TIFR treasures for astronomy from ground to space

Abstract

The infrared astronomy group of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has been pursuing astronomical instrumentation activities since its inception. The group has been routinely involved in a balloon-borne astronomy program from field station at Hyderabad with indigenously developed payloads. Ground-based astronomical activities began with a single element infrared detector. Later, over time, larger format array detectors are being used in the cameras. These astronomy cameras have been routinely used at observatories across India. Recently, the group has also developed a laboratory model of the infrared spectroscopic imaging survey payload, targeted for the small satellite mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation, which will carry out spectroscopic measure ments in the wavelength range 1.7–6.4 lm seamlessly