Why in News?

=> The director of Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Science (ARIES), Nainital, Prof. Dipankar Banerjee told that with the help of the four-meter diameter Liquid Mirror Telescope installed in Devasthal, Aries will help in uncovering the big mysteries of space.

Key Points:

=> Besides India it is a joint project of four other countries - Belgium, Canada, Poland and Uzbekistan.

=> Under the project which started in 2017, this telescope has been built at a cost of Rs. 50 crore.

=> In its first phase of testing, clear images of the NGC–4274 galaxy 95 thousand light-years away have been obtained, as well as clear pictures of the stars of its own Milky Way galaxy.

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.

By: ASRAF UDDIN AHMED