📷 Image Credits: The Statesman
Indian scientists have developed an innovative tool to generate an infrared star catalogue for the upcoming Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in Hawaii, aimed at enhancing its astronomical imaging capabilities. The tool, created by researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru, is a critical contribution to the TMT project. The TMT, along with other groundbreaking telescopes like the Giant Magellan Telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope, represents the future of ground-based astronomy.
The Thirty Meter Telescope faces the challenge of atmospheric distortion, impacting the quality of captured images. To tackle this issue, the TMT will utilize an Adaptive Optics System (AOS) that continuously adjusts for atmospheric changes. One essential requirement for the AOS is a comprehensive star catalogue of Near Infrared (NIR) stars to enhance its performance. The lead researcher, Dr. Sarang Shah from IIA, highlighted the importance of Natural Guide Stars (NGS) for the AOS’s functionality.
The research team at IIA developed an automated code to create the NIR star catalogue, utilizing optical sky surveys data to predict near-infrared magnitudes of stellar sources accurately. Validating their approach with data from UKIDSS survey, they achieved over 85% accuracy in NIR magnitude predictions. This tool holds great promise in generating the required all-sky catalogue of NIR stars before the TMT’s first run scheduled for the upcoming decade.
India’s significant involvement in the TMT collaboration includes three institutes: IIA in Bengaluru, Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, and Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital. This remarkable research outcome is a testament to India’s growing prowess in the field of astronomy and astrophysics.
