US-India join project to build largest telescope

NEW DELHI: : India has
decided to formally join
a project to construct the
world’s largest telescope in
the US for which a budget
of Rs 700 crore has been
sanctioned by the Department
of Atomic Energy.
“India has already got the
status of an observer in the
project to construct the largest
telescope of 30-metre
aperture,” said a senior offi -
cial from the Earth Sciences
Ministry. The telescope will
have the capability to focus
sharply and collect data and
pictures.
Along with the US, Canada,
Japan and China are
members of the project and
have started the early construction
phase of the telescope,
which is expected
to be completed by 2019. In
2010, India decided to join
the project as an observer.
The telescope will be 10
times more powerful than
the world’s largest Hubble
telescope and will be fi tted
with high powered optical
spectrometer, infrared
imaging spectrometer and
infrared multi-object spectrometer.
Several Indian institutions
such as Indian Institute
of Astrophysics, Aryabhatta
Research Institute
of Observational Sciences,
Inter-University Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics
and Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research will
participate in the project.