ASTROSAT: India's first space observatory

ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory.It can be described as  India’s first attempt to set up space observatory(India’s version of Hubble Telescope) from where cosmological phenomenon can be studied.With this India has joined the exclusive club of nations having space observatory(USA,European Space Agency,Japan,Russia).

What is multi wavelength:

In space, celestial objects emit various kind of electromagnetic spectrum. By analysing those spectrum one can get information about space objects.With this view ASTROSAT has been set up to observe universe in the optical, Ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

How ASTROSAT is different:

Most of the satellite missions were either technology-demonstration project(Mangalyaan,Chandrayaan) or application oriented project(remote sensing ,communication satellite).But ASTROSAT is an attempt to fulfil what is the core mandate of any space agency i.e. study of astronomical phenomena.

Advantage of putting space observatory:

• Many earth based telescope observe the deep zones of universe.But earth atmosphere change the characteristic of space signals.
• So 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.

Scientific objectives of ASTROSAT mission:

• To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes
• Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars
• Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy
• Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky
• Perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region.

Payload of ASTROSAT:

Source:ISRO,Indian express