The IUCAA Telescope
November 2005

The IUCAA Telescope Surpasses its Performance Milestones. Click here for details.

TTL Purchased by the Las Cumbres Observatory
Spring 2005

TTL was purchased by The Las Cumbres Observatory and is responsible for the design and manufacturing of all their 2.0+ meter telescopes.

IUCAA Telescope Achieves First Light
December 2004

The IUCAA telescope became the fourth TTL telescope to obtain First Light in the past 18 months, when it made its first observations of the skies above India.

The IUCAA (Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics) telescope is a 2.0m telescope located near to the city of Pune, India, at a new purpose-built site.

This is the first of TTL's telescopes to be housed in traditional rotating dome rather than a clam-shell enclosure, and this together with the distinctive black trusses and additional Cassegrain instrument envelope differentiates it from the rest of TTL's 2.0m family.

The first objects observed were Gamma Cassiopeia, Alpha Tau (Aldebaran), Mirach, Betelgeuse and Rigel. The telescope will now undergo a comprehensive programme of testing and performance tuning before science instrumentation is installed early in 2005.

Links: Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Above left: Dusk as the IUCAA dome prepares for First Light
left: The telescope under the open slit of the dome
Below: The purpose-built site near to the city of Pune, India