• The GROWTH-India telescope is India’s first fully robotic optical research telescope, located at the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Ladakh. It is a 0.7m wide-field telescope used primarily for time-domain astronomy.
Q2: Who developed the GROWTH-India telescope?
• The telescope was developed through a joint partnership between the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), with funding support from DST-SERB, IUSSTF, and the IIT Bombay alumni batch of 1994.
Q3: What was the recent achievement of the GROWTH-India telescope?
• The telescope recently captured an image of a 116-meter, building-sized asteroid during its closest approach to Earth, which was 10 times the distance of the Moon. The rapid movement of the asteroid made background stars appear as streaks in the image.
Q4: What is the primary research focus of the GROWTH-India telescope?
• The primary research focus is time-domain astronomy, which involves the study of explosive transients and variable sources in the universe. This requires rapid observation capabilities and a wide field of view to capture transient events.
Q5: Why is rapid response important for the GROWTH-India telescope?
• Rapid response is crucial because the precise positions of new transient sources are often unknown. The telescope must start observations within the first 24 hours of discovering a transient event to capture critical data.
Q6: How does the GROWTH-India telescope benefit from its wide field of view?
• The wide field of view allows the telescope to image large areas of the sky, making it easier to locate and study transient events and new celestial sources quickly and accurately.
Q7: What support does the GROWTH-India telescope receive for its operations?
• Current operations are supported by DST-SERB, IUSSTF, and the IIT Bombay alumni batch of 1994. This support ensures the telescope can continue its cutting-edge research and observations.
Q8: How does the GROWTH-India telescope contribute to astronomical research?
• By enabling detailed observation of transient celestial events, the GROWTH-India telescope enhances our understanding of the universe, contributes to global astronomical research, and helps in the study of time-domain phenomena.
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