Thousands of students thronged the Radio Astronomy Centre (RAC) of the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) at Muthorai near here on Saturday to celebrate National Science Day.

Inaugurating the celebrations Siraj Hasan, Honorary Professor and former Director of Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, said that career opportunities were on the rise in the field of science.

Pointing out that a number of scientific projects like the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) and the National Large Solar Telescope were coming up, he said that lots of scientific hands are needed to run those facilities.

The Head, RAC, P.K. Manoharan, who presided, said that the objective of the celebrations was to create awareness about science among the people. The RAC operates the ‘Ooty Radio Telescope’ which was one of the biggest in the world. It was being used for several important astronomy and astrophysical studies.

Stating that over 5000 students from about 64 educational institutions in various parts of the district had turned up for the celebrations, he said that it reflects the growing interest in science.

Activities like observing the functioning of the ORT, observing the Sun and sunspots with an optical telescope, demonstrations by other scientific and research organisations of the district and display of models by schools and colleges marked the occasion.