Hello, my wonderful readers! Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics have now come up with an online cataloging tool for stars that would help the Thirty Meter Telescope based in Hawaii once it gets launch will the future. Results from the studies done in a Bengaluruised institute include a major contribution from India, a vital partner in the Thirty Meter Telescope project. The challenges that come with atmospheric distortion consequently must be overcome if high-quality images are to be delivered by ground-based telescopes, especially the Thirty Meter Telescope, which is among those with the highest light-collecting capacities.
It is for this reason that an adaptive optics system has been fitted with the Thirty Meter Telescope to counteract these distortions by continuously detecting and adjusting for changes in the atmosphere. An all-sky NIR star catalog can significantly improve the efficiency of this system. According to Dr. Sarang Shah of the IIA, the AOS on the Thirty Meter Telescope has a laser guide star facility that can project up to nine lasers into the sky to create artificial guide stars in the sky. “However, the atmospheric tip-tilt cannot be measured accurately because the atmospheric turbulence also disturbs these laser beams. To correct for these effects, the AOS needs input from three real stars or natural guide stars, lead researcher Shah said.
Simulations Indicated
In order to function at peak performance, the AOS requires three NGS, each as bright as 22 magnitudes in the near-infrared J waveband, to be present within its field of view, according to simulations. There is no single-star catalog providing NGS all over the sky. To be able to make an online NIR star catalog, an automated code was developed by the researchers at IIA and their collaborators. “This code uses the optical magnitudes of source stars taken from different optical sky surveys and derives the expected near-infrared magnitudes of the sources,” explained Smitha Subramanian, co-author and faculty at IIA. The researchers used multi-band optical photometry taken with the PAN-STARRS telescope in Hawaii to estimate the near-infrared magnitude for these stars after filtering.
The data from the UKIDSS survey of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope was used to check this method which proved fairly accurate with over 85% correct predictions. The India-Thirty Meter Telescope Coordination Centre, which is hosting the headquarters of the IIA, has conducted the research. The Astronomical Journal has reported the finding.
The Thirty Meter Telescope’s 30-meter primary mirror, slated to go in at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, includes 492 tightly aligned individual segments. It has become one of the largest optical and near-infrared telescopes, able to show the structure of dark matter and allow further research into the history of galaxy development.
Other major partners in developing the telescope include the California Institute of Technology, the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India, and the University of California, with additional partners and collaborators involving organizations and observatories in Canada, China, and Japan. IIA leads the Indian collaboration in the Thirty Meter Telescope project; the two other institutions involved in the project are the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, and the Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences, Nainital.
What Is Expected Of Thirty Meter Telescope Developed By Indian Scientists?
The Challenge of Atmospheric Distortion
Even with their remarkable light-gathering abilities, ground-based telescopes are seriously impaired by atmospheric distortion. The sharper the image, the more the atmosphere can distort the light from celestial objects. This truly is a peculiar problem to telescopes like the Thirty Meter Telescope, which aims to create high-resolution images for deep-space viewing.
Adaptive Optics System: A Solution
For this reason, the Adaptive Optics System of the Thirty Meter Telescope is designed to counteract these distortions. The AOS ensures the clarity and quality of photographs captured through ongoing identification and correction of atmospheric fluctuations. Guide Stars are an integral part of this procedure. With respect to atmospheric correction, the Thirty Meter Telescope employs a laser guide star facility that can cast up to nine lasers into the sky.
The Role of Natural Guide Stars
Atmospheric turbulence, however, affects these laser guide stars also, so artisans doubt atmospheric tip-also it measurements. Three real star “natural guide stars” are needed to feed the AOS in order to correct these effects. Dr. Sarang Shah of the IIA says that for the best results, these NGS could be as bright as 22 magnitudes in the near-infrared J waveband and within the field of view of the telescope.
Development of the NIR Star Catalogue
There has not been a comprehensive star catalog providing NGS for the entire sky. Solution to above was sought by scientists from IIA and their collaborators through the development of an automated code to facilitate online database generation of Near Infrared stars. The NIR magnitude estimation was based on optical magnitudes found in various sky sky surveys.
Validation and Results
The near-infrared magnitudes of stars were identified, filtered, and estimated by the scientists using multi-band optical photometry taken with PAN-STARRS telescope at Hawaii. The validation using the data from the UKIDSS survey of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope demonstrates a prediction accuracy of more than 85%. This catalog represents an important contribution from the Indian scientific community toward the Thirty Meter Telescope project.
Thirty Meter Telescope
With an approximately 30-meter-diameter primary mirror and consisting of 492 separate segments, the Thirty-Meter Telescope is envisioned to rank among the largest optical and near-infrared telescopes in the world. The Thirty Meter Telescope, located at the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii, is an instrument that will let astronomers study the composition of dark matter, unlock secrets about the formation and evolution processes within galaxies, or even open up new regions of the universe. Members of the consortium are reputed entities from the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and various other observatories located the world over—the Indian entity being a key partner in this enterprise.
Conclusion
With the aid of IIA and its collaborators, the Thirty Meter Telescope can still do so much more. In the presence of the NIR star catalog, a manifold increase in efficiency will be obtained by the AOS to enable the Thirty Meter Telescope to realize its final objective: unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos. While the Mankind is waiting for the launch of the Thirty Meter Telescope, as it comes, already only Indian scientists have shaped a solid foundation for this huge project.
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