1st astronomical observatory of Eastern India inaugurated in Bengal

The first astronomical observatory of Eastern India and the sixth in the country under the Department of Science and Technology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology has been inaugurated atop the Panchet Hill in the Garpanchkot area of Purulia district in West Bengal.

It is the sixth such observatory in India after Ladakh, Nainital (Uttarakhand), Mount Abu (Rajasthan), Girbani Hills in Pune, and Kavalur in Tamil Nadu.

Satyendra Nath Bose Astronomical Observatory 

• The observatory set up in Garpanchkot Hills has been named after famous scientist Satyendra Nath Bose. The observatory has been established by the Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences.
• The Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)  with the Sidhu Kanu Birsa University,Purulia for running the observatory and sharing resources.
• The Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences was set up by the Department of Science and Technology,Government of India in 1986 at Kolkata,West Bengal.
• It is a pioneer scientific research and development institution in the field of Basic Science.

About the Observatory 

The project to build the observatory commenced in 2012 and it is  built on 4.9 acres of land.

The observatory at present has one 14-inch diameter telescope and another1-metre diameter telescope will be installed soon.

• The observatory has been set up at an altitude of 600 meters above the sea level and at a longitude of approximately 86° East, in a non-polluted area and away from city lights.
• There are very few observatories in the world along the 86 degrees East longitude stretching from the Arctic Ocean in the north to Antarctica in the south.This observatory is expected to fill this gap.
• The observatory will help the students and scientists to conduct basic research in the field of  Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences. 
• An automatic weather forecast centre has also been set up near the observatory which will be helpful for measuring rainfall, 
• This state-of-the-art observatory is set to revolutionize scientific research in the region, especially space sciences.