1. Upcoming Facilities of IIA www.iiap.res.in
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is an international project involving India, the USA, Canada, Japan and China.
In the coming decades, TMT will explore the great mysteries of the Universe: black holes at the centre of galaxies, assembly of the first galaxies and their evolution, birth and death of stars, and planets around distant stars. However, the most intriguing may be the questions we cannot foresee. It is by probing the unknown that TMT will reach its full potential, taking astronomers and the public on new journeys of exploration.
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be the world’s most advanced ground-based observatory that will operate in optical and mid-infrared wavelengths. It will be equipped with the latest innovations in precision control, phased array of mirror segments and laser guide star assisted adaptive optics system.
National Large Solar Telescope (NLST).
ASTROSAT
ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated astronomy Satellite and is scheduled to launch on board the PSLV in Astrosat is currently proposed as a multi- wavelength astronomy mission on an IRS-class satellite into a near-Earth, equatorial orbit by the PSLV. The 4 instruments on-board cover the visible ( nm), near UV ( nm), far UV ( nm), soft X- ray (0.3-8 keV and 2-10 keV) and hard X-ray (3-80 keV and keV) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The satellite is a collaborative effort of the TIF, ISRO Satellite Centre, IIA, RRI, IUCAA and PRL, all of which are involved in the development of hardware for this mission. In addition, several centres of ISRO are involved in the designing of components and subsystems and several other institutes are involved in developing software for the mission. The Canadian Space Agency is also involved in the making of this satellite.
Aditya-1 is a scientific mission for solar studies. The major scientific objectives of the mission are to achieve a fundamental understanding of the physical processes that heat the solar corona, accelerate the solar wind and produce Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). It was conceived as a small satellite carrying only a coronagraph as a payload. In order to get the best science from the Sun, continuous viewing of the Sun is preferred. A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/ eclipses. Based on the technical studies, it was found that PSLV-XL developed at ISRO has the capability to launch a satellite which can be placed at a halo orbit around L1 point. Such a mission would also provide enhanced payload capability and hence can accommodate many other complementary payloads. The following six proposals have been short-listed which could form an optimum suite of experiments for such a mission.
Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), IIA, Bengaluru
Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), IUCAA, Pune
Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA), SPL/VSSC, Trivandrum
Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX), PRL, Ahmedabad
Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS), SAG/ISAC, Bengaluru
High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS), SAG/ISAC, Bengaluru
The main experiment will continue to be a coronagraph with improved capabilities. The main optics for this experiment remains the same.
ADITYA-1
IIA has initiated efforts towards building a modern major solar optical observational facility in the country, the National Large Solar Telescope (NLST). Efforts have been on since mid-2006 to locate prospective sites in India. Taking account the conditions required for solar observations, site characterization studies were conducted at Hanle, Pangong Tso (lake) and Devasthal.
A 2-m class, state-of-the-art solar telescope (NLST) has been proposed, which will permit Indian scientists to carry out cutting edge research aimed at understanding the fundamental processes taking place on the Sun. Its innovative design and backend instruments will enable observations with an unprecedented high spatial resolution that will provide crucial information on the nature of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere.
Indian Institute of Astrophysics II Block, Koramangala, Bangalore , INDIA
Poster Design: Prasanna Deshmukh