What is AstroSat?

Table of Contents☰

About AstroSat:

It is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.
It is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical, and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
AstroSat, with a lift-off mass of 1515 kg, was launched by the Indian launch vehicle PSLV from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on September 28, 2015, into a 650 km orbit inclined at an angle of 6 degrees to the equator.
The spacecraft control center at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, manages the satellite during its entire mission life.
The minimum useful life of the AstroSat mission is around 5 years.
Scientific Objectives:
To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes.
Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars.
Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy.
Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky.
Perform a limited deep-field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region.

Q1) What is a Neutron star?

Neutron stars are formed when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses. The very central region of the star – the core – collapses, crushing together every proton and electron into a neutron.

Source: ISRO announces opportunities to analyse AstroSat