Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

Recently, an official delegation from the Department of Science and Technology visited Mauna Kea to discuss “challenges” to the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project.

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

• It has been conceived as a 30-metre diameter primary-mirror optical and infrared telescope that will enable observations into deep space.
• It is proposed as a joint collaboration involving institutions in the U.S., Japan, China, Canada, and India.
• It will be the world’s most advanced and capable ground-based optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared observatory.
• It will integrate the latest innovations in precision control, segmented mirror design, and adaptive optics.
• At the heart of the telescope is the segmented mirror, made up of 492 individual segments. Precisely aligned, these segments will work as a single reflective surface of 30m diameter.
• Location: Mauna Kea, an inactive volcano on the island of Hawai’i in the United States.

Indian contribution

• India expects to be a major contributor to the project and will provide;
  • hardware (segment support assemblies, actuators, edge sensors, segment polishing, and segment coating), instrumentation (first light instruments),
  • software (observatory software and telescope control systems) worth $200 million
• The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAP) is leading the consortium of Indian institutions that are involved with the TMT project.
• India TMT will be jointly funded by the Departments of Science and Technology and Atomic Energy.

Infrared telescope?

It is an instrument designed to detect and resolve infrared radiation from sources outside Earth’s atmosphere such as nebulae, young stars, and gas and dust in other galaxies.