Liquid-Mirror Telescope- India’s first International Liquid-Mirror Telescope (ILMT)

Liquid-Mirror Telescope- Relevance for UPSC Exam

Liquid-Mirror Telescope has been recently unveiled in India. Liquid-Mirror Telescope is relevant for UPSC examination as it is part of science and technology and its applications in India.

International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) in Devasthal, Nainital is the only liquid-mirror telescope operational anywhere in the world.

What is Liquid-Mirror Telescope?

• About: International Liquid-Mirror Telescope is India’s first liquid-mirror telescope, which has now entered the commissioning phase.
  • Liquid-Mirror Telescope is expected to start scientific observations sometime in October 2022.
  • International Liquid-Mirror Telescope is built by astronomers from India, Belgium and Canada
• Liquid-Mirror Telescope Location: International Liquid-Mirror Telescope is located on the campus of the Devasthal Observatory of the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital.
  • ARIES IS an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India in Nainital district, Uttarakhand.
• Objectives: International Liquid-Mirror Telescope (ILMT) will observe asteroids, supernovae, space debris and all other celestial objects from an altitude of 2,450 metres in the Himalayas.

International Liquid-Mirror Telescope (ILMT) Significance

• ILMT will also hold the unique tag of being the maiden liquid-telescope globally to be designed exclusively for astronomical purposes.
• ILMT will be the third telescope to be operating from Devasthal after-
  • The 3.6-metre Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) — the largest in India commissioned in 2016 and
  • The 1.3-metre Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) inaugurated in 2010.
• International Liquid-Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is the first liquid mirror telescope in the country and the largest in Asia.
• ILMT will help in surveying the sky making it possible toobserve several galaxies and other astronomical sources just by staring at the strip of sky that passes overhead.

SARAS 3 Radio Telescope

How Liquid-Mirror Telescope works?

• Liquid-Mirror Telescope is a novel instrument that employs a 4-meter-diameter rotating mirror made up of a thin film of liquid mercury to collect and focus light.
• Scientists spun a pool of mercury which is a reflective liquid, so that the surface curved into a parabolic shape which is ideal for focusing light.
• A thin transparent film of mylar protects the mercury from wind.
• The reflected light passes through a sophisticated multi-lens optical corrector that produces sharp images over a wide field of view.
• A large-format electronic camera located at the focus records the images.
• The rotation of the earth causes the images to drift across the camera, but this motion is compensated electronically by the camera.
• This mode of operation increases observing efficiency and makes the telescope particularly sensitive to faint and diffuse objects.

James Webb Telescope

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