The GROWTH-India telescope at Indian Astronomical Observatory in Ladakh captured a building sized asteroid as it approached closest to Earth.
- The telescope tracked the asteroid’s rapid movement, making the background stars look like streaks of light.
- GROWTH-India telescope is India’s first fully robotic optical research telescope.
- It also has the honour of being positioned in one of the world’s highest astronomical observatories at 4,500 meters in Ladakh.
- The 0.7m wide-field telescope is part of a joint venture by IIT Bombay and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru.
- The project was fully funded by India’s Department of Science and Technology-Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB) under the Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE) project, administered by India-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
