Durbin

Why Durbin exists

Distance should inspire wonder, not exclusion.

Durbin is Bangla for telescope: an instrument that makes the distant visible. The programme applies that same idea socially, bringing astronomy closer to students, schools, families, and communities across Bangladesh.

Our volunteers do more than point telescopes upward. They learn to capture and process light, translate science into stories, create public experiences, and help people find their own place in a shared universe.

How we got here

A young programme with deep roots.

  1. 2022

    A plan takes shape

    A Dunlap Institute seed grant and a partnership between Dr. Lamiya Mowla and astronomers at IUB turn an outreach idea into a programme.

  2. 2023

    First light

    Two Unistellar eQuinox telescopes arrive in Bangladesh. Durbin launches on 9 March before an audience of about one thousand at IUB.

  3. 2025

    A permanent home

    IUB establishes CASSA and ratifies Durbin as its public astronomy-outreach programme, joining observation, research, and communication.

  4. 2026

    A wider sky

    A new cycle combines expert-led training, lasting public resources, and dedicated support for women astrophotographers and science communicators.

What it looks like

Two telescopes. Many ways into the universe.

Durbin moves between rooftops, classrooms, image-processing sessions, public lawns, and a growing online exhibition. Each setting makes a different kind of curiosity possible.

People seated in a circle around a telescope during a Durbin public evening
Public astronomyStories can keep a cloudy sky alive.
The Horsehead Nebula imaged by Durbin volunteers
AstrophotographyLight becomes evidence, image, and art.
Students learning to use a telescope during Durbin school outreach in Pabna
School outreachThe instrument becomes an invitation.
Durbin volunteers and instructors together after a workshop at CASSA
Volunteer learningExpert guidance becomes shared capacity.

Built to last

Volunteer led. Expert supervised. Public by design.

Durbin is an outreach programme of CASSA at Independent University, Bangladesh. It is supervised by astronomers, managed through formal programme cycles, and governed by CASSA’s safeguarding standards.

Read the programme manual →

Citizen of distant world

Come closer to the sky.

Explore the image collection and meet the people sharing Bangladesh’s sky.

Enter the exhibition