- ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory. This scientific satellite mission endeavours for a more detailed understanding of our universe.
- ASTROSAT is designed to observe the universe in the Visible, Ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously with the help of its five payloads.
- Astrosat aims at understanding the high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes, to estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars, to study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
- Astrosat is being described as India’s version of the Hubble telescope that NASA had put in space in 1990.
- It has a mission life of five years.
This mission has put ISRO in a very exclusive club of nations that have space-based observatories. Only the United States, European Space Agency, Japan and Russia have such observatories in space.
Merits in having sky observatory:
The study of the celestial process can be done from the earth as well. Several observatories across the globe have powerful telescopes that can see what is happening deep inside the universe.
- But, the atmosphere around the earth interferes with the signals from space and changes their characteristics. What the instruments at earth receive are modified signals. These have to be adjusted to bring in accuracy.
- A space observatory on the other hand, receives pure signals because of which the readings by instruments are more accurate.