Astronomy can be considered as one of the oldest sciences, as throughout the ages mankind has had a fascination

for observing the night sky and recording the movements of the heavenly objects. It can also be considered as one of the
youngest and evolving sciences as we are yet to unfold several mysteries of the universe. Astronomy has developed from
bare naked eye observations in the past to the use of sophisticated instruments, like large telescopes, better imaging
devices, satellites and space missions in the recent times. Research in the field of Astronomy requires large number of
dedicated individuals to incorporate ideas and take the quest of understanding the universe to the next level. In the
present scenario, fewer students are motivated to take up astronomy as a research option, the main reason being lack of
awareness of the facilities and the challenges offered in this field.
Astroproject is an initiative to develop a documentary series on Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science related
research in India. The project received sanction from the International Astronomical Union Office of Astronomy for
Development (OAD) .
The project concerns with documenting the Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science Research Institutions along
with their facilities across the Country. On completion we shall extensively popularize these films in Schools, Colleges,
Universities, Conferences, scientific gatherings and also broadcast on Local/ National Media along with online uploads.
The produced films shall be in public domain and shall be distributed freely.
Help us in propagating Astronomy across the world, Come be a part of Astroproject!!

www.astroproject.in

Vainu Bappu Telescope Kavalur Tamil Nadu

The Vainu Bappu telescope has played a vital role in studying the Universe. The telescope has an aperture of 2.34 Meter with two foci, a f/3.5
prime focus and a f/13 Cassegrain focus. Several instruments are mounted on the telescope of which the fibre fed high resolution Echelle
spectrograph has been extensively used. This telescope was dedicated to the nation in Bappus memory in January 1986 by the then Prime
Minister, late Shri. Rajiv Gandhi.

January 2015
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Solar Tunnel Telescope Kodaikanal Tamil Nadu

The Solar Tunnel telescope, housed at the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory is a coelostat, the 3 identical mirrors diverts the Sun light through a 60
Metre long underground tunnel onto a 38cm, f/90 achromat lens, a lens that forms a 34cm diameter image of the Sun and which provides a high
spatial resolution. The tunnel enables one to understand the magnetic field in the sunspots and complex movement of gases in Solar atmosphere.

February 2015
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Mt Abu Infrared Observatory Mt Abu Rajasthan

The observatory is located (1680 mts) on the highest peak of the Aravalli range, at the Gurushikhar peak (1,722 mts) .Low precipitation and close
proximity to the Thar desert makes this site dry enough for carrying out Optical and Infra-Red observations with 1.2 Meter Optical & Infrared
telescope that was indigenously built in India. The observatory also uses a 50 cm CDK telescope for photometric and polarimetric observations.

March 2015
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Indian Astronomical Observatory Hanle Jammu & Kashmir

Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) is one of the highest sites for optical, infra red and gamma ray telescopes. Situated at a height of 14,746
feet above mean sea level, the IAO houses the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT), a 2.01 meter Optical, Infra-red telescope that continuously
monitors the night sky .

April 2015
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Udaipur Solar Observatory Udaipur Rajasthan

Located on a small manmade island in the middle of the Lake Fatehsagar in Udaipur, the Udaipur Solar Observatory came into existence in the year
1975. Built with the objective to constantly monitor the Sun, the observatory was designed as per the model of the Big Bear Solar observatory at
Southern California.

May 2015
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Jantar Mantar Delhi

The Jantar Mantar, a collection of astronomical instruments built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the early eighteenth century, is an open-air observatory. Originally
called as Yantra Mantra, the observatory was constructed on flat ground, free of any obstacles to ensure that no shadows obstructed the use of the instruments. To
reaffirm the readings in Delhi, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II constructed four more observatories, one each at Mathura, Ujjain, Benaras and Jaipur. The Delhi Jantar
Mantar observatory has primarily, the Samrat Yantra, Ram Yantra, Misra Yantra, Jai Prakash Yantra and several other positional astronomy instruments.

June 2015
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Devasthal Observatory Devasthal Uttarkand

The Devasthal peak is one of the emerging astronomical sites for Indian Astronomers. The Site currently houses a 1.3 meter optical telescope.
Construction for the Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) is currently in progress. Once complete the 3.6meter DOT telescope will emerge as the
largest optical telescope in the country. The sites are managed by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital.

July 2015
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Ooty Radio Telescope Ooty Tamil Nadu

Situated in the most famous hill station of South India, Udhagamandalam, also known as Ooty. The telescope was constructed indigenously in the
early 1970's. The Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT) is a cylindrical parabolic reflecting surface made up of 1100 thin stainless steel wires, each of 0.38
mm in diameter, 530m long and 30m wide. The telescope is positioned on a hill slope, with an inclination of about 11degree in the north-south
direction, which is same as the latitude of Ooty, therefore making it possible to track celestial object for a longer time by simply rotating the
antenna mechanically along its long axis.

August 2015
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Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope Narayangaon Maharashtra

About 80 km from Pune, close to a small town Narayangaon, lays an array of Radio telescope that forms the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope.
The array consists of 30 parabolic antenna with a diameter of 45 Metre each spread over a distance of 25kms, and operates over a range from 50
Mhz to 1.4 GHz with 5 band.

September 2015
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High Altitude Gamma Ray Observatory (HAGAR) Hanle Jammu & Kashmir
The Indian Astronomical Observatory is also home for the studies of the Universe in the gamma ray energies using the High Altitude Gamma Ray
Observatory ( HAGAR). The telescope is designed to detect very high energy gamma rays from astronomical sources through atmospheric
Cherenkov techniques. The HAGAR array consists of seven telescopes each with 7 para axially mounted front coated mirrors of 0.9m diameter
with UV sensitive photomultiplier tubes at the focus of each mirror. With a total light gathering area of 31 sq meters of all 7 telescopes, the
telescopes are deployed in the form of a hexagon with a spacing of 50m from the central telescope.

October 2015
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J C Bhattacharya Telescope Building Kavalur Tamil Nadu

The Vainu Bappu Observatory has recently installed a 1.3m telescope and it has been dedicated to Dr.J.C.Bhattacharya, a pioneer astrophysicist
and former director of Indian Institute of Astrophysics. The innovative design of the building regulates the temperature, thus avoiding the warm
air rising within the dome.

November 2015
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National Large Solar Telescope Site Marek Jammu & Kashmir

The proposed National Large Solar telescope Site is at Marek. On construction, NLST will be the largest solar telescope in the world. The site
characterisation is currently being undertaken to determine the seeing condition.

December 2015
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ASTROPROJECT

www.astroproject.in

astroproject

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