Thirty Meter Telescope Unraveling Mysteries of the Universe

Ramya Sethuram & B.E. Reddy

IMG

“The great advances in science usually result from new tools rather than from new doctrines” - Freeman Dyson

 

When the human minds marvelled at the beauty of the night sky, they started building tools to probe deeper into the Universe. The tools initially simple, over time have become more and more sophisticated and complicated to build. A simple optical telescope which Galileo Galilee used just needed two simple lenses; a simple Newtonian Telescope needed few mirrors and a lens, which could be produced by the efforts of one or two individuals. A modern day optical telescope and its back-end instruments need the collaborative efforts of many engineers and scientists. This process has not only enriched both science and technology but has also benefitted society in ways that were never envisaged.

Currently, telescopes are being built across the entire range of electromagnetic spectra, each region posing its own technological and scientific challenges. Near and Far Infrared instruments need advanced cryogenics, while radio and submillimeter instruments need to be protected from radio interferences produced by humans, large optical telescopes need darker skies with minimal atmospheric turbulence (which owing to other advances in human development have become far and few), and the list goes on. Building of these instruments, testing them, deploying them and using them is now a highly collaborative effort involving teams of scientists and engineers from multiple countries. The Thirty Meter Telescope and its back-end instruments, in which India is a partner is one such prodigious effort…read more on NOPR