Kolkata's Largest Handmade Telescope: A Marvel of Craftsmanship and Science

A team in Kolkata has built the city's largest handmade telescope, a 14.5-inch Dobsonian, showcasing both scientific ambition and craftsmanship. Created by a collaboration between OAC and IASES, it aims to engage the city's students and sky enthusiasts in astronomical observations and astrophotography.

In a landmark collaboration, two Kolkata-based organizations have engineered the city's largest handmade telescope, a 14.5-inch f/5 Dobsonian. Spearheaded by Dr. Sudipta Sasmal, associate professor of IASES, the initiative marries craftsmanship with scientific innovation.

According to Sasmal, the telescope is equipped with a meticulously crafted parabolic primary mirror, crucial for varied astronomical observations including transient phenomena like novae and supernovae. A salvaged ship porthole from Kandala shipyard served as the glass blank for the mirror, which was finely polished and aluminized in Delhi.

Installed on Biswajit Bose's rooftop, a member of the OAC, the project illustrates India's heritage of scientific ingenuity. Despite light pollution, the telescope has already proven capable of quality astrophotography, attracting students and sky lovers to celestial events, said Bose. The initiative was inaugurated by IASES President Prof. Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay and IAS officer Abhijit Mukhopadhyay.

(With inputs from agencies.)