BLINK and you’ll miss it. The Kaastrodome (Karachi Astrodome), which is said to be Pakistan’s first privately owned astronomical observatory, is located in a leafy, non-descript part of the metropolis’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar neighbourhood.

Indeed this writer would have been lost in a maze of lanes if a good Samaritan hadn’t pointed out the dome’s exact location on Saturday.

The ‘urban space observatory’, as it has been dubbed, is a surreal sight in suburbia. While water tanks are located on top of nearly all the houses, the Kaastrodome crowns the top of the private bungalow that hosts the observatory.

It is dusk and individuals are milling about the dome, most clad in black T-shirts indicating their membership of the Karachi Astronomers Society (KaAS), the outfit responsible for the Kaastrodome. After about a year of effort, the dome is ready to be unveiled. It is clearly a product of passion and zeal; the only other proper observatory in Karachi — located in the University of Karachi — has seen better days.

The society’s members are clearly excited about their achievement. Dr Akbar Hussain, along with his brother Mehdi Hussain, are primarily responsible for transforming the observatory idea into a reality. “The telescope has a 600x zoom and a 12.5-inch mirror. We launched the Karachi Astronomers Society in 2008 to create awareness about astronomy in Karachi. We have over a thousand members, but only a few dozen dedicated ones,” he says. “This is a non-profit venture. In a few months we hope to invite school and college students to events. [On the official level] when it comes to space there is silence. We want to get people interested in astronomy.”

The telescope looks like a combination of something out of Galileo’s workshop and Star Trek. The mount is from abroad while the telescope itself was made in Pakistan. The optics have been brought from the UK. A KaAS member estimated that the whole set-up cost something in the neighbourhood of Rs800,000. “We can say with pride this is made in Pakistan,” says a jubilant Akbar Hussain.

As night begins to fall, the amateur astronomers start gazing at the heavens in search of Saturn. However, due to the dust in the atmosphere there is no such luck; the ringed planet will have to be viewed some other night. A debate breaks out amongst the stargazers as they try and decipher where certain constellations and planets are located with the help of the naked eye. Someone whips out a smartphone and with the aid of the Sky Map app the question is settled.

The society includes members from all ages and various professions, though it is mostly a male concern. “There are people from the oil and gas sector, accountants, students — none of us are professional astronomers,” says Tauseef, a young enthusiast in the oil business. He says an interest in photographing celestial objects drew him towards KaAS. He googled the society and later joined the group in 2013. “Seeing the Milky Way was amazing. When I photographed it my friends couldn’t believe it,” he recalls with pride. Hayan Qadri, a student of intermediate, says an interest in sci-fi films, as well as the fact his father is a stargazer, brought him around to joining KaAS in 2009. “I hope to pursue a Masters degree in a space-related field,” he says.

The stargazers say winter is the best time for sky-watching, as summers in our part of the world are too cloudy. When asked why there are so few female amateur astronomers, some members point out that as the society often hosts viewing nights in rural areas, families and women are hesitant to accompany them due to the security situation.

Zain Ahmed, a KaAS member, says that the government was not approached for funding or other help while constructing the Kaastrodome. However, now that the project is complete, public and private parties are welcome to team up with the society to help spread awareness about space and astronomy in the city.

India has done well to have sent its Mangalyaan craft to Mars. Perhaps the effort that went into the Kaastrodome can be replicated in other cities of Pakistan to help fire up the imaginations of young minds that will one day be instrumental in achieving similar feats. But for now, as far as gazing at the heavens is concerned, thanks to the new observatory in Karachi the sky’s the limit.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2014