India commissions its first Liquid Mirror Telescope

• 07 Jun 2022

Why in News?

• India has recently launched its first 'Liquid Mirror Telescope' International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) at the Devastha Observatory complex in Nainital, Uttarakhand .

Key Points

• It is Asia's largest International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT), which is installed at an altitude of 2,450 meters above sea level.
• The telescope has been installed at devasthal observatory complex owned by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital.
• It is the world's first liquid-mirror telescope developed for astronomy research. It is the only telescope of its kind to be commissioned anywhere in the world.
• This telescope will be used to observe galaxies and other celestial elements present on the edge of the world.
• The telescope has been set up by India in collaboration with Belgium, Canada, Poland and Uzbekistan. It was designed and built in Belgium at the Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems Corporation and the Centre Spatial de Liez.
• Traditional telescopes have glass mirrors polished with a combination of single or curved surfaces and are used to observe special celestial bodies on specific nights, while liquid mirror telescopes are made up of reflective fluids, such as mercury, and stars, galaxies, supernova explosions, Observes a strip of the sky capturing all possible celestial bodies, from asteroids to space debris.