by Roman W. Kostenko,
Director
It began as an idea to see the transit of Venus in June 2012. A group of four adventurous scientists persisted in their attempt to witness a celestial event which was the last of a kind until the year 2117 (sic!). There, amidst the vast plains of Siberia, I realized that some things are beyond the reach of a backyard astronomer unless one travels.
Next year we set our next big goal in Africa. It was a joint expedition with the Rotary Club of Nairobi and several other enthusiasts from around the world. Together we managed to steer a bunch of safari vehicles across the rugged terrain of the Great Rift Valley, bringing a large international group into the remote equatorial land of Turkana. It has been outstanding, diverse and unforgettable fifteen days, even despite the sudden sand storm which had obscured the view for about fifteen minutes during the eclipse. Another, rather impromptu, trip to Egypt, with comet chasing and meteorite survey have summed up the year 2013 for us.
The following years, Astrosafari kept coming back to Kenya, while also being focused on Georgia and Turkey. In each, we liaised with locals and promoted astrotourism. We keep expanding our tours to a variety of destinations worldwide, explore new routes, and alternate these trips with annual public outreach events.
The worldwide journey would not be possible without our amazing team and international partners: