First of all, the word astronomy means the study of the activities of celestial bodies unlike astrology, which is regarded as a pseudoscience and used as a means of fortune telling and matchmaking.

Astro = star

Nomos = law

It is one of the oldest sciences.

Following the instructions of an old television show that stated "If you build it, they will come", I went and created a facebook group called the African Society for Space Exploration...only 5 people (other than myself) joined.

Not even my own family joined.

Then again, I don't blame them. Astronomy is not exactly the most exciting subject. Besides, I don't even have my own telescope, thoughtless of a space ship.

So, I settled for joining the Egyptian Astronomy club.

Astronomy is actually one of the oldest sciences, and despite the lack of recent advancements by African people in this field, Africans have also expressed an interest in the stars for generations.

The Igbo word for sun is anyawu. Stars is kpakpando. and the heavens is elu igwe.

I personally would love to see the day when a distant heavenly body was named "Chukwu butere ya" or something like that.

But I can't even get a hold of a telescope.

Facts about African Americans and Astronomy

• Benjamin Banneker was the first African-American astronomer
• Doctor Arthur Bertram Cuthbert Walker II - Famed solar physicist and x-ray astronomer who chaired the presidential commission that investigated the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.
• Doctor Harvey Washington Banks - First African American to Receive a Doctorate in Astronomy
• Robert Henry Lawrence - First African-American Astronaut.
• Guion "Guy" Bluford - First African-American in Space.
• Doctor Bernard Harris, Jr. - First African-American to walk in space.
• Frederick Gregory - First African American to pilot a spacecraft, First African-American to command a spacecraft.
• Doctor Mae Jemison - First African-American Woman in space.
• Doctor Neil deGrasse Tyson - First Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City (the youngest director in the long history of the planetarium).
• Doctor Ronald E. McNair - Hero lost aboard Space Shuttle Challenger.
• Michael P. Anderson - Hero lost aboard Space Shuttle Columbia.
• Doctor Beth A. Brown - NASA Astrophysicist.

(some of these names and data were collected from about.com)

Nigerians are also struggling to start an astronomy program despite many obstacles. Such as:

• mail doesn't arrive
• computers are rare
• journals are out of date
• equipment gets stolen
• and public doesn't care

That info is from World Beat.

If only NASA would donate telescopes to Nigerian school children.