Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

• 19 Jul 2024

Source: TH

Why in News?

Recently, Indian researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru have developed a new online tool to create a comprehensive star catalogue for the Adaptive Optics System (AOS) of the upcoming Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

What are the Key Features of Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)?

• About:
  • It is an ambitious international project coming up at Mauna Kea in Hawaii, involving India, the US, Canada, China, and Japan that aims to advance the understanding of the universe significantly.
    • India is a key partner in the TMT project, with India TMT Center at IIA leading the national collaboration.  
  • The TMT is a next-generation astronomical observatory designed to provide unprecedented resolution and sensitivity with its massive 30-meter primary mirror, advanced adaptive optics system, and state-of-the-art instruments.
  • The TMT, the Giant Magellan Telescope, and the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope represent the future of ground-based astronomy.
• Primary Goals:
  • Study the early universe and the formation and evolution of the first galaxies and stars after the Big Bang.
  • Investigate the formation, structure, and evolution of galaxies across cosmic time.
  • Study the relationship between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.
  • Investigate the formation of stars and planetary systems.
  • Characterise exoplanets and study their atmospheres.

• Adaptive Optics System (AOS) and New Online Tool:
  • The TMT’s AOS, known as the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), uses deformable mirrors and laser guide stars (LGS) to correct atmospheric turbulence, enhancing image resolution.
  • This facility will project up to nine lasers into the sky to create artificial guide stars. However, atmospheric turbulence affects these laser beams, so measuring atmospheric tip-tilt is uncertain. 
    • To correct these effects, the AO system requires feedback from three real stars, known as Natural Guide Stars (NGS).
  • Researchers have developed an automated code that can be used as an online tool to create a catalogue of Near Infrared (NIR) stars.
    • The automated code can compute the expected near-infrared magnitudes of stellar sources identified in various optical sky surveys using their optical magnitudes.

Other Major Telescopes

• PRATUSH Telescope

• James Webb Telescope

• Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)

• Kodaikanal Solar Observatory

• Euclid Mission for Dark Matter and Dark Energy

• Tokyo Atacama Observatory

• 3-D Map of the Universe 

Other Similar Projects India is Part of

• CERN (European Council for Nuclear Research): Project of the “God particle” 
  • CMS: CMS is one of the experiments that discovered the Higgs Boson, or ‘God particle’
  • ALICE: ALICE created conditions that existed at the time of big bang
• International Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR): Studying the building blocks of matter and the evolution of the Universe. 
  • NUSTAR (Nuclear Structure, Astrophysics and Reactions)

  • CBM (Compressed Baryonic Matter)

  • PANDA (Antiproton Annihilation at Darmstadt)

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims:

Q1. In the context of modern scientific research, consider the following statements about ‘IceCube’, a particle detector located at South Pole, which was recently in the news: (2015)

1. It is the world’s largest neutrino detector, encompassing a cubic kilometre of ice.
2. It is a powerful telescope to search for dark matter.
3. It is buried deep in the ice.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1 only 

(b) 2 and 3 only 

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (d)

Q2. In the context of space technology, what is “Bhuvan”, recently in the news? (2010)

(a) A mini-satellite launched by ISRO to promote distance education in India

(b) The name given to the next Moon Impact Probe, for Chandrayan-II

(c) A geoportal of ISRO with 3D imaging capabilities of India

(d) A space telescope developed by India

Ans: C