Keep Your Eyes on the Stars

A seven-year-old me was aware then of what nowadays 24-year-old me knows for sure: Stars are so much more to humanity than groupings of random particles and dust. Ever since my teacher wrote the sentence written by a famous Croatian poet Antun Branko Šimić in my yearbook, stars weren't just dust to me.

On the contrary, when I grew older I began to explore why the stars were and still are such an inspiration, a breath of fresh air not only for some of the most beautiful poetry and fiction that has ever been written, but also for fundamental things such as Physics and other forms of science.

So, my mum bought me a series of children's books about stars, planets, and astronomy which was very appreciated by the seven-year-old me. But the thing that exhilarated me was the announcement on that spring day in 1999 when our teacher told us that we are going to the Zagreb observatory on the first clear sky!

Boy oh boy, thought the little geeky girl. To observe all those constellations for the first time with the telescope! What a treat!

Image credit: zvjezdarnica.com

So, finally that day came. A bunch of third graders from a small city near Zagreb headed off to see our galaxy for the first time. I remember that I was very excited when I set foot on Opatička Street 22 on Upper town, the address of the observatory.

I remember that we were welcomed by a very nice older man that reminded me of professor Flitwick from Harry Potter books. He told us that he would tell us a story about observatory's history. So we listened about how it was founded in 1902 by Oton Kučera, a scientist who initiated the beginning of the Croatian Astronomical Society (it was called differently back in the old days).

With the help of his fellow colleagues, he managed to get Zagreb administrators and people in charge of the city property to cede the 'Priests Tower' to them in 1903, a building in the elite part of Zagreb. Since then, that tower is known as the Zagreb observatory.

Image credit: zvjezdarnica.com

Kučera was the first director of the Observatory and held that position till 1913. Then, in 1914 the first World War raged through Europe and Observatory wasn't on everyone's agenda, and it was dangerous to keep it open all the time. That was unfortunate, because, ever since it was opened, it was opened to the public because members of the astronomy club believed that science should be spread and that everyone deserved to see how beautiful our sky really is. That is kind of romantic, isn't it?

But, after the war the pretty tower terrace with the one of the most beautiful views of the city and the sky was reopened and was welcoming students and common folk three times a week. People in charge of taking care of the observatory were very keen on doing precise measurings of stars above Zagreb sky and were creating calendars so that we know when to expect a particular phenomenon that was then shared with the public.

After the World War Two, Observatory worked with old instruments, so, at the beginning of the 1960's our Star Lady got her a brand new telescope to celebrate her 60th birthday!

Apart from that, the interest of public to hear more about our Milky Way was so big that Zagreb astronomers decided to get our city its very own planetarium! Pretty cool, right? But, that is a whole another story.

Image credit: Zagreb Tourist Board

After this brief history intro, professor Flitwick ("see what I just did there") took us to the tower. That was the first time I saw how Zagreb looks from a high point. I will never forget how I admired the lights that, at the time, seemed so vast and magnificent.  Our good old Flitwick told us that we got here right in time to see the planet Saturn. He added that, with a little luck, we will be able to see its rings. 

So, I got into the tower and climbed the wooden ladder until I could reach the telescope. And imagine what? I saw Saturn's rings. The big planet was as small as a grain of rice, but I can still remember its orange colour and thick texture like it was yesterday! I couldn't stop staring at something that's bigger than me, so old and yet so timeless.

Image credit: zvjezdarnica.com

Remember that quote from the beginning of the story? If yes, try to remember it if your path ever takes you to Zagreb. Let your footsteps lead you to Opatička Street 22 and promise yourself that you will not be unworthy of the stars. Seven-year-old you and nowadays you will be very grateful for that promise.

Header image credit: Marcela Rasonja/zvjezdarnica.com

Author: Lana Suša