Outreach · Durbin

Durbin

দূরবিন — দূর বিশ্বের নাগরিক · Citizens of a distant universe. CASSA's volunteer programme for astrophotography and science communication.

About Durbin

Astronomy that brings people closer

Durbin — Bangla for binoculars or a telescope — is CASSA's outreach programme dedicated to astrophotography and science communication, powered by a cohort of student volunteers from across Bangladesh. Our mission is to introduce the wonders of the universe to the public, using astronomy as a tool to bridge societal gaps. By situating Earth within the vastness of the cosmos and making distant galaxies familiar, we foster a sense of universal fraternity — transcending the boundaries of language, nation, religion, gender, and class.

The programme was founded on 9 March 2023 by Dr. Lamiya Mowla, with initial support from the University of Toronto's Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics. That partnership brought two Unistellar small telescopes to IUB, establishing a permanent hub for astronomy outreach in the region. From May 2026 Durbin is supported by a British Council Bangladesh grant through Women of the World.

Contact: [email protected] — Farzana Akter Lima, Project Manager

Explore Durbin

Where to go next

Astrophotography Deep-sky objects imaged by Durbin volunteers — galaxies, nebulae, clusters, comets and planets. Open
Updates Dispatches from the programme — workshops, school visits, public astronomy nights and open calls. Open
Volunteers The students from across Bangladesh who power CASSA's astronomy outreach. Open
The Durbin Manual How the programme is run — governance, the volunteer model, and safeguarding. Open

From the sky

The standouts

A selection of the most striking deep-sky images captured through Durbin's telescopes. See the full gallery →

Jupiter Jupiter Needle Galaxy Needle Galaxy Phantom galaxy Phantom galaxy Horsehead Nebula Horsehead Nebula Sombrero Galaxy Sombrero Galaxy Whirlpool galaxy Whirlpool galaxy

All Durbin images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

Latest from Durbin

Updates

  1. Durbin booth at the ACI Medhabi Carnival ACI Medhabi Carnival 2025: A Celestial Celebration of Young Talents The ACI Center in Tejgaon buzzed with intellectual energy last Sunday as the ACI Medhabi Carnival celebrated the achievements of primary-level winners from across…
  2. Durbin volunteers at Durbin Workshop 3 brainstorming outreach activities. Durbin Workshop 3: Strengthening the Future of Astronomy Outreach From April 30th to May 2nd, the Center for Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics (CASSA) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) hosted Durbin Workshop 3.
  3. Senior-category winners of the 9th BDOAA National Round holding their certificates beneath the event banner at IUB. BDOAA 2026 National Round: Young Astronomers Reach for the Stars at IUB IUB hosted the National Round of the 9th Bangladesh Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics — a day of examinations, talks and a prize-giving that picked the national team for IOAA 2026 in Hanoi, capped by Durbin’s Astronomy Night 14.

All Durbin updates →

Beyond Durbin

Part of CASSA's wider outreach

Durbin is one strand of CASSA's public outreach, which also runs the Bangladesh Olympiad on Astronomy & Astrophysics and a Bengali-language popular-astronomy writing programme — including Durbin's own series, দূরের কথা.

Outreach overview দূরের কথা Durbin on Facebook ↗ Email Durbin