AGASTHYARKOODAM OBSERVATORY – SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News: Tracing
the origins of a lost observatory
What's in the news?
● Agasthyarkoodam,
the misty peak and trekker's destination on the Western Ghats straddling Tamil
Nadu and Kerala, was once home to a forgotten and long-lost 19th-century
observatory established by Scottish
meteorologist John Allan Broun.
Key takeaways:
● Agasthyarkoodam
in the Western Ghats once housed a magnetic observatory that was
established by Scottish meteorologist John Allan Broun.
● Broun
used it to record magnetic and meteorological observations in tandem with the
Thiruvananthapuram astronomical observatory.
● Broun’s
astronomical research in India began after he was invited by the ruler of the
erstwhile Travancore Uthram Tirunal Marthanda Varma to helm the
Thiruvananthapuram observatory following the death of its first director John
Caldecott in 1849.
● The
observatory started recording observations in July 1855.
● However,
it was closed in 1881 by the then
Madras Governor Sir William Denison.
Agasthyarkoodam Observatory:
● The
Agasthyarkoodam Observatory is an astronomical research observatory located in
the state of Kerala.
● The
observatory is situated at an altitude
of 1600 meters above sea level and is owned and operated by the Indian
Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
● The
observatory is equipped with a 1-meter optical telescope and various other
instruments for studying the night sky.
● The
observatory is used for research and educational purposes and is open to the
public for viewing night-sky objects.
Go back to basics:
Magnetic Observatories:
● Magnetic
observatories continuously measure and record
Earth’s magnetic field at a number of locations.