![]() ![]() The sensors do this through actuators - computer controlled pistons and levers attached to the bottom of each mirror - which gently knead and distort its curvature according to the need of the hour. They also ensure that all 496 pieces are perfectly aligned and move together as one flawless mirror. The sensors correct shifts in atmospheric density that blur light from distant stars – the first telescope in the world to do so. The pieces have digital sensors that constantly correct deformations caused by temperature, gravity, wind and seismic vibrations. Each of those pieces is about 1.44 m across, about the height of a seventh standard school kid. So 492 smaller, six pointed pieces are used to make it. It's hard to make a slab of glass that big. It measures thirty meters across - about one third the length of a football field. Imagine a concave mirror, roughly circular in shape. They were built more than two decades ago. ![]() The largest existing optical telescopes in the world are only about 10 metres across. Reddy says the first batch of edge sensors and actuators have already been tested at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), USA and the feedback is "extremely positive". ![]() (GOAL), Puducherry Avasarala Technologies, Bangalore and Godrej, Mumbai for production of these components. The institutes have passed on design specifications to companies like General Optical Asia Ltd. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCCA), Pune and the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital have come together to design the components. India is building the edge sensors, the actuators, the segment support systems and some of the mirror assemblies on the project," B Eswar Reddy, TMT's India programme director told Nature India.Īlmost Rs 600 crore worth of equipment will be designed and manufactured in India. Credit: TMT Observatory Corporation "Nothing like this exists in the world right now. In comparison, India's investment in CERN, Geneva for the Big Bang experiment was a mere $25 million. Last month (July 26, 2013), the country pledged to bear about 10 per cent of the total cost of the $1.5-billion TMT, to be completed by 2022 at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, one of the clearest spots for astronomical observation in the world.įive countries - the US, Canada, China, Japan and India - are collaborating on the prestigious project with India's share at roughly $160 million or Rs. The CSA is funding Canada's entire contribution to the space telescope, including the two Canadian hardware elements and the continued participation of instrument scientists.India is building key parts of the largest optical and infrared telescope ever made by man - the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The integrated FGS/ NIRISS unit was built and tested by Honeywell with the help of scientists and engineers from the CSA, the Université de Montréal, NASA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. The FGS/ NIRISS instrument team was responsible for designing and developing the Canadian contribution to Webb. National Research Council Canada's Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre.Researchers from a number of universities and institutes are involved in the Canadian science team: Chris Willott, National Research Council Canada's Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre The Canadian Webb science team is led by: Neil Rowlands (Honeywell), discuss testing of the Webb Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Leads of the Canadian FGS/ NIRISS team, Dr. ![]()
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