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Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational-Sciences
(ARIES), Nainital
Research Opportunities
at ARIES
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The 50-year old
State Observatory at Nainital was reincarnated on 22nd
March 2004 as ARIES, an acronym given for Aryabhatta Research
Institute of Observational-SciencES, an autonomous institute
under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt.
of India. Historically. The Observatory came into existence
at Varanasi on 20th April, 1954. The Observatory was later
moved from the dust and haze of the plains to more transparent
skies of Nainital in 1955, and to its present location
in 1961 at an altitude of 1951m at Manora peak, a few
km south of the Nainital town. |
ARIES
is situated at quite and picturesque hills with interesting
walks through its forest providing great views of Himalayas.
The campus hosts rich variety of the Himalayan flora and fauna
and occasional sightings of rare birds and wild life. The primary
objective of ARIES is to provide national optical observing
facilities to carry out research in the frontline areas of Astronomy
and Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences. The main research
interests are in solar astronomy, stellar astronomy, star clusters,
stellar variability and pulsation, photometric studies of nearby
galaxies, Quasars, and transient events like supernovae and
highly energetic Gamma Ray Bursts. The optical observations
carried out at ARIES are well recognised both nationally and
internationally. The longitude of ARIES (79o East) locates it
in the middle of about 180-degree wide longitude band having
modern astronomical facilities between Canary Islands (20o West)
and Eastern Australia (157o East). The observations, which are
not possible in Canary Islands or Australia due to daylight,
can be obtained by ARIES. Because of its geographical location
and existence of good astronomical sites, ARIES has made unique
contributions to many areas of astronomical research, particularly
those involving time critical phenomena. For example, the first
successful attempt in the country to observe optical afterglow
of Gamma Ray Bursts was carried out from ARIES. A large number
of eclipsing binaries, variable stars, star clusters, nearby
galaxies, Gamma Ray Bursts, and supernova have been observed
from ARIES. In past, new ring systems around Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune were discovered from the observatory. Recently,
for the first time a direct correlation between the intranight
optical variability and the degree of polarisation of the radio
jets in Quasars was established based on the observations from
ARIES. In coming years, the Institute plans to setup new observational
facilities in the Himalayan region.
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| Facilities:
ARIES presently hosts five optical telescopes of sizes15cm,
38cm, 52cm, 56cm, and 104cm. These telescopes are equipped
with modern instruments like cooled CCD camera, spectrophotometer,
and filters etc. The 104cm telescope, known as the Sampurnanand
telescope, has been the mainstay of the photometric, spectrophotometric
and polarimetric observations. The instruments available
are Cassegrain plate holder, Meinel Camera, Near infrared
and photoelectric photometer, a spectrum scanner, and
optical multichannel analyser. |
104cm Sampurnanand Telescope |
A planetary nebulae imaged with
the 104cm telescope at ARIES. The nebulae of gas is created
by explosion of a runaway Sunlike star |
The multiwavelength radiometer and
GRIM spectrometer are routinely used to study aerosol
characteristics and in turn the radiation budget of
the atmosphere. The Institute has inhouse workshops
to meet the requirements of electronic, mechanical,
and optical maintenance of the instruments. ARIES has
a modern computer centre and a well maintained library
with more than 10,000 volumes of research journals and
an excellent collection of books on astronomy. The VSAT
facility at the Institute links the observatory with
rest of the world through INTERNET.
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ARIES also promotes research using observations
taken at other wavelengths like Xray, ultraviolet, and radio.
It is proposed that ARIES will help in building up of a user
community for the upcoming observing facilities like ASTROSAT,
the first multiwavelength Indian astronomical Satellite to
be launched in coming years, and the existing facilities such
as Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) of the Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research (TIFR) near Pune and the new 2meter
optical Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) of the Indian Institute
of Astrophysics (IIA) at Hanle in Leh.
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the aspirations of the Institute, ARIES will maintain
and upgrade its existing facilities, and design and fabricate
new equipments to carry out observations in the frontier
areas of astronomy. For this purpose, the Institute plans
to set up a 1meter class and a 3meter class optical telescope
at Devesthal, which has advantage of having dark skies
and excellent observing conditions. It is also planned
to set up a 1m class micropulse LIDAR system to carry
out research on the atmosphere of the Earth. ARIES also
participate in science popularization programs for students
and common people. |
The Whirlpool (M 51) galaxy imaged
with the 104cm telescope. The spiral arms are the sites,
where new stars are being born. |
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Image of a globular cluster comprising
several thousand of old stars. Globular clusters are believed
to be the oldest object in the Milky way.
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Ph.D./PDF
Programme : ARIES offers fellowships to pursue
Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Atmospheric
Sciences. ARIES selects students as research scholars
via the JEST exam and also via the NET and GATE exams.
The timings of these exams are usually announced via advertisements
in newspapers and via posters at most major educational
institutes in the country. The minimum qualification is
an M.Sc. degree in Physics or a BE/BTech degree. The selection
is based on the score in the written test (JEST, NET or
GATE) and an interview, which is usually held in late
June or early July. Research scholars are expected to
submit their theses within five years of the start of
their programme. Research scholars are paid Rs 8000/=
p.m. for the first two years and Rs 9000/= p.m. afterwards.
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Research scholars are also eligible for a
contingency grant on yearly basis, and accommodation in the
campus and catering facilities at nominal cost. ARIES promotes
research scholars to participate in national and international
meetings and conferences.
ARIES offers postdoctoral fellowships and visiting
positions to work in any branch of Astronomy & Astrophysics,
Atmospheric Sciences, Engineering and Instrumentation, or
Software development. Exceptionally bright and highly motivated
candidates can be considered for regular staff positions.
Short term Visits:
Students with an outstanding academic record and an
aptitude for instrumentation or software development can spend
a few months in ARIES any time of the year. Students will
work under supervision of one of the staff members in the
Institute. Exceptionally bright students with engineering
background can be considered for regular positions.
Student Training Programme
: A few bright students in different semesters of the
B.E./B.Tech./M.Sc. courses can spend 23 months in ARIES to
work with one of the scientists in the Institute on topics
related to Astronomy & Astrophysics, Atmospheric Sciences
or Instrumentation.
Summer School :
ARIES organises summer school every year for 46 weeks. The
school is aimed at providing introduction to Astrophysics
and Atmospheric physics to young graduate students in their
M.Sc./B.Tech programs. The school consists of lectures and
a short term project The exact timings of these schools are
announced via posters at major educational institutions in
the country.
Evening Programs :
The observatory is open to public in the evenings for
night sky viewing using one of the telescopes at the Institute.
Visitors can also attend the slideshows and view the picture
gallery describing celestial bodies. The timings of the show
may vary according to the season. The details of the show
can be obtained on the Institute contact numbers.
Areas of Research :
- Solar Astronomy and Solar System: Sun, Solar activity,
comets, asteroids, and planets.
- Stellar Astronomy: Stars, star clusters, stellar variability,
pulsation, ages of the stars and their spectral properties.
- Interstellar Matter: Gas (atoms and molecules) and dust
between the stars and in the
interstellar clouds.
- Xray Astronomy: Xray emitting binary stars.
- Extragalactic Astronomy: Nearby galaxies, Optical follow
up of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) and Supernova, Active galaxies,
Quasar luminosity variability.
- Atmospheric Sciences: Aerosols - characterization and
thermal budget, Mesophase and thermosphere dynamics, Coupling
processes between different atmospheric regions.
Image before the event
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Image after the event |
The event of a supernova explosion in the galaxy
M74 recorded on February 6th, 2002 at ARIES. The event was
related to the death of a star.
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Staff and their Research Interests : |
| U.S. Chaubey |
Stellar Variability |
| B. Kumar |
Star Clusters |
| Sneh Lata |
Star Clusters |
| A. Omar |
Radio Astronomy, Galaxy
Groups, Active Galactic Nulei, Galaxy Kinematics, Interstellar
Matter |
| A. K. Pandey |
Star Clusters |
| Ram Sagar (Director) |
Star Clusters, GammaRay,
Burst, Quasars |
| B. B. Sanwal |
WolfRayet, Galaxies,
Comets, Star Clusters |
| M. Singh |
Nearby Galaxies, Comets |
| K. Sinha |
Solar Astronomy |
| A. Taori |
Atmospheric Sciences,
middle and upper atmosphere |
| Wahab Uddin |
Solar Astronomy |
| R.K.S. Yadav |
Star Clusters, Stellar
Astronomy |
| Engineering Staff: |
| T. Bangia |
Mechanical |
| K. G. Gupta |
Optics |
| S. K. Gupta |
Electronics |
| Kumar T. S |
Electronics |
| P. Pant |
Electronics |
| N. Sharma |
Computer |
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Location:
79o 27' E, 29o 22' N, 1951 meter above MSL
Access: Connected
from Kathgodam (broadgauge) and Lal Kuan (meterguage)
railway stations.
Directions:
Take NH 87; 6 km before Nainital take the direction
ARIES
(locally known as the observatory)
32 km from Kathgodam Railway Station. 9 km from Nainital
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Opening hours for
visitors: 14.00 16:30 : slideshow / 19.00 20.30 : skyviewing
Contact
For more information please contact:
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational-Sciences
(ARIES)
Manora Peak, Nainital 263129, INDIA
Tel: +91 5942 235136/235583
Fax: +91 5942 235136
Director Email: sagar at aries
dot ernet dot in
Academic Committee E-mail:
ac at aries dot ernet dot in
Jest Admission E-mail: admission
at aries dot ernet dot in
Website: www.aries.ernet.in
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Introduction
Autonomous S&T
Institutions