Indian Researchers Revolutionize Astronomy: Groundbreaking Infrared Star Mapping for Thirty Meter Telescope Unveiled!
A team of Indian scientists has created an open-source tool to generate an infrared star catalogue for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), a planned observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced on Tuesday.
The new tool aims to facilitate the development of a comprehensive star catalogue for the Adaptive Optics (AO) system of the TMT, one of the largest ground-based telescopes expected to become operational in the next decade. This enhancement will enable the TMT to produce sharper astronomical images.
India plays a significant role in the TMT project, with the India TMT Center at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru spearheading national collaboration efforts.
“The AO system on the TMT, designated as the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), will be supported by a Laser Guide Star (LGS) facility,” explained Dr. Sarang Shah from IIA. This facility will project up to nine lasers into the sky to generate artificial guide stars. However, atmospheric turbulence can impact these laser beams, making atmospheric tip-tilt measurements uncertain. To mitigate this, the AO system requires feedback from three real stars, known as Natural Guide Stars (NGS), noted Shah in research published in the Astronomical Journal.
Ground-based telescopes often contend with atmospheric distortion that affects image quality. The TMT will incorporate an Adaptive Optics system that continuously adjusts for atmospheric changes, ensuring high-quality images. Researchers at IIA and their collaborators have developed automated code to serve as an online tool for creating a Near Infrared (NIR) star catalogue.
“The automated code can calculate the expected near-infrared magnitudes of stellar sources based on their optical magnitudes from various sky surveys,” said Dr. Smitha Subramanian, co-author and IIA faculty member.
Shah added that the method shows great promise for generating the extensive all-sky NIR star catalogue needed before TMT’s first run, projected for the next decade.
India’s contribution to the TMT project includes collaboration from three institutes: the IIA in Bengaluru, the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, and the Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital.
Original Story https://www.indiatvnews.com/amp/science/indian-researchers-innovate-infrared-star-mapping-for-thirty-meter-telescope-2024-07-10-941140
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