Context:
125 years of Kodaikanal Solar Observatory.
Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO):
- Established in 1899 and subsumed then Madras Observatory.
- Purpose – To obtain data on how Sun heats up Earth’s atmosphere and to understand monsoon patterns.
- Location – Palani range (Tamil Nadu)
- Kodaikanal was chosen for its proximity to equator and its dust-free high-altitude location.
- Currently under Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
- Houses telescopes like H-alpha telescope, Twin Telescope, WARM (White light Active Region Monitor) telescope etc.
- Only observatory offering high-resolution digitised images for such a long period (with coverage of more than 75%)
Smith Commission:
- Famine Commission of the British Raj
- Led by – Charles Michie Smith
- Recommendation – To take regular solar observations.
- Outcome – In August 1893, the Government of India sanctioned a Solar Physics Observatory under the meteorological budget.
Observations made by Kodaikanal Solar Observatory:
- Examination of the Sun’s disc from spots and faculae.
- Tracing bright lines from the Sun’s chromospheres and prominences.
- Visual and photographic observations of bright lines widened in the spectra of sunspots.
- Measuring solar radiations on clear sky days.
- Direct photography of the Sun in monochromatic lights of calcium and hydrogen.
The radial motion of sunspots, better known as the Evershed Effect, was discovered from the sunspot observations made at KSO by John Evershed, KSO director from 1911-1922.
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Question
With reference to ‘Astrosat’, the astronomical observatory launched by India, which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
1. Other than USA and Russia, India is the only country to have launched a similar observatory into space.
2. Astrosat is a 2000 kg satellite placed in an orbit at 1650 km above the surface of the Earth.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (d)
Explanation:
Both are incorrect. ASTROSAT with a lift-off mass of about 1513 kg was launched into a 650 km orbit by the PSLV-C30. Before India, NASA, space agencies of the European Union, Japan, and Russia are the other countries that have launched similar facilities into space.
