A solar observatory on an island in Fateh Sagar Lake at Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, established in 1976 by Arvind Bhatnagar on the model of California's Big Bear Solar Observatory, using its water-surrounded site to reduce the atmospheric turbulence caused by ground heating. Managed since 1981 by the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad for India's Department of Space, it fills a geographic gap in the worldwide Global Oscillations Network Group between Australia and Spain, and its 50-centimeter Multi Application Solar Telescope has observed the Sun's magnetic fields since August 2015.
Facts
Observatory Type LocationUdaipur, Rajasthan, India 1 Measuresthe Sun's magnetic field 1 Operating Principleoff-axis Gregorian-Coude telescope with a 50 cm aperture 1 FAQs
Why is the Udaipur Solar Observatory built on an island in a lake?
The water around the island reduces air turbulence and steadies the view of the Sun.
The Physical Research Laboratory explains that the large body of water surrounding the telescopes decreases the heating of the surface layers of the air. This lowers the turbulence in the air mass above the site and so improves image quality and seeing. The laboratory describes the island setting in the middle of Fateh Sagar Lake as providing stable seeing conditions for solar observations.
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Source Wikipedia: Udaipur Solar Observatory
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Udaipur Solar Observatory
Lead section, first sentence
A solar observatory located in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India on an island in the Fateh Sagar Lake
Lead section, first sentence, place-name clause
A solar observatory located in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India on an island in the Fateh Sagar Lake
History section, founding sentence
The observatory was built in 1976 by Dr. Arvind Bhatnagar
Telescopes section, MAST subsection
MAST is an off-axis Gregorian-Coude telescope with a 50 cm aperture to be used to study the Sun's magnetic field.
Telescopes section, MAST subsection, design clause
MAST is an off-axis Gregorian-Coude telescope with a 50 cm aperture to be used to study the Sun's magnetic field.
In Group: Optical Observatories of Asia and the Middle East, Lead sentence
The Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO) is a solar observatory located in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India on an island in the Fateh Sagar Lake.
Operated By: Physical Research Laboratory, Article text: operator
Since 1981, USO has been managed by the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, for the Department of Space, Government of India. === Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST) === The Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST) was operationalised on 4 August 2015.
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