Year milestone 1962
ASIAN TROPOPAUSE AEROSOL LAYER (ATAL)
Download 2.63 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- ASTROSAT
ASIAN TROPOPAUSE AEROSOL LAYER (ATAL)ISRO-NASA efforts towards resolving the issue of Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL). Atmospheric aerosol and clouds play important role in weather and climate. A recent discovery of high altitude (~ 16km) Aerosol layer occurring during monsoon in the south Asian region using CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) has started puzzling the atmospheric scientists. Very little is known about the composition and the formation mechanisms of this intense aerosol layer. This layer is of concern since it could play an important role in the climate and weather. To understand this enigmatic layer, balloon-borne experiments along with ground-based observations are being conducted under an ISRO-NASA collaborative program – “Balloon Borne measurement campaigns of Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (BATAL). ASTROSATIt is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical, and UV spectral bands simultaneously. The payloads cover the energy bands of Ultraviolet (Near and Far), limited optical and X-ray regime (0.3 keV to 100keV). One of the unique features of the AstroSat mission is that it enables the simultaneous multiwavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite. AstroSat with a lift-off mass of 1515 kg was launched on September 28, 2015, into a 650 km orbit inclined at an angle of 6 deg to the equator by PSLV-C30 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The minimum useful life of the AstroSat mission is expected to be 5 years. It is seen as a smaller version of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. It has 5 payloads which include: Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI) Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) Download 2.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
|