Pachmarhi Telescope Array Explained

Pachmarhi Array of Cerenkov Telescopes (PACT)
Organization:	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Location:	Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, India
Coords:	22.4667°N 76.4333°W
Altitude:	1,075 m (3,527 ft)
Established:	1986
Website:	http://www.tifr.res.in/~hegro/
Telescope1 Name:	High Energy Gamma Ray Observatory
Telescope1 Type:	Gamma Ray Telescope Array

The Pachmarhi Telescope Array or Pachmarhi Array of Cerenkov Telescopes (PACT) is an array of 24 telescopes for gamma-ray astronomy. It is located at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

Location

The Pachmarhi telescope array stands at Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located at an altitude of 1,075 m (3,527 ft).

History

The array was established in 1986.^[1]

Telescope

The Pachmarhi Array of Cerenkov Telescope is set in an area 80 meter by 100 meter in 5x5 matrix. Each telescope consists of 7 parabolic mirrors each with a diameter of 90 cm. Each telescope is independently steerable on its equatorial mount. It uses the wavefront sampling technique to detect TeV gamma rays.^[2]

See also

• Lists of telescopes

Notes and References

1. PACT power point presentation - HEGRO official presentation
2. Bhat P. N. et al., "Pachmarhi array of Cerenkov telescopes", Bulletin of Astronomical Society of India, BASI, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 455 - 457