India to highlight astronomy initiatives at global astronomers meet in South Korea

India is setting up a booth at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly at Busan, South Korea, inviting astronomers from around the world to discover the cosmos from observatories across the country.

The International Astronomical Union General Assembly (IAUGA) is the biggest gathering of astronomers in the world where the latest discoveries and cutting-edge research is expected to be discussed.

About 1,700 academic presentations are scheduled for a total of 205 sessions at the IAU General Assembly which will be held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre from August 2-11.

The India Booth, put up by the Astronomical Society of India, will also showcase the participation of Indian astronomers in international mega projects such as the Square Kilometer Array Observatory, the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii and the gravitational wave observatory in Maharashtra.

“The IAUGA is special for India as a number of Ph.D. students have won the International Astronomy Union Ph.D. prizes and shall be delivering their award lectures at Busan,” Dibyendu Nandi, chairperson, Astronomical Society of India Public Outreach and Education Committee told PTI.

India will also highlight the radio observatories at Devasthal near Nainital, the Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle in Ladakh, the Vainu Bappu Observatory in Tamil Nadu, and the Giant Meter wave Radio Telescope in Maharashtra.

The India booth will also trace the journey from ancient observatories in the country to the first space observatory - AstroSat - that was launched in 2015.

The upcoming Aditya L-1 mission, India's first solar observatory, and the X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPOSAT), both expected to be launched next year will also feature prominently in the India pavilion at Busan.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) - India, an advanced gravitational-wave observatory to be located in India as part of the worldwide network, will also feature in the India booth at IAUGA. The facility is coming up at Hingoli in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)