6/2/2016

WorldClassOpticalTelescope,andIndiasLargest,toBeActivatednearNainital|TheWire

FE ATURE D

World Class
Optical Telescope,
and Indias Largest,
to Be Activated
near Nainital
BY VASUDEVANMUK UNT HON30 /0 3/20 161COMMENT

ThelocationofDevasthal,Uttarkhand.Source:GoogleMaps

NewDelhi:Indiaslargestgroundbasedopticaltelescope,in
DevasthalinUttarakhand,willbeswitchedonMarch30bytheprime
ministersofIndiaandBelgiumfromBrussels,duringNarendra
Modisdaylongvisittothecountry.Thetelescopeistheproductof
anIndoBelgiancollaborativeeffort,assistedbytheRussianAcademy
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ofSciences,thatwaskickedoffin2007.Itisgoingtobeoperatedby
theAryabhattaResearchInstituteofObservationalSciences(ARIES),
anautonomousresearchbodyundertheDepartmentofScienceand
Technology.
Theinstrumentispartofawideningforayintoobservationalresearch
inastronomythatIndiahasundertakensincethe1960s,and
bolsteredwiththesuccessfullaunchofitsfirstmultiwavelength
satellite(ASTROSAT)inSeptember2015
(http://thewire.in/2015/09/28/pslvliftsoffwithindiasfirstastronomicalsatellite
11815/).AndapartfromthemeritsitwillaccordIndianastronomy,the

DevasthalopticaltelescopewillalsobeAsiaslargestground
basedopticaltelescope,succeedingtheVainuBappuObservatoryin
Kavalur,TamilNadu.
Itsdefiningfeature
willbea3.6metre
wideprimary
mirror,whichwill
collectlightfromits
fieldofviewand
focusitontoa0.9m
secondarymirror,
whichinturnwill
divertitintovarious
Ascanofthesketchofthe3.6mopticaltelescope.
Credit:ARIES

detectorsfor
analysis.This
arrangement,called
theRitchey

Chrtiendesign(http://thewire.in/2015/09/23/whyastrosatisnotindias
hubble11421/),isalsowhatASTROSATemploysbutwitha30cm

wideprimarymirror.Infact,bycontrast,themirrorsandsix
instrumentsofASTROSATallweigh1,500kgwhiletheDevasthal
telescopesprimarymirroraloneweighs4,000kg.
AbettercomparisonwouldbetheHubblespacetelescope.Itmanages
tocapturethestunningcosmicpanoramasitdoeswithaprimary
mirrorthats2.4mwide.However,Hubblesclarityismuchbetter
becauseitissituatedinspace,whereEarthsatmospherecant
interferewithwhatitsees.
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Nonetheless,theDevasthaltelescopeislocatedinarelatively
advantageouspositionforitselfatopapeak2.5kmhighinthe
WesternHimalaya,50kmwestofNainital.Apolicyreview
(http://www.aries.res.in/projects/3.6/NASL30209.pdf)publishedinJune

2007notesthatthelocationwaschosenfollowingextensivesurveys
inthecentralHimalayasfrom1980to2001.Thesesurveyscheckfor
localtemperatureandhumidityvariations,theamountof
atmosphericblurringandtheavailabilityofdarknights(meeting
somerigorousconditions
(http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/manuals/html_manuals/general/obs_
guide/node9.html))forobservations.Astheauthorofthepaperwrites,

Thesitehasauniqueadvantageofthegeographicallocation
conduciveforastronomicalobservationsofthoseopticaltransient
andvariablesourceswhichrequire24hcontinuousobservationsand
cannotbeobservedfrom[the]east,inAustralia,or[the]west,inLa
Palma,duetodaylight.

TheDevasthalopticaltelescopes3.6mprimarymirrorwithaholeinthemiddle,
throughwhichthesecondarymirrorwillfocusthelight.Credit:IIST

Fromthisperch,thetelescopeheldbyARIES
(http://www.aries.res.in/projects/)tobeofworldclasswillbeableto

logthephysicalandchemicalpropertiesofstarsandstarclusters
highenergyradiationemanatingfromsourceslikeblackholesand
theformationandpropertiesofexoplanets.Thedatawillbeanalysed
usingthreeattendantdetectors:
HighresolutionSpectrograph,developedbytheIndianInstitute
ofAstrophysics,Bengaluru
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WorldClassOpticalTelescope,andIndiasLargest,toBeActivatednearNainital|TheWire

NearInfraredImagingCamera,developedbytheTataInstituteof
FundamentalResearch,Mumbai
LowresolutionSpectroscopicCamera
IndiahascollaboratedwithaBelgiancompanycalledAMOSto
producethis[telescope],whichisthefirstofitskindinthewholeof
Asia,saidVikasSwarup,spokespersonoftheMinistryofExternal
Affairs,inastatement(http://mea.gov.in/mediabriefings.htm?
dtl/26569/Transcript+of+Media+Briefing+on+Prime+Ministers+visit+to+Belgium+U
S+and+Saudi+Arabia+March+28+2016).AMOS,anacronymforAdvanced

MechanicalandOpticalSystems,wascontractedin2007tobuildand
installthemirrors.TheassemblywasreadiedinMarch2015
(https://www.iist.ac.in/ess/spfgi/dotstatus201415.pdf).

WithModisandMichelsperformanceofthesocalledtechnical
activationtoturntheDevasthalinstrumenton,itwilljoinaclusterof
scopesattheIndianastronomicalresearchcommunitysdisposalto
surveytheskiesatvariouswavelengths.Someoftheseotherscopes
aretheGiantMetrewaveRadioTelescope,PuneMultiApplication
SolarTelescope(http://thewire.in/2015/07/08/atelescopethatgivesindiaa
newplaceinthesun5783/),UdaipurMACEgammaraytelescope,

HanleIndianAstronomicalObservatory,LehPachmarhiArrayof
CherenkovTelescopes,PachmarhiandtheOotyRadioTelescope,
Udhagamandalam.

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TheDevasthalopticaltelescopessupportingstructure,whichalsohoststhree
detectors,underaprotectivedome.Credit:IIST

Infact,overthelastfewyears,theIndianresearchcommunityhas
positioneditselfasanactiveplayerininternationalBigAstronomy.
In2009,itpitchedtohostathirdadvancedgravitationalwaves
observatory,followingtheinstallationoftwointheUS,andreceived
governmentalapproval(http://thewire.in/2016/03/25/indiasligodetectorhas
themoneyitneedsasiteinsightandacompletiondatetoo26006/)foritin

February2016.Second:inDecember2014
(http://www.nature.com/news/sevendays511december20141.16515),India

decidedtobecomeafullpartnerwiththeThirtyMeterTelescope
(TMT)collaboration,abidtoconstructanopticaltelescopewitha
primarymirror30metreswide.Afterfacingresistancefrom
thepeoplelivingaroundtheveneratedmountainMaunaKea,in
Hawaii,atopwhichitwassettobebuilt,therearetalksofsettingit
upinHanle(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Ladakhtoget
worldslargesttelescope/articleshow/51556329.cms).Third:inJanuary2015,

thecentralgovernmentgavethegoaheadtobuildaneutrino
observatory(http://thewire.in/2015/05/18/whyindianscienceprojectsmust
planforculturalconversationstoo1938/)(INO)inTheni,TamilNadu.This

projecthassincestalled(http://thewire.in/2015/10/06/physicsnobelrewards
neutrinoworkbuthasstinginthetailforindia12492/)forwantofvarious
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statelevelenvironmentalclearances.
Allthreeprojectsareatthecuttingedgeofmodernastronomy,
incorporatingtechniquesthathaveoriginatedinthisdecade,
techniquesthattakeamarkedbreakfromtheconventionsinuse
sincethedaysofGalileo.ThatModihasokayedthegravitational
wavesobservatoryisworthcelebratingbutthechoicesvarious
officialswillmakeconcerningtheINOandtheTMTarestillfarfrom
clear.

Whattoreadnext:

WhyASTROSATisNot
'India'sHubble'
In"Featured"

IndiatoPutitsFirst
DedicatedAstronomical
TelescopeinSpace
In"Space"

IndiasLIGODetector
HastheMoneyitNeeds,
aSiteinSight,anda
CompletionDateToo
In"Featured"

Categories:Featured(http://thewire.in/category/featured/),Space
(http://thewire.in/category/science/space/)

Taggedas:AryabhattaResearchInstituteofObservationalSciences
(http://thewire.in/tag/aryabhattaresearchinstituteofobservationalsciences/),astronomy
(http://thewire.in/tag/astronomy/),ASTROSAT(http://thewire.in/tag/astrosat/),Devasthal

opticaltelescope(http://thewire.in/tag/devasthalopticaltelescope/),RitcheyChrtiendesign
(http://thewire.in/tag/ritcheychretiendesign/),spectroscope(http://thewire.in/tag/spectroscope/),

ThirtyMeterTelescope(http://thewire.in/tag/thirtymetertelescope/)

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WorldClassOpticalTelescope,andIndiasLargest,toBeActivatednearNainital|TheWire

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Jointhediscussion
RamaKrishna 2monthsago

KudostotheDepartmentofScienceandTechnologyandthe
ExternalAffairsMinistry!Ifthelasttwobudgetspeechesareany
indication,plannedinvestmentsandcollaborationsinapplied
researcharepoisedtosoarunderPrimeMinisterModi.

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