India plans to offer an astronomical site at Hanle in Leh for an international collaboration which is exploring the possibility of setting up two large gamma-ray telescope arrays in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, a senior astronomer said.
The international collaboration is planning a Cherenkov Telescope Array in both the hemispheres to enhance the understanding of the high-energy universe, Prof Ramesh Koul, Head, Astrophysical Sciences Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, said.
They are expected to be operational by 2018 enabling a 24x7 observation of the universe, Koul said at a public lecture series 'Vistas in Astronomy' at the Nehru Planetarium in Mumbai.
In keeping with global efforts, the Himalayan Gamma-ray Observatory (HiGRO) is being set up jointly by scientists of Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at the high altitude (4,200 m above sea level) astronomical site at Hanle.
This observatory will deploy a wave-front sampling telescope array which is presently at an advanced stage of commissioning and the large area MACE (Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment) telescope.
The MACE telescope, which is presently at an advanced design stage, will use the state-of-the-art technology to configure a 21m diametre tracking light collector with a 1408 pixel imaging camera at its focal plane.
