Madhya Pradesh
Palomar Observatory Gets 1st Woman Head
- 30 Sep 2025
- 3 min read
Why in News?
Prof. Mansi Manoj Kasliwal has made history by becoming the first woman and second Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to be appointed as the new director of Palomar Observatory, following Shrinivas Kulkarni, who was the first PIO to lead the observatory from 2006 to 2018.
Key Points
- About: Born in Indore, India, she moved to the United States at the age of 15. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 2005 and completed her PhD in Astronomy at Caltech in 2011. After a postdoctoral stint at Carnegie Observatories, she returned to Caltech, where she is now a tenured professor.
- Recognition: Prof. Kasliwal, a professor of astronomy at Caltech, is internationally recognised for her pioneering work on explosive cosmic events such as supernovae and neutron star collisions. She received the New Horizons in Physics Prize in 2022 for her leadership in electromagnetic follow-ups of cosmic phenomena.
- Key Contributions and Achievements:
- GROWTH Project: Leads the Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH), a global network of telescopes capturing transient cosmic events.
- Palomar Transient Factory & Zwicky Transient Facility: Played a key role in the design of both facilities, uncovering thousands of supernovae and other astronomical phenomena.
- Multi-Messenger Astronomy: Contributed significantly to follow-up observations of gravitational waves detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
Palomar Observatory
- Location and Ownership: Palomar Observatory, situated on Palomar Mountain in north San Diego County, California, is an astronomical research centre owned and operated by Caltech.
- Research Telescopes: The Observatory houses three active research telescopes: the 200-inch Hale Telescope, the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope, and the 60-inch telescope, serving a diverse community of astronomers from Caltech and partner institutions.
- Historical and Ongoing Contribution: Established nearly a century ago, Palomar Observatory has been a leader in astronomical research, operating nightly for scientific advancement, instrument development, and student training.
