Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Encyclopedia
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n universities. IUCAA is located in the University of Pune
University of Pune
The University of Pune , is a university located in northwestern Pune, India. It was founded in 1949. Spread over a campus, the university is home to 46 academic departments...
campus next to the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
India's National Centre for Radio Astrophysics , located on the Pune University Campus, is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. NCRA carries out research in the specialized field of Radio Astronomy and Radio instrumentation...
, which operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope , located near Pune in India, is the world's largest, array of radio telescopes at metre wavelengths. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.-Location:The GMRT is located around...
.
IUCAA has a campus designed by Indian architect Charles Correa.
History
After the founding of the Giant Metrewave Radio TelescopeGiant Metrewave Radio Telescope
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope , located near Pune in India, is the world's largest, array of radio telescopes at metre wavelengths. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.-Location:The GMRT is located around...
(GMRT) by Prof. Govind Swarup
Govind Swarup
Professor Govind Swarup, of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research , is an internationally renowned radio astronomer and one of the pioneers of radio astronomy...
, a common research facility for astronomy and astrophysics was proposed by Dr. Yash Pal
Yash Pal
Yash Pal is an Indian scientist and educator. He was raised in Pai, Kaithal, Haryana , graduated with a degree in physics from Panjab University, Chandigarh in 1949 and gained a PhD degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1958.Yash Pal has held many positions within...
of the planning commission. Working on this idea, astrophysicist Prof. Jayant Narlikar, along with Ajit Kembhavi and Naresh Dadhich
Naresh Dadhich (physicist)
For the humanities professor of the same name, see Naresh Dadhich .Naresh Dadhich is a theoretical physicist and Emeritus Professor at Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics . He was also the director of IUCAA until August 31, 2009.Naresh Dadhich was born in Sarsali in Churu...
set up IUCAA within the Pune University campus. in 1992.
In 2002, IUCAA initiated a nation-wide campaign to popularize astronomy and astrophysics in colleges and universities. IUCAA arranged visitor programs for universities in Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
(Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
), Thiruvalla (Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
), Siliguri
Siliguri
Siliguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck - a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north-eastern states. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal,...
(West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
) and others, along with a tie-up with the Ferguson college, Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
.
In 2004, IUCAA set up the Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika (Exlporatorium), a science popularization initiative, with a grant from the Pu La Deshpande foundation. The center is open to all school students from Pune. IUCAA was declared the nodal center for India to coordinate the year-long celebrations for the International Year of Astronomy.
IUCAA was headed for its first decade by Jayant Narlikar, then by Prof. Naresh Dadhich, and from September 2009, by Prof. Ajit Kembhavi.
Research
Scientists at IUCAA carry out research in a wide range of areas in astronomy, astrophysics and physics. IUCAA has active research groups in fields like classicalGeneral relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
and quantum gravity
Quantum gravity
Quantum gravity is the field of theoretical physics which attempts to develop scientific models that unify quantum mechanics with general relativity...
, cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, gravitational waves, optical and radio astronomy
Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of...
, solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
physics and instrumentation.
Facilities
IUCAA, along with Persistent systemsPersistent Systems
Persistent Systems is a business based in Pune, India, that sells outsourced software development. It was established in 1990. Persistent has over 6,800 employees and 300 customers spread across North America, Europe, and Asia. -History:...
, Pune, operates the Virtual Observatory project. The observatory provides users access to raw observational data along with advanced processing software designed by engineers at Persitent.
IUCAA also maintains Girawali Observatory
Girawali Observatory
IUCAA Girawali Observatory is an optical astronomy observatory run by the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics , Pune. The Observatory is located about 80 km from Pune City, off the Pune Nashik Highway.-History:...
which is about 80 km from Pune city, off Pune-Nasik Road and near the historical Junnar
Junnar
Junnar is a city with thousands of years of history in the Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a taluka headquarter. Situated at the base of the Sahyadri mountains, it is around 100 km east of Mumbai and 94 km north of Pune...
town. In addition to catering to the needs of astronomers in general, this observatory is unique in setting aside a certain amount of time specifically for training as well as observational proposals arising from Indian Universities. The telescope has a primary mirror
Primary mirror
A primary mirror is the principal light-gathering surface of a reflecting telescope.-Description:The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is a spherical or parabolic shaped disks of polished reflective metal , or in later telescopes, glass or other material coated with a reflective layer...
of diameter 2 meter, f/3 and a secondary of 60 cm, f/10. IUCAA Faint Object Spectrograph & Camera (IFOSC) is the main instrument available on the telescope's direct Cassegrain
Cassegrain reflector
The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas....
port currently.
IUCAA, along with the Raman Research Institute
Raman Research Institute
Raman Research Institute is a research institute in Bangalore, India. It was started by Nobel laureate Sir C. V. Raman.The main areas of research are:*Astronomy and Astrophysics*Liquid Crystals*Theoretical Physics*Optics...
and Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Indian Institute of Astrophysics
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics , with its headquarters in Bangalore , India, is a premier national institute of India for the study of and research into topics pertaining to astronomy, astrophysics and related subjects....
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, declared a proposal to take a ten percent stake in the Large Telecope Project, which would allow Indian astronomers access to major upcoming observatories such as the Giant Magellan Telescope
Giant Magellan Telescope
The Giant Magellan Telescope is a ground-based extremely large telescope planned for completion in 2018. It will consist of seven diameter primary segments, with the resolving power of a primary mirror and collecting area equivalent to one...
(GMT), the Thirty Meter Telescope
Thirty meter telescope
The Thirty Metre Telescope is a proposed ground-based large segmented mirror reflecting telescope to be built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The telescope is designed for observations from the near-ultraviolet to the mid-infrared . An adaptive optics system would correct for image blur caused by the...
(TMT) and the European Extremely Large Telescope (EELT).
Science popularization
The SciPop initiative was set up by Prof. Jayant Narlikar along with N. C. Rana and Arvind Paranjpe. SciPop, based out of the Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika building, provides educational facilities for school students, teachers and amateur astronomers. IUCAA organizes the open Science day program every year on 28 February, in which members of the general public can visit the institute to take a look at ongoing research and contemporary work hapenning elsewhere in the world. IUCAA was one of the few Indian research institutes to start a science popularization program, and other organisations such as the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, and TIFR, MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
started similar public outreach programmes in the wake of its success.
People
Notable people associated with IUCAA:- Jayant Narlikar, founding director
- Naresh DadhichNaresh Dadhich (physicist)For the humanities professor of the same name, see Naresh Dadhich .Naresh Dadhich is a theoretical physicist and Emeritus Professor at Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics . He was also the director of IUCAA until August 31, 2009.Naresh Dadhich was born in Sarsali in Churu...
, physicist, Fellow of the Indian Academy of SciencesIndian Academy of SciencesThe Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Sir C. V. Raman, and was registered as a Society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meeting of Fellows, held on the same day, elected Professor Raman as President, and adopted... - Thanu PadmanabhanThanu PadmanabhanThanu Padmanabhan is an Indian theoretical physicist. He is currently Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, at Pune, India. His principal fields of research are Cosmology and the interface between Gravity and Quantum theory...
, Padma ShriPadma ShriPadma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
award winning astrophysicist