More than 200 solar physicists from India and abroad gathered in Bengaluru for an international conference on ‘Sun, Space Weather, and Solar-Stellar Connections’. 

More on the event

• The event, organized by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), marks the 125th anniversary of the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO), celebrating its pivotal role in advancing solar physics research.

About Solar Observatory

• A solar observatory is a facility dedicated to observing and studying the Sun. Examples include the National Solar Observatory in the US and the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory in India.

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Studying the Sun is crucial because

• Solar activity impacts Earth: Solar storms and flares can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communication systems.
• Space weather prediction: Solar observatories help forecast space weather events, allowing for mitigation measures.
• Understanding fundamental physics: Studying the Sun provides insights into fundamental processes like nuclear fusion and magnetic fields.

Kodaikanal Solar Observatory

• Ownership and Operation: Managed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
• Established: 1899.
• Location: Situated in the Palani Hills, Tamil Nadu, chosen for its favorable atmospheric conditions.
• Origin: Based on the evidence that solar activity was linked to the seasonal rainfall distribution over India, the specially constituted Famine Commission of the British Raj recommended that the Government of India take regular solar observations.
• Thus was born the idea for an Indian solar observatory, ‘for carrying out systematic examinations and the study of changes in progress in the Sun and their co-relations with the larger features of Indian meteorology’.
• Foundation: Laid in 1895 by Lord Wenlock, then Governor of Madras.
• Purpose: Established to study the relationship between solar activity and monsoons, inspired by the Great Drought of 1875–1877.
• Significant Contribution:
  • Evershed Effect: Discovered in 1909, marking the radial outflow of gas from sunspots.
  • Tower Tunnel Telescope: Utilizes a 3-mirror Coelostat system to observe the Sun.
  • The KSO has played a critical role in studying solar phenomena like sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. 
  • Repository of Solar Data: Digital repository containing 1.48 lakh digitised solar images of 10 terabytes from solar data recorded on basic photographic plates or films, the 125-year-old KSO
    • These include 33,500 white-light images (showing sunspots) and thousands of other images of the Sun recorded every day since the start of the 20th century.
    • KSO is the only observatory offering high-resolution digitised images for such a long period with coverage of more than 75 per cent.

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Other Major Space Observatories in India

• Madras Observatory (Chennai, 1792): The first observatory in the region, later merged with KSO in 1899.
  • Recorded astronomical data on the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets from 1812–1825.
• Indian Astronomical Observatory (Hanle, Ladakh): Premier facility operated by the IIA, situated in Ladakh.
• Mt. Abu Infrared Observatory (Rajasthan): Located at Gurushikhar, operated by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).
  • Focuses on infrared astronomy.
• Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (Pune): Managed by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA).
  • Features 30 fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes.

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