Press Releases
ARTICLES | IIA

More than 4000 astronomy enthusiasts of Bengaluru and other cities poured into the Indian Institute of Astrophysics today for its Open Day, to learn about the subject in a highly interactive and engaging way. The institute celebrated National Science Day as Open Day on 25 February, Sunday, to facilitate a larger number of public to visit the campus.

Indian Institute of Astrophysics will celebrate National Science Day as “IIA Open Day” on 25 February, Sunday, from 9 AM to 6 PM at its campus in Koramangala. This event is open to the general public, is free of charge, and there is no prior registration required.

Astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics used the Himalayan Chandra Telescope

(HCT) in Hanle, Ladakh to photograph the Comet P12/Pons-Brooks on 21 November 2023.

This comet has recently attracted much attention from the astronomy community and the

media due to its many outbursts of gas and dust, and has been dubbed the 'Devil Comet' or

the 'Millennium Falcon' due to its appearance. It will become brighter in the coming months

and may even become a naked eye comet.

As an unexpected but beautiful surprise, the all-sky cameras at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) at Hanle and Merak in Ladakh captured images of an intense red coloured aurora on the night of 5 November 2023. The Observatory is run by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India.

The first official Star Party for experienced amateur astronomers was organised by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in eastern Ladakh, between 12-15 October 2023. The press release can be found here.

A major milestone of TMT Primary Mirror Segment Polishing and Metrology Equipment Commissioning at India-TMT Optics Fabrication Facility (ITOFF) is successfully completed.