Nowruz and the Night Sky

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic

Science, Society & Culture

4.5 • 10.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 March 2022

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Not everyone celebrates the New Year in the middle of winter; for 300 million people around the world, their New Year begins at the moment of the vernal equinox. The holiday of Nowruz celebrates that “new day” by encouraging us to make poetic connections between life and death, and past and present. National Geographic photographer Babak Tafreshi reacquaints us with the shimmering origins of this ancient Persian holiday; they are above our heads, shining in the night sky. For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard. Want more? The International Dark Sky Association is working to protect our skies from light pollution. They can help you find your way to the starriest viewing on the planet. As Nowruz approaches, it’s not too late to learn more about Iran’s long history of poets going back to more than 10 centuries. Also explore: If you’d like to create your own haft-sin table, check out these gorgeous examples for inspiration. Babak Tafreshi has published a book of his beautiful night sky photography, The World at Night. For subscribers: Learn more about how light pollution is affecting our planet through images that Tafreshi captured. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you in part by Geico proud sponsor of National Geographic
0:05.4	Geico 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance
0:16.7	At the age of around 13 I managed to borrow a telescope from a neighbor
0:22.1	I was trying to see some details after more and as soon as I did the first look through this telescope
0:28.1	I think my whole life changed. Bob Aktaf Rishi is something of a nocturnal creature
0:33.6	A National Geographic photographer his workday begins as the sun is going down
0:38.4	That's because his subject is the night sky
0:42.6	That was not expecting to see all these craters and mountains on the moon with the tiny telescope
0:48.6	As the earth was rotating the moon was just sliding across the field of view
0:52.9	The thrill of peering through telescope at the moon never left Bob Aktaf Rishi
1:02.7	It was very stunning to me and I think it was a milestone in my life
1:08.0	And photographing what he sees at night is his way of sharing that inspiration
1:16.3	Born in Tehran Iran Bob Aktaf's love of astronomy became rooted early on in the ancient world
1:21.5	In particular a world heritage site called Persepolis in southwestern Iran
1:27.3	Bob Aktaf visited Persepolis as a teenager. It was the beginning of spring
1:32.8	As I entered I realized there is something growing all the sudden inside me that was hidden for a long time
1:39.9	This 2500 year old site is considered by many to have been one of the most majestic places in the Persian Empire
1:55.2	As Bob Aktaf walked across the ruins of its vast stone terraces and up its sweeping staircases
2:01.3	A connection to the ancient world was just unfolding within me
2:05.6	In particular the youngest astronomer became fascinated by several vast reliefs
2:12.0	Ancient images carved into the stone walls
2:15.0	They depicted a ferocious lion biting the haunches of a terrified bull
	...

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