Samir Mohammed’s mission is to bring astronomy home to every Guyanese

By Telesha Ramnarine

AstroPhotosGY is said to be Guyana’s first interactive astronomy and astrophotography platform designed to bring the universe closer to every Guyanese. It was built by 20-year-old Samir Mohammed, who described himself as “a scientist at heart”. He said he observed a significant gap in astronomy resources and culture in Guyana, despite clear interest and curiosity, and wanted to do something about it.

“This is something I witnessed first hand as President of the University of Guyana (UG) Astronomical Society (2022–2023) and through my ongoing educational initiatives. Making AstroPhotosGY interactive and free lowers the barriers to astronomical knowledge and ignites curiosity,” Mohammed, a two-time Guyana Prize for Literature winner (2022 and 2023), told Stabroek Weekend in an interview recently.

“To me, the universe is everything: a lens, a mirror, and proof that things are greater than the sum of their parts.

I built AstroPhotosGY to return that sense of wonder to Guyanese people, scientifically, visually, and meaningfully. As a writer, I view the stars as poetry; as a developer, I bring that poetry into real-time interaction. AstroPhotosGY is where these two parts of me converge.”

He built the platform on his own – every line of code, every algorithm; and he taught himself orbital mechanics, geolocation math, and web architecture. “Sometimes I’d be debugging complex sky calculations while still studying for exams. But I wanted to build something that lasts,” he said. It is open to all Guyanese and Mohammed said that he’d love to feature photographers from across the country, preserve indigenous stargazing traditions, and work with educators to make astronomy fun and practical.

Guyana, he observed, benefits from relatively dark skies, although growing industrialisation and increasing light pollution threaten this natural resource. “By disconnecting us from nature and the preservation of our environment, we risk losing our connection to the cosmos,” he stated.

Born and raised in Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, Mohammed’s journey started under the very stars that would later inspire his work. “Growing up, I gazed at the same sky as everyone else, yet there were no accessible tools to explain its wonders,” he said. The proud alumnus of St Rose’s High has earned a degree in Physics from UG, where he is now continuing his academic journey in Computer Science.

“I’ve always been a scientist at heart — specifically an astrophysicist and data scientist. My extensive background in physics, mathematics, and astronomy has driven me to build innovative tools to educate people about astronomy, particularly within Guyana, and to inspire a deeper appreciation for science and learning,” he shared.

AstroPhotosGY is more than a website to him, it’s a digital observatory, a classroom, a gallery, and a cultural archive, offering real-time, location-specific information about the night sky tailored to Guyana’s unique geography and communities.

At its heart lies “Sky Tonight”, the most comprehensive feature of the platform. This section provides dynamically updating visibility cards for planets, constellations, galaxies, and special celestial events—each personalised for urban, rural, and remote users across Guyana. It also features an interactive 3D solar system, letting users replay the motion of planets across time.

“I’m particularly proud of the Sky Tonight feature, which required months of development and leverages sophisticated mathematics and physics to pinpoint celestial object positions accurately. It’s continuously being refined and is deeply integrated with the Learn page to enhance practical educational use,” he said.

The core features of AstroPhotosGY include the Gallery. Currently showcasing Mohammed’s astrophotography — captured and processed entirely in Guyana — this section will soon allow other Guyanese photographers to upload and share their night sky images, creating a collaborative visual archive. Sky Tonight also shows moon phases, sunrise/sunset times, and detailed information about astronomical visibility, down to the minute. The integrated 3D solar system teaches orbital mechanics visually, making complex physics intuitive and interactive.

The Learn feature is the educational heart of the platform, offering a curated library of astronomy lessons from beginner to advanced levels.

Each course is designed with hands-on sky observation in mind and will soon be expanded with live workshops and school resources. An upcoming History subsection will explore traditional and indigenous astronomical knowledge from Guyana’s diverse cultures and is an open invitation for the public to contribute and preserve their celestial heritage.

The Shop feature, currently under development, will offer access to affordable telescopes, astrophotography gear, and an option to donate to support STEM education across Guyana, while the Information section offers an introduction to AstroPhotosGY and the minds behind it — Mohammed and collaborator Ellen Gopaul — explaining the vision, the mission, and how others can get involved.

Mohammed doesn’t plan on stopping with a website. He envisions a full national STEM ecosystem grounded in local relevance and open access. He hopes to one day distribute telescope kits to classrooms, launch mobile observatories, and host astronomy and data science workshops across the country.

“There’s a real hunger for science in Guyana… AstroPhotosGY is about lowering the barrier to entry — for students, for artists, for anyone who’s ever looked up and wondered,” he stated

Mohammed is inviting photographers, educators, students, and culture bearers to contribute. The platform is meant to evolve with the country, capturing not just celestial events, but the voices and stories of the people beneath the stars.

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