Scientist who made Astrophysics read easy

NOTED astrophysicist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, globally acclaimed for the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity passed away in Pune on Tuesday.

- SUDHIR SURYAWANSHI @ Mumbai

NOTED astrophysicist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, globally acclaimed for the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity passed away in Pune on Tuesday. He was 87 and is survived by his three daughters, Geeta, Girija, and Leelavati.

He achieved international fame for his alternative cosmological theories that challenged the popular Big Bang model. He worked on gravity, Mach's Principle, quantum cosmology, and action-at-a-distance physics.

A passionate science communicator, he is credited with explaining a complex subject like astrophysics to lay-people and popularising it among students as well.

Narlikar was the founding director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and President of the Cosmology Commission of the International Astronomical Union from 1994 to 1997.