Surender Ponnalagar, senior observatory technician and astronomer, with the 16-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope at Al Sadeem Astronomy in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National
It is possible to view the rings of Saturn, the polar ice caps on Mars and the phases of Venus through the telescope
Visitors can look into space through the telescope and ask questions of the experienced astronomers
The observatory was opened by Thabet Al Qaissieh and Alejandro Palado, whose shared fascination with the night sky goes back to when they were children
Various mounts and different types of telescopes in the lecture hall
Surender Ponnalagar gives visitors comprehensive information about the Moon, stars, planets and other celestial events
A group of friends sign up to learn about deep sky observations
Ponnalagar points out a smart telescope
A group of friends learn about the evening's sightings
Models help visitors to learn about the Earth's orbit of the Sun
Ponnalagar demonstrates a telescope to visitors
Studying the sky using one of the observatory's telescopes
A telescope set up for visitors to learn about space activity
