, but he still holds defiantly to the dream of peace for his country. Recently I had the opportunity to talk to Alexander about his unique perspective as a Ukrainian citizen and as an amateur astronomer coming to terms with an uncertain future.
With a strong interest in astronomy since his childhood, Alexander eventually built an observatory near Donetsk, in the now-disputed Donbass region of southeastern Ukraine. He hosted friend and mentor John Dobson for a visit to his observatory in 2006, and the two spoke about the importance of popularizing astronomy. Read More...
