‘Indian astronomers collaborated with Nobel laureate on Thirty Meter Telescope project’
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Published: 13th Nov, 2020
Indian astronomers had worked closely with Nobel Laureate Andrea Ghez on the design of back-end instruments and possible
Context
Indian astronomers had worked closely with Nobel Laureate Andrea Ghez on the design of back-end instruments and possible science prospects of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project being installed at Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
About
What is TMT?
The saga of the TMT began in 2003, when a nonprofit partnership formed between two universities in California and counterparts in Japan, China, India and Canada.
The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity.
With its 30 m prime mirror diameter, TMT will be three times as wide, with nine times more area, than the largest currently existing visible-light telescope in the world.
This will provide unparalleled resolution with TMT images more than 12 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope.
When operational, TMT will provide new observational opportunities in essentially every field of astronomy and astrophysics.
Observing in wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared, this unique instrument will allow astronomers to address fundamental questions in astronomy ranging from understanding star and planet formation to unraveling the history of galaxies and the development of large-scale structure in the universe.
Who is building TMT?
The Thirty Meter Telescope is being designed and developed by the TMT International Observatory LLC (TIO).
The TIO is a non-profit international partnership between:
the California Institute of Technology
the University of California
the National Institutes of Natural Sciences of Japan
the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
the Department of Science and Technology of India
the National Research Council (Canada)
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a TIO Associate and major funding for TMT has been provided by the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.
The TIO will also run the TMT operations once the telescope is completed.