Scientific capabilities and advantages of the 3.6 meter optical telescope at Devasthal, Uttarakhand

Abstract

India’s largest 3.6 m aperture optical telescope has been successfully installed in the central Himalayan region at Devasthal, Nainital district, Uttarakhand. The primary mirror of the telescope uses the active optics technology. The back-end instruments, enabling spectroscopic and photometric imaging of the celestial sky are designed and developed by ARIES along with other Indian institutes. The Devasthal optical telescope in synergy with two other highly sensitive telescopes in the country, namely GMRT operating in the radio wavebands and AstroSat operating in the high-energy X-ray, ultraviolet and visual wavebands, will enable Indian astronomers to carry out scientific studies in several challenging areas of astronomy and astrophysics.