Mount Abu InfraRed Observatory

Mount Abu Observatory

Observatory as seen from Guru Shikhar.
Coordinates 24°39′17.34″N 72°46′45.18″E / 24.6548167°N 72.7792167°E / 24.6548167; 72.7792167Coordinates: 24°39′17.34″N 72°46′45.18″E / 24.6548167°N 72.7792167°E / 24.6548167; 72.7792167
Established 1990[1]
Website Physical Research Laboratory

The Mount Abu InfraRed Observatory is located near the town Mount Abu in the state of Rajasthan. The observatory is at an altitude of 1680 metres and is adjacent to Guru Shikhar, highest peak of the Aravalli Range. The 1.2 m Infrared Telescope[2] at Mount Abu is the first major facility in India specifically designed for ground based infrared observations of celestial objects. Further the low amount of precipitable water vapour (1–2 mm during winter) at Guru Shikhar makes it a good site for the infrared telescope observations. The site has been found to be good (about 150 cloud free nights per year) for astronomical observations.[3]

Location

The Observatory is located near Guru Shikhar, the highest peak of the Aravalli Range at an altitude of 1680 m.[1]

Observation

Mt. Abu has about 200 cloud-free nights of which 150 nights a year can be used for photometric observations.[4]

Facilities

Mt. Abu Observatory is equipped with a 1.2m Infrared Telescope along with the following back-end instruments: NICMOS Infrared Camera and Spectrograph, Imaging Fabry-Perot Spectrometer, high time resolution Infrared Photometer, Optical Polarimeter and Fibre-linked Grating Spectrograph.[5] A new high resolution optical spectrometer, PRL Advanced Radial-velocity All-sky Search (PARAS) to detect extrasolar planets using the radial velocity technique began observation in April 2012.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Shah, R. R.; N. S. Jog; D. V. Subhedhar; D. V. Subhedar; A. D. Bobra; H. T. Rangooni; S. N. Mathur; P. S. Patwal; et al. (2005). "The telescope control system at Mt. Abu infrared observatory" (PDF). Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India. 33: 237–243. Bibcode:2005BASI...33..237S. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Padmanabhan, Thanu (1997), New Challenges In Astrophysics, New Age International, p. 164, ISBN 978-81-224-1120-1
  3. ↑ Optical, Infrared and Radio Telescope Facilities in India. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Ramachandran, R (19 April 2013). "Indian search". Frontline. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "PRL — Astronomy & Astrophysics Division". PRL. Retrieved 9 February 2014.


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