SBIG :: Special Presentation to His Majesty King Rama IX, King of Thailand

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX, the King of Thailand

It was our privilege to honor His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX, with a special award for his efforts and achievements in the field of astronomical education. The award was presented on December 5, 2010, also marking His Majesty's 83^rd birthday.

The Chakri Dynasty

The present King of Thailand is the ninth monarch of the Chakri dynasty that began about the same time that the United States was born.

King Buddhayodfa The Great - Rama I, 1782 - 1809

The Chakri dynasty was founded in 1782 when General Chakri ascended to the throne after leading the Thai armies to victory after 15 years of war that ultimately freed Thailand from control of invading Burmese. He was known thereafter as Rama I. After moving the capital to Bangkok, Rama I built the Grand Palace that houses the Emerald Buddha, the most revered Buddha statue in Thailand. The Grand Palace stands today as one of the many wonders of the country.

King Mongkut - Rama IV. 1851 - 1868

The fourth monarch of the Chakri dynasty was King Mongkut - Rama IV. The King was best known in the West as the main character in the fiction, Anna and the King of Siam, upon which the movie The King and I was based. King Mongkut was highly educated, even by western standards of the time. He was a Buddhist monk for 27 years before ascending to the throne in his late 50's. In addition to his native language, he was fluent in Latin, English, Sanskrit, and Pali. He regularly corresponded with Western leaders, and sent letters of friendship to Queen Victoria and Abraham Lincoln. He was keenly interested in science, particularly astronomy. His love of astronomy ultimately would even lead to his own death. He calculated that there would be a solar eclipse visible in a remote province and arranged an expedition to view it, inviting a number of westerners to join him. His calculations were correct and the eclipse was visible at the time and place he predicted. However, the King contracted malaria in the low lying region of the viewing site and never recovered from the disease. He died not long after returning to Bangkok from the expedition. But his life and his enthusiasm for learning science paved the way for the modernization of science education in Thailand and his example has been followed by virtually every King since that time. Rama IV is considered to be the Father of Modern Science and Education in Thailand. He is also the great-grandfather of the present King. King Rama IV’s love of astronomy is even commemorated today in images on Thai currency. The reverse of a Thai bank note shows him seated with a telescope in the background.

King Chulalongkorn the Great - Rama V. 1868 - 1910.

Son of Rama IV, and successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) continued in his father's footsteps. He is revered by modern Thais in much the same way that Americans revere Abraham Lincoln. King Chulalongkorn abolished slavery, made extensive contacts in the Western world, modernized government education, transportation, and communication. It is to the credit of the diplomatic skills of both King Mongkut and his son that Thailand was never colonized during the same period that saw most of the rest of Asia being overrun by European colonial powers. In fact, the word "Thai" means “free,” and therefore Thailand is "Land of the Free."

King Rama IX. 1946 - Present

The present King of Thailand, His Majesty King Bhumibol, is Rama IX. Prince Bhumibol was born December 5, 1927, at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge Massachusetts. His parents, Prince and Princess Mahidol were students there at the time. Prince Mahidol was the son the late King Chulalongkorn Rama V. Prince Mahidol was studying medicine at Harvard University and Princess Mahidol was a nurse who had trained at the Simmons College in Boston. Prince Bhumibol was the younger of two brothers and was not expected to ascend to the throne. His elder brother became King Rama VIII.

Prince Bhumibol was brought up by his mother at their home in Switzerland as his father died when he was quite young. He had to earn his pocket money by doing small jobs around their residence, picking fruit at a neighbors orchard, and other routine chores. He enjoyed typical hobbies of young boys, making model trains and trying his hand at photography (his first camera was an old box camera that cost Swiss Fr. 2.5, about 50 cents). Photography remains one of King Bhumibol's favorite hobbies to this day. His mother, Princess Mahidol, continued her pursuit and love of astronomy and even had a model of the solar system designed by the Astronomical Association of Thailand built into the ceiling of the Reception Hall of her northern palace near Chang Mai. It is said that she often hosted "star parties" where guests would come to observe the stars from her dark skies far from the city lights of Bangkok. This love of the universe must have had an impact on her son.

In his teens, Prince Bhumibol enrolled at Lausanne University in Switzerland where he studied science, including astronomy. In the middle of his studies however his brother was killed and the duties of the throne were therefore to fall upon him. It was decided that Prince Bhumibol would complete his University studies but in light of the circumstances he changed his focus from science and astronomy to law and political science. Prior to the birth of Prince Bhumibol, the monarchy of Thailand was transformed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy similar to that of Great Britain with a parliament as the main governmental body. The King today enjoys enormous respect and support of the people.

His Majesty carries on the love of astronomy that was instilled in Thai culture by his ancestors. Through his efforts, Thai students have access to the science and technology of the Royal Observatories wherever they are in the country. Also, due to the interest shown by the royal family throughout the centuries, there is a heightened awareness of astronomical science and events by many Thais.

ROTAR I

The ROTAR I and II projects are large amateur sized telescopes being built by His Majesty for the educational use of students across Thailand. The first telescope, a 29 inch f/5 Newtonian, was mounted in an observatory dome atop the school next to the Royal Palace in Hua Hin. The second scope, a 24 inch Ritchie-Chretien, is planned to be mounted in Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s observatory. The princess is also an amateur astronomer! Remote access will be available for schools everywhere in the country via the internet and/or satellite communication. The project organizer, Khun Kraiseeh Petchpornprapas, visited SBIG several years ago seeking cameras for these projects. He invited Mike Barber and his wife to meet with His Majesty personally. To date the Royal Observatories have acquired an STV, ST-7XME, ST-2000XCM, STL-11000M and STL-6303E.  In the first meeting, we delivered to His Majesty the STL-11000M camera that will be used on the f/5 Newtonian in the Klaikangwon School Observatory. During the meeting His Majesty was very open, discussing his plans for assembling a network of robotic telescopes around Thailand that would all be accessible by Thai students studying astronomy.

His Majesty’s enthusiasm for astronomy was very evident in two ways during our meeting. He spoke of his early astrophotos of the Jovian system "taken with film."  His Majesty discussed his long time interest in astronomy and he jokingly said that he really wanted to be an astronomer but had to give up the idea because of his "other job." His Majesty speant nearly an hour and a half in discussion, including the time he returned after a meeting to show his beloved pet, Tong Daeng (Copper). Moreover, even though the King has much more serious matters on his mind, including his own health, and the political health of his country, he was quite relaxed and friendly, smiling and joking. According to his staff, with all of the more pressing matters on his mind lately, this was an unusual and welcome demeanor to witness and asked SIBG to please return when arrangements could be made.

ROTAR II

Mike Barber and his wife met with His Majesty again at the Royal Palace in Bangkok for an update on the ROTAR II project. His Majesty’s sister was quite ill and in the hospital.  His Majesty left her bedside to return to the palace for the meeting, and immediately after the meeting returned to his sister’s side to be with her during her last illness. During the meeting we delivered to him the STL-6303E camera that would be used on the ROTAR II telescope. A model of the new telescope was presented, and some first light images of the moon taken with an ST-2000XCM color camera with the ROTAR I telescope were on display. At this second meeting Mrs. Barber was honored to present His Majesty with the Hall of Fame trophy as a token of appreciation for his commitment to science and astronomy education in Thailand. Since our last meeting astronomy has been made a mandatory part of the curriculum in all Thai schools.

Acknowledgements

We were treated extremely well, and warmly, by everyone at the Palace, not to mention His Majesty King Bhumibol, for whom we will always hold a warm feeling in our hearts. In particular, we want to thank Khun Supachai Bhandhukanonda, Director of Royal Household Affairs, for his kind help in preparing for the meeting, and for his thoughtfulness after the event in arranging the delivery of His Majesty's book to our hotel. Of course, our visit would not have been possible if not for the kind invitation received through Khun Kraiseeh Petchpornprapas. We are very thankful for his help and friendship.

Photos below, clockwise from upper left:  (1) His Majesty receiving the STL-11000M for ROTAR I, (2) His Majesty receiving the Armillary Sphere trophy (with first-light lunar images in background), (3) Our host Khun Kraiseeh Petchpornprappas, (4) state of the art satellite TV station at the school housing ROTAR I, (5) ROTAR I dome taking shape, (6) ROTAR I 29” f/5 Newtonian scope on its mount, , ROTAR II mount and telescope truss assemble waiting glass, ROTAR I completed and undergoing testing.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to His Majesty!

Long Live the King!

Michael Barber, SBIG