MACE in Ladakh opens its one-of-a-kind eye to cosmic gamma rays.

Tags: Science and Technology

Ladakh

Why in the news?

• MACE in Ladakh opens its one-of-a-kind eye to cosmic gamma rays.

Important points:

• The telescope can examine high-energy gamma rays emitted beyond the Milky Way.
•  Other potential astrophysical targets include pulsars, blazars, and gamma-ray bursts. Scientists will also use MACE to explore one class of hypothetical dark-matter particles.
• The blue spot at the centre of the red ring is an isolated neutron star in the Small Magellanic Cloud. 
• Neutron stars are formed after heavy stars go supernova, in the process emitting gamma rays alongside radiation at other energies.

Objectives:

• MACE’s main goal is to study gamma rays with more than 20 billion eV of energy.

About Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE):

• The Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) telescope isa state-of-the-art ground-based gamma-ray telescope inaugurated in Hanle Ladakh, on October 4. Located at around 4.3 km above sea level, it is the highest imaging Cherenkov telescope in the world.
• It boasts ofa 21-metre-wide dish, the largest of its kind in Asia and second-largest in the world.
• The facility was built by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd., and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
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