The Past and Present State of Astronomy Education in Thailand

Abstract

About 300 years ago in Lopburi and Ayudhaya, many astronomical observatories were designed, constructed, and supported by the Roman Catholic missionaries from Europe and by King Narai the Great of Siam (Thailand). The interesting recorded history of Thai astronomy was found in the national museum of France a few years ago. Afterwards, the ruined observatories were searched for and found. A tercentennial commemorative ceremony of Thai astronomy was held on April 30, 1988.The French emissary and the Roman Catholic missionaries in the reign of King Louis XIV first visited Thailand in 1685. Besides intending to spread the Catholic religion, they carried out research on surveying local and celestial positions. A Thai royal astrologer calculated and predicted a total lunar eclipse on December 11, 1685. King Narai, together with the missionaries, observed the eclipse at Lopburi through a telescope having magnification of 30 to 72. A partial solar eclipse was also observed near the same place on April 30, 1688. Sanpaolo, a Catholic church on the outskirts of Lopburi, was the site of the first astronomical observatory in Thailand, built in 1685. Another observatory in Lopburi, built in the house of a Persian emissary, later became a Thai temple. Other astronomical observatories were supposedly built in Ayudhaya, the capital of Thailand in King Narai’s period, and should be worthy of search and restoration. However, the historical events on record have not yet been clearly found out.