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Another gamma-ray telescope planned at Ladakh's Hanle
HYDERABAD: India plans to set up another gamma-ray telescope at Hanle, Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir in addition to the one that is ready to be transported for installation.
On Friday, a demonstration of the functioning of the Major Atmosphere Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) gamma-ray telescope was given to mediapersons at the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) here. This telescope built by ECIL with technology support from the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will be flagged off on Saturday. The MACE telescope will be transported in nearly 50 trucks to reach its destination Hanle, which is 2,500 km away from Hyderabad.
"Even though the MACE telescope is the second largest in the world, its performance will be comparable to that of the largest one in Namibia," said Ramesh Koul, head, astro physical sciences division, BARC said.
The MACE telescope is intended to detect flashes of Cherenkov light. "There are 150 sources of energy in the galaxy. The idea is to detect more," Ramesh Koul said adding that the practical application of the knowledge gained can be planned only later.
Ramesh Koul said the MACE telescope would look into deep space, which is millions of light years into the galaxy. The telescope would be set up and be functional by 2016. The telescope will be monitored remotely via satellite. After the initial scientific data comes from the experiment, India plans to set up one more telescope of the same dimensions in the same area.
The 21 metre diameter MACE telescope has been built at a cost of Rs 45 crore, which is half the cost of the one that a consortium of nations have set up in Namibia two years ago. The HESS telescope at Namibia has a diameter of 28 metres. "Through the experiments we conduct, we want to reveal the mysteries of nature, look at the origin of cosmic rays, dark matter, dark energy and black holes," he said. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also plans to launch the Astrosat, a multi-wavelength astronomy mission in 2015.
On Friday, a demonstration of the functioning of the Major Atmosphere Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) gamma-ray telescope was given to mediapersons at the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) here. This telescope built by ECIL with technology support from the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will be flagged off on Saturday. The MACE telescope will be transported in nearly 50 trucks to reach its destination Hanle, which is 2,500 km away from Hyderabad.
"Even though the MACE telescope is the second largest in the world, its performance will be comparable to that of the largest one in Namibia," said Ramesh Koul, head, astro physical sciences division, BARC said.
The MACE telescope is intended to detect flashes of Cherenkov light. "There are 150 sources of energy in the galaxy. The idea is to detect more," Ramesh Koul said adding that the practical application of the knowledge gained can be planned only later.
Ramesh Koul said the MACE telescope would look into deep space, which is millions of light years into the galaxy. The telescope would be set up and be functional by 2016. The telescope will be monitored remotely via satellite. After the initial scientific data comes from the experiment, India plans to set up one more telescope of the same dimensions in the same area.
The 21 metre diameter MACE telescope has been built at a cost of Rs 45 crore, which is half the cost of the one that a consortium of nations have set up in Namibia two years ago. The HESS telescope at Namibia has a diameter of 28 metres. "Through the experiments we conduct, we want to reveal the mysteries of nature, look at the origin of cosmic rays, dark matter, dark energy and black holes," he said. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also plans to launch the Astrosat, a multi-wavelength astronomy mission in 2015.
