Au Palais de la Découverte

9/7/2005

Shiraz Night Sky to Mesmerize




On September 27 “Iran; From Sky to the Earth” an exhibition on Iranian astronomy is to be inaugurated in Paris with live pictures from Persepolis night sky




Tehran, 7 September 2005 (CHN) -- The French museum of “le Palais de la Decouverte” (the palace of discovery) is going to host an exhibition on the history of astronomy in Persia which will commence on September 27 in Paris.

“Le Palais de la Découverte” is a dynamic showcase for basic and contemporary science in the shape of interactive experiments with commentaries by lecturers. Astronomy (with the planetarium), biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and all other sciences of the earth are illustrated there.

The next cultural and scientific event in “le palais de la Decouverte” is the exhibition on Persian astronomy, which will run for three months and is to be inaugurated on September 27, entitled ‘Shiraz Night” after the famous and historical Iranian city, Shiraz. The inauguration ceremony at this night will witness different cultural programs arranged by Iranian cultural attaché in France, Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization in France, and “Simab Honar” art institute.

For the ceremony, images of the night sky in Shiraz, particularly taken at its historical sites like Persepolis, the tombs of Saadi and Hafiz, two Persian classic poets, and Karim Khan citadel, are to be shown live in the palace planetarium, using internet and satellite communications, said Mohammad Hosein Golbon, chairman of Simab Honar Institute.

A traditional Iranian music ensemble is also performing at this ceremony, singing some verses of Mevlana Jallaludin Rumi, the Iranian philosopher and poet of 13th century, by whose verses the name of the exhibition “From Sky to the Earth” is inspired.

Bahram Mobasher, Denis Savoie, head of national astronomy assembly and director of “le Palais de la decouverte”, and Pourya Nazemi, will give speeches on “Astronomy and the daily life”, “The history of Persian Astronomy”, and “Venus Celestial Movement” at this occasion. Koichiro Matsuura, secretary general of UNESCO, Ahmad Jalalli, Iranian ambassador to the UNESCO, Mansouri, head of Iran Physics Association, Firouz Naderi, deputy of JPL laboratory of NASA, and Nasiri Gheidari, head of Iran Astronomy Association are among other prominent guests at this ceremony.

Noting the historical background, cultural diversity, and artistic values of Shiraz as the main reasons for naming the inauguration night after this city, Golbon indicated, “We should not neglect any opportunity to introduce Shiraz as our cultural capital, so when we learnt of the occasion we suggested for the inauguration ceremony to be named after Shiraz.”

“Le Palais de la Découverte” will witness lots of other cultural events during the coming three months , which include a photography exhibition of three Iranian photographers, Zakarian, Safarianpour, and Tafreshi with the theme of Iran’s night sky, a slide show, an exhibition of ancient astronomical instruments, and old manuscripts on astronomy, a seminar on the history of astronomy and another one on familiarization with Iranian observatories in the past and present, video show, and an exhibition of Iranian press and publications working in this field.

The week of Iranian documentaries is another cultural event which is to be held in collaboration with Iranian Documentary Makers Association and Iranian TV Channel 4.

Being situated on Avenue Franklin, D. Roosevelt, le Palais de la Découverte is open six days a week from 9:30 am to 6 pm except Sundays when it is open from 10 am to 7 pm. The exhibition is closed on Mondays.