India’s First Liquid Mirror Telescope

Tags: Science and Technology

The country's and the world's first Liquid Mirror Telescope has been set up in Uttarakhand. This telescope has been set up on top of a hill in Devasthal Observatory located in Nainital.

• Through this telescope, it will be helpful to take information about supernova, gravitational lens and asteroids etc. in space.

• The Indian Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) will help in surveying the sky. 

• This will also make it easy to observe many galaxies and other astronomical sources.

• In 2017, with the help of countries like Belgium, Canada, Poland, Aeries started the International Liquid Mirror Telescope Project with the help of 500 million.

• What is a Liquid Mirror Telescope (LMT)?

• It has been made by India with the help of astronomers from Belgium and Canada.

• It is like a 4 metre diameter rotating mirror made of a thin film of liquid mercury, which collects and focuses the light.

• It has been installed at Devasthal Observatory at an altitude of 2450 metres above sea level.

• This observatory is situated in the Aryabhata Research Institute of Observational Science (ARIS), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science, Government of India.

• To prepare the telescope, scientists created a pool of mercury, which is a reflective liquid. This causes the surface of the telescope to become curved.

• This is ideal for focusing light.

• A thin transparent film over it protects the mercury from the air.

• It also has a large electronic camera, which records the images.

• The telescope was designed and built in Belgium by the Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems (AMOS) Corporation and the Center Spatial de Lige.

• This telescope has taken a clear picture of the NGC 4274 galaxy, 95 thousand light years away.

• Along with this, it has also easily captured the stars of the Milky Way in the camera.