2004 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS - Indian Academy of Sciences

CHAPTER 4
the centre of our Galaxy by the group led by
Genzel at the Max Planck Institute in Garching
and by the group led by A. Ghez at UCLA.
Indians had been at the forefront of the speckle
phenomenon in the 1940s. C.V. Raman, and his
student G.N. Ramachandran, made fundamental
contributions to the understanding of this
phenomenon and, indeed, elucidated and
anticipated its potential. Some of their results
were rediscovered in the astronomical context
nearly forty years later! This area was revisited
in the 1980s by some Indian theoretical
astronomers, and a couple of very interesting
results were obtained.
With this background, it is natural that we reenter
this field in a major way. This is another
area where the interaction between physicists
and astronomers would be productive. Not only
do we have the necessary expertise in this
field, it gives us an opportunity to have access
to the very best telescopes in the world. For
example, if one could develop and build state
of the art Speckle Cameras, then one will be
able to participate in international collaborations.
3. Detectors for Astronomy
The science returns from major national
observing facilities is often determined by the
quality of focal plane instruments. Other than
the optical components, the most important
role is played by the detector itself. Whereas it
has been possible to import state-of-the-art
optical detectors (large format CCDs), it is
becoming more and more difficult for Indian
astronomers to procure commercially available
near infrared and mid infrared detector
arrays. This calls for an immediate attention to
safeguard the future of near/mid infrared
astronomy in India.
A possible beginning can be to embark on a
collaborative project with national laboratories
and undertake technically challenging projects.
Through long-term commitments and efforts,
some of the technological bottlenecks faced by
such labs may be overcome by fresh insight
and manpower invested by the astronomy
community.
Speckles in monochromatic light
White light speckles
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