Addressing the importance of astronomy as a field of study, senior scientist Jayant Narlikar spoke about its role in development of science and its use to predict and protect the Earth from developments in the Universe.

He was speaking at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) on Saturday during a lecture organised by the Mahrashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) on the occasion of International Year of Astronomy 2009.

"Astronomy helps create rules for science. Remote sensing devices, satellites, impact of gravity all these concepts would be impossible to understand without studying astronomy," Narlikar said.

He added that the science constantly challenges mankind to overcome the seemingly impossible difficult tasks. "What can't be accomplished here, has been accomplished elsewhere. For instance, things that haven't yet been done on the earth have been done elsewhere in the solar system. Astronomy urges us to study those developments and replicate them in our region," he said.

Reflecting on the use of astronomy in generating energy, Narlikar said that nuclear reactors, which can be instrumental in generating energy can be developed only by studying the nuclear reactions on the surface of the sun. "The energy problem can be solved using astronomy. Nuclear reactors can generate the energy that we require on Earth using heavy water as fuel. Abundant heavy water is available in the form of sea water. So, astronomy has applications in almost all fields," Narlikar exhorted.

Explaining the use of astronomy for protecting the Earth, Narlikar said that while the Universe appears to be a stable, a quiet mass of various bodies, it is actually very dynamic and active and needs to be monitored constantly.

"After a comet collided with planet Jupiter in the year 1994, scientists started studying this phenomenon and predicted that the earth could be hit by a similar comet in the next century. However, by studying the trajectory and nature of this comet, it is possible to deviate the comet and prevent this collision. In fact, the warning of this collision may be sent out in as little as two years from now," he said.

Emphasizing on the impact of such collisions, Narlikar said that the collision which created the Lonar lake in Vidarbha is estimated to have generated 1,000 times the destructive energy of the atom bomb attack on Hiroshima during the world war. "The impact of 10 lakh atom bombs is the energy that one asteroid collision can generate. You may believe that it impacts only the people living in that region. But the inferno caused by this impact would finish all the oxygen thereby eliminating the organisms all over the planet. So, it would be wrong to underestimate the destructive power of astronomical bodies," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, vice-chancellor of University of Pune Narendra Jadhav said that lending a scientific perspective to astronomy and astrophysics was one of the key foci of the UoP as a part of it's programs for International Year of Astronomy 2009.