Why in news?
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) hosted a workshop in Bengaluru on December 4, 2025, highlighting UVIT's decade of achievements since activation on November 30, 2015.
About AstroSat
- AstroSat is India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, launched by ISRO on September 28, 2015, via PSLV-C30 into a 650 km low Earth orbit with 6° inclination.
- It enables simultaneous observations across X-ray, ultraviolet (UV), optical, and limited visible bands, covering energies from 0.3 keV to 150 keV.
- The mission, with a lift-off mass of 1515 kg, supports studies of celestial objects from nearby solar system bodies to distant galaxies.​
Key Payloads
- Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT): Handles near-UV (180–300 nm), far-UV (130–180 nm), and visible (320–530 nm) imaging.​
- Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT): Focuses on soft X-rays (0.3–8 keV).​
- Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC): Covers soft to intermediate X-rays (2–80 keV).​
- Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride Imager (CZTI): Detects hard X-rays (10–150 keV).​
- Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM): Monitors the X-ray sky for transients with ~10 arcmin resolution.​
Scientific Objectives
- AstroSat performs broadband spectroscopic studies of X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, supernovae remnants, and galaxy clusters, alongside timing of variable sources from milliseconds to days.
- It detects new X-ray transients, estimates neutron star magnetic fields, and conducts UV deep-field surveys. Data, totaling 420 gigabits daily, is processed at ISSDC in Bengaluru and accessed by global researchers.​
Mission Status
- The observatory completed its five-year design life in 2020 but remains operational, with all payloads functional as of recent updates.
- Over 1,500 researchers from 43 countries have used its data for discoveries like UV light from a 9.3 billion light-year distant galaxy. ISRO's ISTRAC in Bengaluru manages operations.​
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