Brilliant Indian Scientists Revolutionize Astronomy with Groundbreaking Infrared Star Catalogue for Thirty Meter Telescope
Indian Scientists Create Infrared Star Catalogue Tool for Thirty Meter Telescope
A team of Indian scientists has developed an innovative open-source tool to generate an infrared star catalogue for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), a major astronomical project planned for construction on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This advancement, as announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology, represents a significant contribution to the international astronomy community.
The newly-created online tool will aid the Adaptive Optics (AO) system of the TMT, a telescope set to become one of the world’s largest in the next decade, in producing sharper and clearer astronomical images. India plays a pivotal role in the TMT project, with the India TMT Center at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru spearheading this national effort.
A critical component of the TMT’s AO system, known as the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), will be supported by a Laser Guide Star (LGS) facility. “This facility will project up to nine lasers into the sky to create artificial guide stars,” explained Dr. Sarang Shah from IIA. However, atmospheric turbulence poses a challenge, making it necessary for the AO system to receive feedback from three real stars, referred to as Natural Guide Stars (NGS), to correct these disruptions.
Ground-based telescopes often struggle with atmospheric distortion that can deteriorate captured image quality. The TMT, equipped with its cutting-edge AO system, will counter these effects by continuously adjusting to atmospheric changes, ensuring superior image clarity. Researchers at IIA have developed an automated program that can generate a catalogue of Near Infrared (NIR) stars by calculating expected NIR magnitudes from optical sky survey data.
“The automated code has shown significant promise in producing the all-sky catalogue of NIR stars required for TMT’s first operational phase,” noted Dr. Smitha Subramanian, a co-author and IIA faculty member. India’s involvement in the TMT project is a collaborative effort among three premier institutions: IIA Bengaluru, the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Pune, and the Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital.
Original Story https://www.thestatesman.com/technology/indian-scientists-develop-tool-to-generate-infrared-star-catalogue-for-thirty-meter-telescope-1503318718.html/amp
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