Clear nights, minimal light pollution, a background aerosol concentration, extremely dry weather conditions, and no monsoon interruptions are among the benefits that make the Hanle Indian Astronomical Observatory in Leh one of the most promising sighting locations in the world, according to a recent study. The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
India is increasingly becoming an ideal location for cosmic research. Indian researchers and their staff performed an in-depth analysis of the percentage of night cloud cover at eight high altitude observatories, three of which were in India. They looked at data from the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle and Merak (Ladakh) and Devasthal (Nainital) in India, the Ali Observatory in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, the South African Great Telescope in South Africa, the University of Atacama Observatory in Tokyo and Paranal in Chile and the National Astronomical Observatory in Mexico.
They used assimilation and observational reanalysis data over 41 years, and satellite data over 21 years, the Ministry of Science and Technology said Thursday.
The study classified the quality of visible nights on a daily basis for various astronomical applications such as photometry and spectroscopy. The researchers found that Hanle’s location is as dry as the Chilean Atacama Desert and significantly drier than Devasthal, has around 270 clear nights a year and is also one of the places under development for optical infrared and sub-mm astronomy.
“This is because the water vapor absorbs the electromagnetic pulses and reduces their intensity,” the statement said.
Researchers found that Paranal, a high mountain desert in Chile, is the best place for clear skies, with around 87% clear nights per year. In terms of a clear night sky, the IAO Hanle and Ali observatories, about 80 kilometers apart, are comparable. Devasthal has slightly brighter evenings than other places on the subcontinent, but is hit by the monsoons about three months a year.
At different time resolutions using satellite and reanalysis data, the proportion of cloud cover for Hanle, Merak and Devasthal in India and Ali in Tibet was 66–75%, 51–68%, 61–78% and 61–75%, respectively. , respectively.
Shantikumar Singh Ningombam of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) led the investigation, which found that nocturnal observations at the IAO Hanle from the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) remain possible over time without the influence of thunderstorms.
Astronomers are constantly looking for suitable locations around the world to build their next large telescope based on local climate data collected over many years. Such analyzes are essential in planning future observatories and predicting their evolution over time.
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