The 3.6m Devasthal (Hindi: देवस्थल) Optical Telescope is a clear-aperture

Ritchey–Chrétien telescope A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (RCT or simply RC) is a specialized variant of the Cassegrain telescope that has a hyperbolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror designed to eliminate off-axis optical errors (coma). The RCT has a wi ...

built by

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is a research institute in Nainital, Kumaon, India which specializes in astronomy, solar physics, astrophysics and atmospheric science. It is an autonomous body under the Depa ...

(ARIES) and is located at the

Devasthal Observatory Devasthal is an observatory in the district of Nainital, Kumaon, India. The literal meaning of the place is "abode of god". The observatory is situated in the Kumaon Himalayas at an altitude of 2450 meters. Devasthal peak is an emerging opti ...

site near Nainital, Kumaon, India. ARIES operates another 1.3m telescope at the same location. The telescope was activated remotely on 31 March 2016 by Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel from Brussels. The telescope optics were built in collaboration with the Belgian firm Advanced Mechanical and Optical System (AMOS). The 3.6m DOT is currently the largest reflecting telescope in Asia. The telescope intends to fill a large longitudinal gap in the 4m class of telescopes in the Asia region. The telescope features an optical spectrograph, a CCD imager and a near-infrared spectrograph. The telescope is also the first of its kind in India that features an

active optics Active optics is a technology used with reflecting telescopes developed in the 1980s, which actively shapes a telescope's mirrors to prevent deformation due to external influences such as wind, temperature, and mechanical stress. Without active op ...

system, featuring a wavefront sensor and pneumatic actuators which compensates for small distortions in the shape of the 4.3 tonne mirror due to gravity or atmospheric aberrations.

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* Optical telescopes Astronomical observatories in India {{telescope-stub

See also

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External links