National Large Solar Telescope

Last updated
National Large Solar Telescope
Location(s) Ladakh, India
Telescope style Gregorian telescope
solar telescope   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) is a Gregorian multi-purpose open telescope [1] proposed to be built in Merak village in Ladakh in India and aims to study the sun's microscopic structure. [2]

Contents

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is the nodal agency charged with various scientific bodies like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational-Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) also participating. [3]

Location

The proposed site for the location of the telescope is Merak village in Ladakh, India. The village is near Pangong Lake. [3]

Telescope

NLST is proposed to be on-axis alt-azimuth Gregorian multi-purpose open telescope with the provision of carrying out night time stellar observations using a spectrograph. [1] It hopes to resolve features on the Sun of the size of about 0.1 arcsec. The focal plane instruments are to include a high resolution polarimeteric package to measure polarization with an accuracy of 0.01 per cent; a high spectral resolution spectrograph to obtain spectra in 5 widely separated absorption lines simultaneously and high spatial resolution narrow band imagers in various lines. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Solar Telescope</span> Telescope on La Plama, Canary Islands

The Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope is a refracting solar telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma in the Canary Islands. It is run by the Institute for Solar Physics of Stockholm University. The primary element is a single fused silica lens, making it the largest optical refracting telescope in use in the world. The Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, with a lens diameter of 43 inches, is technically larger than Yerkes Observatory, only 39 inches are clear for the aperture. The SST is most often used as a Schupmann telescope, thereby correcting the chromatic aberrations of the singlet primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics</span> Institute for astronomical sciences in Pune, India

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) is an autonomous institution set up by the University Grants Commission of India to promote nucleation and growth of active groups in astronomy and astrophysics in Indian universities. IUCAA is located in the University of Pune campus next to the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, which operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. IUCAA has a campus designed by Indian architect Charles Correa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope</span> Astronomy observatorium

The Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) is located near the summit of Mauna Kea mountain on Hawaii's Big Island at an altitude of 4,204 meters, part of the Mauna Kea Observatory. Operational since 1979, the telescope is a Prime Focus/Cassegrain configuration with a usable aperture diameter of 3.58 metres (11.7 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Centre for Radio Astrophysics</span>

The National Centre for Radio Astrophysics is a research institution in India in the field of radio astronomy is located in the Pune University Campus, is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. NCRA has an active research program in many areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which includes studies of the Sun, Interplanetary scintillations, pulsars, the Interstellar medium, Active galaxies and cosmology and particularly in the specialized field of Radio Astronomy and Radio instrumentation. NCRA also provides exciting opportunities and challenges in engineering fields such as analog and digital electronics, signal processing, antenna design, telecommunication and software development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Astronomical Observatory</span> Astronomy station in Hanle, India

The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) is a high-altitude astronomy station located in Hanle, India and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Situated in the Western Himalayas at an elevation of 4,500 meters (14,764 ft), the IAO is one of the world's highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes. It is currently the tenth highest optical telescope in the world. It is India's first dark-sky preserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Astrophysics</span> Research institute in Bangalore, India

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), with its headquarters in Bengaluru, is an autonomous research institute wholly funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. IIA conducts research primarily in the areas of astronomy, astrophysics and related fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kodaikanal Solar Observatory</span> Observatory

The Kodaikanal Solar Observatory is a solar observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is on the southern tip of the Palani Hills 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Kodaikanal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vainu Bappu Observatory</span> Observatory

The Vainu Bappu Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is located at Kavalur in the Javadi Hills, near Vaniyambadi in Tirupathur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is 200 km south-west of Chennai and 175 km south-east of Bangalore.

Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics and astrophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konkoly Observatory</span> Observatory

Konkoly Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Budapest, Hungary is part of the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences and belongs to the HUN-REN Magyar Kutatási Hálózat. Konkoly Observatory was founded in 1871 by Hungarian astronomer Miklós Konkoly-Thege (1842–1916) as a private observatory, and was donated to the state in 1899. Konkoly Observatory, officially known as HUN-REN CSFK Konkoly Thege Miklós Csillagászati Intézet in Hungarian, is the largest astronomical research institute in Hungary, and hosts the largest telescopes in the country. The Observatory has more than 60 researchers, a quarter of them are non-Hungarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar telescope</span> Telescope used to observe the Sun

A solar telescope or a solar observatory is a special-purpose telescope used to observe the Sun. Solar telescopes usually detect light with wavelengths in, or not far outside, the visible spectrum. Obsolete names for Sun telescopes include heliograph and photoheliograph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope</span> Scientific facility at Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, US

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is a scientific facility for studies of the Sun at Haleakala Observatory on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Known as the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) until 2013, it was named after Daniel K. Inouye, a US Senator for Hawaii. It is the world's largest solar telescope, with a 4-meter aperture. The DKIST is funded by National Science Foundation and managed by the National Solar Observatory. The total project cost is $344.13 million. It is a collaboration of numerous research institutions. Some test images were released in January 2020. The end of construction and transition into scientific observations was announced in November 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory</span> Observatory in Azerbaijan

The Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory, named after Nasreddin Tusi of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan was established on November 17, 1959, by decree No. 975 of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR. ShAO operates as a research institute within the ANAS Department of Physical, Mathematical, and Technical Sciences. The Observatory is located in the north-east of the Greater Caucasus Range, 150 km from the city of Baku, in the eastern part of Mount Pirkuli, at an altitude of 1435–1500 m above sea level, in geographical coordinates λ = 48⁰ 35' 04" E, φ = 40⁰ 46 '20"N. Here the number of clear nights suitable for observation reaches 150-180 per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam</span> Research facility for astrophysics

Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is a German research institute. It is the successor of the Berlin Observatory founded in 1700 and of the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam (AOP) founded in 1874. The latter was the world's first observatory to emphasize explicitly the research area of astrophysics. The AIP was founded in 1992, in a re-structuring following the German reunification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), also called Explorer 94 and SMEX-12, is a NASA solar observation satellite. The mission was funded through the Small Explorer program to investigate the physical conditions of the solar limb, particularly the interface region made up of the chromosphere and transition region. The spacecraft consists of a satellite bus and spectrometer built by the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), and a telescope provided by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). IRIS is operated by LMSAL and NASA's Ames Research Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gauribidanur Radio Observatory</span> Observatory

The Gauribidanur Radio Observatory is a radio telescope observatory located at Gauribidanur, near Bengaluru. It is operated jointly by Raman Research Institute and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. The observatory has been in operation since 1976.

Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment Telescope (MACE) is an imaging atmospheric Cerenkov telescope (IACT) located near Hanle, Ladakh, India. It is the highest and second largest Cerenkov telescope in the world. It was built by Electronics Corporation of India, Hyderabad, for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and was assembled at the campus of Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle. It was originally scheduled to become operational by 2016, but plans were pushed back to begin operations in 2020. It will be remotely operated and will run on solar power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor</span> Proposed NASA space telescope

The Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor, commonly known as LUVOIR, is a multi-wavelength space telescope concept being developed by NASA under the leadership of a Science and Technology Definition Team. It is one of four large astrophysics space mission concepts studied in preparation for the National Academy of Sciences 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey.

Merak is a village on the southern banks of Pangong Tso, near Spangmik on the south India-China border in the Leh District, Ladakh.

References

  1. 1 2 Hasan, S. S. (1 February 2010). "The Indian National Large Solar Telescope (NLST)". NASA/ADS. 264: 499–504. doi:10.1017/S1743921309993206.
  2. "India To Build World's Largest Solar Telescope". Spacedaily.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  3. 1 2 IANS (2 September 2010). "India to build world's largest solar telescope". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  4. Singh, J. Proposed National Solar Telescope Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy, Vol. 29, No. 1 - 2, pp. 345 - 351