Indian Institute of Astrophysics Bangalore

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), with its headquarters in

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

,is an autonomous Research Institute wholly financed by the department of Science and Technology, Government of India. IIA conducts research primarily in the areas of astronomy,

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

and related fields. The institute has a network of laboratories and observatories in India, including Kodaikanal (the

Kodaikanal Solar Observatory The Kodaikanal Solar Observatory is a solar observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is on the southern tip of the Palani Hills from Kodaikanal town. The Evershed effect was first detected at this observato ...

), Kavalur (the

Vainu Bappu Observatory The Vainu Bappu Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is located at Kavalur in the Javadi Hills, near Vaniyambadi in Tirupathur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It ...

Gauribidanur Gauribidanur is a taluk situated in Chikkaballapur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Geography Gauribidanur is at . It has an average elevation of 694 metres (2276 feet). Demographics India census A census is the proc ...

(the

Gauribidanur Radio Observatory The Gauribidanur Radio Observatory is a radio telescope observatory located at Gauribidanur, near Bengaluru. It is operated jointly by Raman Research Institute and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. The observatory has been in operation since ...

), Hanle (the Indian Astronomical Observatory) and Hosakote. IIA contributed to Astrosat, India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory. The Astrosat project is a collaborative effort of many different research institutions from India. The institute led the development of Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT).

Areas of research

Researchers at IIA work on a diverse set of topics related to Astronomy and Astrophysics. However, the research can be broadly classified under the following areas: * Sun & Solar System *

Stellar Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, ...

* Galactic Astronomy *

Extragalactic Astronomy Extragalactic astronomy is the branch of astronomy concerned with objects outside the Milky Way galaxy. In other words, it is the study of all astronomical objects which are not covered by galactic astronomy. The closest objects in extragalactic ...

& Cosmology * Theoretical Astrophysics & Physics * Techniques & Instrumentation * Space Astronomy

History

William Petrie William Petrie (1747 – 27 October 1816) was a British officer of the East India Company in Chennai (formerly Madras) during the 1780s, and was Governor of Prince of Wales Island (Penang Island) from 1812 to 1816. An amateur astronomer, Petrie he ...

(died: 1816), an officer of the East India Company set up private observatory in his residence located in Egmore, Chennai (formerly

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

), India. The main aim of the observatory, according to Petrie, was

"to provide navigational assistance to the company ships and help determine the longitudes by observing the eclipses of Moon and satellites of Jupiter".

In 1790, this private observatory was taken over by the East India Company, with

Michael Topping Michael Topping (1747–1796) was the Chief Marine Surveyor of Fort St. George in Chennai (then Madras) responsible for founding the oldest modern technical school outside Europe. The Survey School was completed on 17 May 1794, with an initi ...

(1747–96) as an astronomer. In 1792, the observatory was expanded and shifted to a complex in Nungambakkam area of Chennai. This was the first modern observatory outside Europe. As early as 1881, Mr. Blanford, then Meteorological Reporter to the government of India, recommended "the improvement of the work of solar observations in order to obtain accurate measures of the sun’s heating power at the earth’s surface and its periodic variations". In May 1882, the government astronomer at Madras,

Norman Robert Pogson Norman Robert Pogson, CIE (23 March 1829 – 23 June 1891) was an English astronomer who worked in India at the Madras observatory. He discovered several minor planets and made observations on comets. He introduced a mathematical scale of stel ...

, proposed the need for photography and

spectrography Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

of the sun and the stars using a twenty-inch telescope, which could be at a hill station in South India. On 20 July 1893 following a famine in Madras Presidency, which underscored the need for a study of the sun to better understand monsoon patterns, a meeting of the U.K. Secretary of State, Indian Observatories Committee, chaired by Lord Kelvin, decided to establish a solar physics observatory at Kodaikanal, based on its southern, dust free, high altitude location. Michie Smith was selected to be superintendent. Starting in 1895 there was a rapid transfer of work and equipment from the Madras Observatory to Kodaikanal and the observatory was founded on 1 April 1899. Later this Kodaikanal solar observatory become the foundation of modern Indian institute of Astrophysics. In 1968 a new field observatory was started at Kavalur for stellar spectroscopy and photometry. Expansion of activities and interests have led to the formation of the new optics, Electronics and data analysis centre at Bengaluru and the setting up at Gauri Bidanur of a large low frequency array for studies of galactic and extragalactic structure. In 1971, the former Astrophysical Observatory was converted to an autonomous research Institute wholly financed by the Government of India, and to be known henceforth as the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Presently, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics functions under the control of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Academics

The Institute awards two types of degrees. * PhD: * Integrated MTech-PhD

Notable faculty

Vainu Bappu Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu (10 August 1927 – 19 August 1982) was an Indian astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union. Bappu helped to establish several astronomical institutions in India, including the Vainu Bappu Ob ...

* Vinod KrishanRohini Godbole (editor), Ram Ramaswamy (editor) (31 October 2008). ''Lilavati's Daughters: The Women Scientists of India''. pp. 163–165, 359.

References

External links