IIA developing Solar Telescope at a cost of Rs 120 cr

Bangalore, July 1 (UNI) The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) is in the process of developing a solar telescope at a cost of Rs 120 crore to enable 'study of activities on the surface of solar atmosphere, its Director S S Hasan said today.

Speaking to newpersons after receiving the delivery of five indigenously built Gamma Ray telescopes from the city-based Avasarala Technologies Limited, here, he said IIA was at present developing the concept design of telescope.

''The proposed next-generation solar telescope will enable our scientists and astronomists to break-up light in varying number of wavelength bands received from the high resolution 50-km size from the solar atmosphere,'' he said.

He said the telescope would be developed in five years and at present 'site characterisation' was being done. The IIA had plans to install the telescope either at Hanle in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir or Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu.

He said countries like the US, Germany and China had evinced keen interest on the telescope and IIA had been holding informal talks with these countries in this regard.

Prof Hasan said that IIA also had plans to establish a 'Virtual Solar Observatory' at Hoskote near Bangalore, where the astronomical data received from all the astronomical Observatories, including that of HAGAR telescopes at Hanle in Ladakh region, were stored and processed.

To a question, he said indigenous designing and building of the Gamma Ray (HAGAR) telescope had brought in a cost advantage of over 300 per cent compared to imported telescopes.

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