India’s first dedicated Space Astronomy Observatory, AstroSat completed a decade of operations

India’s first dedicated Space Astronomy Observatory, AstroSat completed a decade of operations.It is the India’s first multi wavelength space observatory aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.It was launched aboard the PSLV-C30 in 2015 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.The minimum useful life of the AstroSat mission is expected to be 5 years.

Objectives

¨     To understand 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 our galaxy.

¨     To detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky.

¨     To perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the ultraviolet region.

Five payloads of the AstroSat

1.     Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) observes visible, near, and far ultraviolet light.

2.     Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) studies X-ray variations from sources like X-ray binaries and active galaxies.

3.     Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) monitors time variations in X-rays from 0.3-8 keV.

4.     Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI) detects high-energy X-rays in the 10-100 keV range.

5.     Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) scans the sky for bright and transient X-ray sources.

Achievements of AstroSat

¨     International Collaboration: AstroSat has a registered userbase close to 3400 from 57 countries world over from countries like US to Afghanistan and Angola.

¨     Research in India: AstroSat has advanced space science in India by incorporating astrophysics research into 132 universities. Almost half of its users are Indian scientists and students, fostering the growth of a new generation of astronomers.

¨     Farthest Objects: AstroSat detected extreme-UV light from a galaxy located 9.3 billion light-years away, contributing to the understanding of the universe’s early history.

¨     Gamma-Ray Bursts: The mission detected its 600th gamma-ray burst (GRB), showcasing the performance of its Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI).

¨     Rare Stars: AstroSat identified unusual hot, UV-bright stars in the Milky Way, with one being 3,000 times brighter than the Sun.

¨     Stellar and Black Hole Research: The observatory has provided data on stellar brightness and variability, revealing insights into stellar evolution and black hole interactions.

¨     Galaxy Cluster Dynamics: AstroSat’s observations of galaxy clusters have yielded data on their complex dynamics and the distribution of hot gases within them.