She analyses the myth of moon madness on humans and animals

To me, the full moon is at its ultimate, beautiful best when it rises over a Caribbean beach on a clear, star-filled night. Magnificent, a glittering orb tinged with gold, it appears over the horizon and then, rising higher and higher, it shines down on silver-tipped waves and shadowed sands. Is it any wonder that Earth’s satellite was worshipped as a goddess by the first inhabitants of the West Indies, or that its motions were accurately recorded by many ancient cultures?” Compelling words of Dr Maura Patricia Imbert, President of the Astronomical Society of Trinidad and Tobago. On July 19, 2003, the Imbert-Barrow Observatory, erected at the top of Mount St Benedict to house a brand new 12-inch telescope donated by UNESCO to the TT Astronomical Society, was opened to sponsors and specially invited guests. Among the numerous features of this impressive telescope is that it is fully computerised and can store as much as 60,000 objects in its database.

A founding member and president since 1972, Maura co-authored two pioneering texts on observational astronomy in the Caribbean, Trinidadian Skies and Tropical Skies. In 1998 she published Caribbean Skies and is currently working on a companion volume, The Caribbean Moon. The size of this lady’s portfolio contrasts sharply with her diminutive stature. For years she has been teaching classes in basic astronomy at the School of Continuing Studies, writing articles for newspapers and magazines, doing consultancy research projects in addition to pursuing her passion for astronomy. Dr Imbert talks fluently about planets, asteroids and meteors, comets, the sun, stars, galaxies, Black holes and how lucky we are in the Caribbean that we can see almost the entire celestial sphere. Aptly called the Star Lady by many, she recalls memorable events witnessed by the society, among hem Halley’s comet in 1986 when a noted astronomer, Dr Fred Whipple came to Trinidad with 300 Americans to view this comet in our skies. In Tobago, on September 8, 2001, Maura played an integral part in the videotaping of a once in a lifetime astronomical event: the occultation of a star by Titania, one of the moons of the planet Uranus. The Trinidad and Tobago team’s precise taping of Titania being eclipsed by a star is a precious recording, which was made available to international astronomical societies and featured on several Internet websites. She was also present in Antigua on March 20, 2001 at the Spring Equinox, on the invitation of the government there to investigate the possibility of the existence of a tropical Stonehenge on the island.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Maura holds a doctorate in Biochemistry and is now pursuing a Masters degree in Astronomy. “I have always been interested in astronomy since I was 12 or 13; I don’t know why, since none of my family was involved in this; so that when I got married and moved to Barbados in the early sixties and when I found there was an active astronomical society there, I joined. When we moved to Trinidad in 1964, I got together with some very interested persons and our society here was born. The first President was Dr Russel Barrow, hence the name of the observatory.” Her dedication, enthusiasm and passion for the skies are obvious — “Our skies are so wonderfully placed, if I can put it like that. You see, we are 10 degrees North of the Equator, so we can see Polaris, and 80 degrees South, so we can see almost the whole sky. We can see constellations that people in other countries cannot see. Stargazers in North America and Britain can never see many of the glorious southern constellations, so they’re always fascinated seeing them here. On the other hand, there are northern constellations like Ursa Major the Big Dipper that people in Australia can never glimpse, so when they come to visit, they are always captivated by what they can see here. Our new observatory, built at Mt St Benedict with the kind permission of the Abbot, is ideal for our sessions. There is a viewing deck with a wonderful picture of our skies. We have a mandate from UNESCO to popularise our mission and so we plan to have astro weekends for secondary school children.”

In a recent magazine article entitled By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Maura confirms common beliefs about lunar influence on high and low tides in the ocean and carefully analyses the myth of moon-madness in human beings and animals. The moon is reputed to affect mammals, and many predators are more active at full moon, including wolves. A recent research project carried out in the United Kingdom records findings that in over 1,000 cases of hospital treatment of dog bites researched, there was s direct correlation between the time when the bites occurred and full moon phase! Maura fondly recalls her initiation into West Indian living, first in Antigua and later in Barbados where she taught chemistry. Among her noted students was, in later years, the Prime Minister of Antigua Lester Bird, who remembers her as his “school ma’am with the pink cheeks.” A family of unique Caribbean heritage, Maura’s husband was born in St Lucia, her two sons in Antigua, only daughter in Barbados and single grandchild in Trinidad. “As a young girl, to my mom’s horror, I did rock climbing. This was my pride and joy. In fact, if I didn’t get married and move here to the West Indies, I had definite plans to go climbing in the Alps,” she chuckles. Her hobbies are as varied as the interests of this fascinating woman. She does extensive gardening, has a love for music (used to play the viola in her university ensemble) in addition to sailing occasionally being a member of the Yachting Association of Trinidad and Tobago.

Maura says that the field of astronomy, though considered exotic, is not really so. She has discerned a genuine interest, especially among young people, in this field. She specifies that the only stipulation to becoming a member of the TT Astronomical Society is a liking for astronomy. Among her present batch of students at the School of Continuing Studies in St Augustine are some who are very active, keen and enthusiastic who can easily take over from her, as she says, “I’m ready to ride off into the sunset.” She is very interested in local medicinal plants and among her non-astronomical achievements, Maura developed a patented three-spice extract that can act as a substitute for chemical preservatives in certain beverages — this has been incorporated into a successful local soft drink. She has done a lot of work with the aloe plant and on a trip to Zimbabwe, met with practitioners of traditional medicine (previously known as witch doctors) who showed keen interest in what we do here in terms of herbal medicines.

Now working on research for her thesis, Maura has chosen Arawak astronomy. In fact, on a walk at the top of a hill in Antigua years ago, she stumbled on remains of what might have been an ancient astronomical observatory. Archaeologists dug up many Arawak artifacts on the site. Megaliths and sacrificial altars to the moon and sun gods, which the Arawaks worshipped centuries ago, were also found on the site. Her research is in analysing and collating data collected from these findings. In spite of her diverse interests, Maura’s love and passion for astronomy seeps through her every conversation. The “Star Lady” spent months personally supervising construction of the building to house the Trinidad and Tobago Astronomical Society’s newest telescope: her pride and joy, a legacy for future local astronomers.