Jyotirvidya Parisanstha (known as JVP to people of Pune, India and to most of the Indian amateur astronomers) is an association of amateur astronomers. On August 22, 1944 some eminent citizens of Pune formed JVP, primarily for the spread of knowledge of astronomy among the public and also to make their own contribution as far as possible. It was the first association of its kind and remained so far for a few decades. Right from conception, JVP has been actively working for the propagation of astronomy in purely scientific temperament. JVP is the first Amateur Association to Host the ALL INDIA AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS MEET in 1991 and the first All India Messier Marathon in 2012.
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2014
Study Tour to GMRT and IUCAA Observatory - Jyotirvidya Parisanstha organized a study tour to Giant meterwave Radio Telescope GMRT at Khodad, and IUCAA Girawali Observatory, Girawali; both near Narayangaon, Pune on Sunday May 25, 2014. GMRT is the world’s largest array of radio telescopes at meter wavelengths. It contains 30 fully steerable 45 meter diameter antennas arranged in ‘Y’ shape with the diameter of nearly 25km. IUCAA Girawali Observatory has 2 meter optical and near-infrared telescope. Information given on construction and working of these telescopes. Dr. Divya Oberoi, Scientist, GMRT and Mr. Arvind Paranjpye, Director, Nehru Planetarium guided the tour.
Exhibition on Optical Observatories - An astronomical exhibition on “Optical Observatories - Infinity Focused with Giant Eye” was organized by Jyotirvidya Parisanstha, Pune during 19–21 September 2014 at “Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre, Opposite Mahatma Phule Museum, Ghole Road, Pune” (Timing: 9 am to 8 pm). The exhibition was inaugurated on 19 September 2014 at 11.00 am. The objective of the exhibition was to spread the knowledge regarding the astronomical observatories with large telescopes. In 1609, Galileo Galilei used telescope for astronomical purpose for the first time and since then the telescope observatories are becoming bigger and more advance. The exhibition provided information on basics of telescope, working of big observatories, amateur observatories, etc. Exhibition consisted of posters, models of some observatories, Jyotirvidya’s telescope setups, multimedia displays, short films, etc. Both day were busy with school students and residents and astronomy enthusiasts. Around 700 school students visited exhibition.
Photographs & Video from the event can be found on JVP's Facebook page.
The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 mi) west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With more than twenty optical and two radio telescopes, it is one of the largest gatherings of astronomical instruments in the Earth's northern hemisphere.
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum emitted by astronomical objects, just as optical telescopes are the main observing instrument used in traditional optical astronomy which studies the light wave portion of the spectrum coming from astronomical objects. Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes can be used in the daytime as well as at night.
Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology.
The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a 5,710-foot (1,740-meter) peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles.
McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facilities on Mount Fowlkes, approximately 1.3 kilometers (0.81 mi) to the northeast. The observatory is part of The University of Texas at Austin. It is an organized research unit of the College of Natural Sciences.
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) was the United States national observatory for ground-based nighttime ultraviolet-optical-infrared (OUVIR) astronomy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers. Professional astronomers from any country in the world could apply to use the telescopes operated by NOAO under the NSF's "open skies" policy.
The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), located near Narayangaon, Pune in India, is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths. It is the largest and most sensitive radio telescope array in the world at low frequencies. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. It was conceived and built under the direction of Late Prof. Govind Swarup during 1984 to 1996. It is an interferometric array with baselines of up to 25 kilometres (16 mi). It was recently upgraded with new receivers, after which it is also known as the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT).
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.
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.
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 (see List of highest astronomical observatories) highest optical telescope in the world. It is India's first dark-sky preserve.
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a planned extremely large telescope (ELT) that has become controversial due to its location on Mauna Kea, on the island of Hawaiʻi. The TMT would become the largest visible-light telescope on Mauna Kea.
An astronomical interferometer or telescope array is a set of separate telescopes, mirror segments, or radio telescope antennas that work together as a single telescope to provide higher resolution images of astronomical objects such as stars, nebulas and galaxies by means of interferometry. The advantage of this technique is that it can theoretically produce images with the angular resolution of a huge telescope with an aperture equal to the separation, called baseline, between the component telescopes. The main drawback is that it does not collect as much light as the complete instrument's mirror. Thus it is mainly useful for fine resolution of more luminous astronomical objects, such as close binary stars. Another drawback is that the maximum angular size of a detectable emission source is limited by the minimum gap between detectors in the collector array.
A solar telescope 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.
AstroSat is India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space telescope. It was launched on a PSLV-XL on 28 September 2015. With the success of this satellite, ISRO has proposed launching AstroSat-2 as a successor for AstroSat.
Govind Swarup was a pioneer in radio astronomy. In addition to research contributions in multiple areas of astronomy and astrophysics, he was a driving force behind the building of "ingenious, innovative and powerful observational facilities for front-line research in radio astronomy".
IUCAA Girawali Observatory is an optical astronomy observatory run by the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, India. The Observatory is located about 80 km from Pune, off the Pune Nashik Highway in Girawali.
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand or NARIT is a research institute under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. NARIT is headquartered in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The main missions of the institute are to carry out, support, and promote the development of astronomy and astrophysics in Thailand through research, public outreach, and educational activities.
The Virtual Observatory India (VO-India) project is a collaboration between two participating institutes. i.e. Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and Persistent Systems Ltd., Pune. This project is supported by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India.
Asociación Argentina Amigos de la Astronomía is an amateur astronomy civil association based on Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the aim of spreading astronomy. It was founded on January 4, 1929 and its field courses are held on related subjects, research in collaboration with professional bodies and printed publications or multimedia, and recreational activities for the general public. The main-belt asteroid 4756 Asaramas was named in honor of the observatory.
Ajit Kembhavi is an Indian astrophysicist. He is presently a Professor Emeritus at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, (IUCAA) at Pune, India, of which he was also a founder member. He also serves as a Vice President of the International Astronomical Union. He is the Principal Investigator of Pune Knowledge Cluster along with Professor L. S. Shashidhara.
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